Monthly Archives: March 2014

Overtimes and One-Point Games Abound in Day 1 of the Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament

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(Richmond, BC) — Fans of wheelchair rugby were in for a treat at the 15th Annual Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament, which started today at the Richmond Olympic Oval. Out of 8 games, 5 were decided by 1 point or in overtime.

“This is probably the best-quality wheelchair rugby we’ve ever seen at the Vancouver Invitational,” said Tournament Chair Kevin Bowie. “Nearly all the games have been close so far and we’ve already had two nail-biting overtimes.”

Better yet, both BC A and BC B are 2-0 after the first day. If both teams finish at the top of their respective pools, they’ll cross over in the quarter finals against the 4th-ranked teams.

“Both BC teams are putting on a great show,” said BC Head Coach Adam Frost. “We hope everyone will come down to the Oval, take advantage of our beer garden and enjoy the games.”

The action continues tomorrow at 11 am when BC B takes on Alberta B. Entry is by donation and all proceeds will be used to support wheelchair sports development in the province. To see the full schedule, please click here.

For more information or to schedule an interview contact
Arley McNeney
Communications Manager for BC Wheelchair Sports Association.
Cell: 778-788-9091
Email: Arley@bcwheelchairsports.com

Round 4 – BC vs. Newbies | Ontario vs. Quebec

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BC vs Newbies

BC fans were treated to a great display of murderball during this match. On one side, the Canadian Newbies: a team made up of national team members star Zak Madell, several other national team squad members, and Duncan Campbell (severely pushing the limits of the name ‘Newbie’).

Though BC was heavily favoured, the Newbies weren’t willing to go down without a fight. Every time that BC gained a 3 or 4 point lead, the Newbies would force some turnovers and come storming back. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the game was tied, and the lead see-sawed back and forth. It all came down to the final possession. the Newbies were down 47-46 and needed to score in the last 30 seconds. The game seemed destined to head into overtime, but Ian Chan showed why he’s one of the smartest players in the game by picking off an errant ball at halfcourt. BC wins 47-46.

Ontario vs. Quebec

In overtime, Ontario won the tipoff and quickly went 1 goal ahead. Fabien Lavoie, however, kept Quebec in the game by stealing the ball from Dave Willsie to tie the game again. Ontario, however, quickly responded, so Fabien once again forced the issue by drawing a foul from Willsie and again tying the game. With about 50 seconds, the score was tied 61-61.

Luckily for Ontario, wily veterans Garrett Hickling and David Willsie had a few tricks left up their sleeve. They ran the clock down to the 10 second mark, then called for a time-out, which awarded them an extra 10 seconds on the clock. With less than a second left, they scored to win 62-61.

Round 3: BC-B vs Seattle, Alberta vs. Portland

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The two games in round 3 were nearly identical to one another. Both had nearly identical scores and followed a similar script, making us look forward to when BC-B and Alberta get to take each other on.

BC-B vs. Seattle

For the first half, this was a game of changing leads. Both teams forced turnovers, but neither could mount a lead. At the half, Seattle had built a 24-22 lead. BC-B, however, was not easily discouraged and came out refocused for the second half at a time when Seattle seemed to run out of stamina. BC-B slowly built a lead, and was up by 4 at the beginning of the fourth. Though Seattle mounted a brief comeback by creating 3 turnovers in a row, BC-B was able to rally and claim the 49-42 win.

Alberta vs. Portland

Alberta vs. Portland played out much like the BC-B vs. Seattle game. Lots of forced turnovers and see-sawing leads that kept fans on the edge of their seats. In the third, however, Alberta turned on the jets and never looked back. A series of turnovers demoralized Portland, though they showed great class playing out until the end. Alberta won 49-40.

Friday – Round 2

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Court 1 – BC vs. Quebec
BC has done a great job in this offense-minded game. Led by Ian Chan and Travis Murao, they’ve managed to hold Fabien Lavoie (and his beard) back by a single point at the half. BC leads 28-27.
Court 2 – Ontario vs. CDN Newbies
On Court 2, the Canadian Newbies, led ironically by one of the engineers of wheelchair rugby, Duncan Campbell, is currently upsetting Ontario by using Zak Madell liberally. BC leads 29-27 at the half.
Updates to come at the end of the game.

UPDATE

BC managed to maintain their thin lead against Quebec, narrowly winning against the strong Quebec squad. Cory Harrower and Fabien Lavoie were both in full force during the game, playing the majority of the final half. BC wins, 52-51.
Ontario ultimately ran away with the Court 2 game, taking out the CDN Newbies by pinning Zak Madell to the sidelines as often as possible. It was great to watch Madell and Campbell paired together. Ontario wins, 56-47.

Come on out to the Richmond Oval! Plenty of games over the next few days.

Here We Go!

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We have two games underway; on Court 1, we have BC-B (developmental) vs. last year’s winner, The Portland Pounders. The Portland Pounders were dominant during last year’s Vancouver Invitational, featuring a roster that included paralympians Seth McBride and Will Groulx. Now missing these key players, they are trailing BC’s developmental club at the half.
On the other court, we have The Seattle Slam vs. Alberta’s B Club. Seattle features the largest roster of the tournament, bringing 16 athletes to the Richmond Oval. With a large fan base in tow, they’ve jut begun their third quarter, tied 23-23 with 5:07 left on the clock.
Final results will be updated at the end of the game, and we hope to see everyone out to the Richmond Oval. 

UPDATE

Portland’s Jake Merriman ultimately couldn’t stop BC-B’s offensive power. BC-B managed a 52-42 win in the game, owing much of the score to their fourth quarter.
The Seattle – Alberta Developmental game set the tone for the tournament. With 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter, they caught Alberta trying to play the clock and managed to stop them at the goal line. With a late goal, they managed to force an overtime, eventually defeating Alberta B. Final score; 45-42.

Hope to see everyone at a game soon.

FB event and further details can be found here. 
Game schedule can be had here.