The Pride of the North Island is coming to the Comox Valley.
The North Island Silvertips bill themselves as "The Pride of the North Island" and they will be at the Comox Valley Sports Centre on Sunday, Feb. 16 to take on the Cariboo Cougars in a B.C. Major Midget Hockey League game.
The Comox Valley Minor Hockey Association is hosting the event, with game time 9:15 a.m. Admission is free.
"Come out and support your North Island team and enjoy an early morning of fast, hard-hitting, exciting Major Midget hockey," said Elaine Sutter, CVMHA assistant second vice-president.
The North Island Silvertips Major Midget Hockey Club was established in 2004 to provide elite level 15, 16 and 17 year olds from Northern Vancouver Island an opportunity to play within their own age group at a high level and be developed for the next level of hockey.
This year's Silvertips' lineup features goalie John Hawthorne (Denman Island) and forward Joe Surgenor (Courtenay).
Hawthorne sports a 5-10-0 record and 3.55 GAA while Surgenor has 22 points (9g, 13a) through 32 games.
Both Surgenor and Hawthorne played in the BCMML all-star game this year, helping Team Blue defeat Team White 8-6. Notable Major Midget graduates who have competed in the all-star game include Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers (Team White 2009) and Evander Kane of the Winnipeg Jets (Team White 2007).
Other proud North Islanders in the Silvertips' lineup include Campbell River's Joe Gage, Devyn Grant and Grady McInnes; Nanaimo's Matthew Cahill, Mathieu Jallabert, Nik Malenica, Matthew O'Dwyer, Clayton Peace, Carter Turnbull, Dylan Coghlan, Coleman Doney and Rowan Silder, Liam Young; Powell River's Hunter Findlater, Bo Lewis and Tyler Madden; Parksville's David Biagioni; and Nanoose Bay's Trent Bell.
ICE CHIPS Liam Shaw of Comox is a Silvertip alumnus; he skated for the team in 2011-12 … the Silvertips are sixth in the 11-team BCMML with a 10-15-5 record and the Cougars are just a point back in seventh place with an 11-15-2 record ...