Panorama’s Rolling Thunder takes ball hockey provincial championship

The Panorama Thunder won the Division B Championship in the first provincial high school ball hockey tournament since the start of the pandemic.

The Panorama Ridge Thunder brought home a provincial ball hockey title this past weekend after beating Salish Secondary 4-2 in the sport’s first high school championship tournament since the pandemic began.

Held at the North Surrey Ice and Sports Complex, this year’s provincials featured two boys’ divisions as well as the first-ever high school girls’ provincial championship. For the boys’ league, teams were divided into divisions A and B, while the girls had one division.

The inaugural BC high school girls ball hockey champions (Richmond) were crowned at the event.“Since it was the first girls high school event ever, we knew there would be not enough girls from one school to put forth a team,” explained Rob Moxness, vice-principal at Sunrise Ridge Elementary and organizer of high school ball hockey in BC. “Instead, we created four teams with girls from their respective districts. Surrey had a full roster, and they lent a few girls to the Vancouver team because they were a little short. The purpose of the event was to raise the profile of female participation with the sport, and to engage as many girls as possible. 

“The parents were so happy that there was a girls-only event for the first time.”

In the girls’ final, Richmond beat Burnaby 4-3 in a thrilling overtime win, with Vancouver and Surrey placing as runner-ups. For the boys, Fleetwood Park faced a tough Pitt Meadows team in the Division A finals, coming second with a hard-fought 0-5 loss, while Panorama outscored Salish in the Division B bracket.

In addition to Panorama’s win, the Thunder’s Sahib Brar was also named Division B MVP.

“The divisions are based on skill level, determined based on their performance during the regular high school ball hockey season that takes place from early April up until the tournament,” explained Rob Moxness, vice-principal at Sunrise Ridge Elementary.

“The Surrey High School Ball Hockey League had 12 participating schools from Surrey this season and 12 of them participated in the provincial championship over the weekend." The Panorama Thunder celebrate their win.

A former competitive ball hockey player himself, Moxness introduced the championship tournament in 2011 and has been overseeing it ever since.

Moxness said everyone involved was thrilled to once again be able to compete after a two-year hiatus.

“Students, parents and coaches were very happy to see the sport was back in action. It was a very successful tournament,” said Moxness, noting that players and coaches are already looking forward to next season.