Flames host Delta in rematch of last year's PJHL championship
The Ridge Meadows Flames are playing the last of their exhibition games this weekend, starting tonight when they host the Delta Ice Hawks.
The game is at 7:30 p.m. at Cam Neely Arena, and is a rematch of the Pacific Junior Hockey League Championship of last season. Delta will host the Flames at Sungod Arena on Saturday night at 7 p.m., as the Flames last game before regular season action begins.
The Flames have returned the duo of GM Derek Bedard and head coach Brent Hughes, that headed teams that went to two straight Mowat Cup provincial Junior A championship series, and have won two straight Stonehouse Cups as champs of the PJHL.
The Flames have been recruiting players to retool their roster for the coming campaign, and on Monday announced the signing of Brayden Yee, a forward from Port Moody who has been captain of the U18 North East Chiefs BCEHL team, which won the provincial championship. In 27 games last season he had 11 goals and 11 assists.
They also announced the signing of Aidan Kalinowski, a defenceman from Port Coquitlam who played three years in the Yale academy; and Carter Nailen, who is a forward from Cloverdale with a lot of junior hockey experience. Over the past two seasons with the Kam River Fighting Walleye near Thunder Bay, in the Superior International Junior Hockey League, Nailen played 64 games with 20 goals and 50 points.
They have also signed Brady Wharram, a defenceman from Chilliwack who played with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the BCEHL, goaltender Nathan Niedermeiser from Langley, who was also a Thunderbird, and Cloverdale defenceman Devan Bahia who played with the Millbrook School USHS Prep team.
The Flames have already played a pair of exhibition games against the Langley Trappers, losing one 5-4 in overtime, and winning the other with a lopsided score.
The Flames will again play home games on Friday nights, 7:30 p.m., at Cam Neely Arena this season, and open the regular season on Sept. 12 against Burnaby.