2005 AAA Lower Mainland Preview

With the sheer number of schools in the Lower Mainland it is by far the toughest zone to obtain a provincial berth.

Lower Mainland

Burnaby/New West – New West

New Westminster remains the favorite to win out in the BNW division. With a few returning players and a decent Junior team, the Hyacks are favored by a wide margin. It will be quite the battle with the Richmond teams with the winner coming away with a Provincial Tournament berth.

Richmond – Boyd

Boyd is the easy favorite this year with Katie Miyazaki in her Junior year now. Question will be whether Katie has any help as she was basically the entire team last year. Without a Junior team to draw from, they may only be marginally better than last year. Unsure which teams will be playing AAA in Richmond this year, but McMath, Steveston, and Cambie may qualify for the Creighton Cup.

Vancouver – Kitsilano

Always a strong program, Kitsilano will once again dominate the Vancouver Region even without Sasha Polishchuk who enters her first year at Gonzaga. The Blue Demons never have a shortage of good young talent moving up from the Junior ranks, this year is no different. Point Grey is another team that could contend for a Provincial berth.

North Shore - Handsworth, Argyle

Clearly the Top teams in the lower mainland are concentrated on the North Shore. Handsworth finished 14th in last year's Provincial Tournament but they add some very talented Juniors in U16 Provincial Players Kirsten Hughes and Alex Sheppard. Argyle is another powerhouse team with U17 Provincial Player Kaitlyn Burke and also add very talented Juniors.

Projected Provincial berths: Handsworth, Argyle, Kitsilano, *New West, *Boyd

*Could get wilcard berths