Jess Sibley scored 12 minutes into the first overtime period, lifting the North Shore Rebels to a 2-1 victory over the Fraser Valley Jets in the final game of the Tourism Hope / SCWHL Championship Tournament in Hope B.C.
Sibley’s goal handed the Rebels their second consecutive SCWHL playoff championship, and another BC Hockey Senior AA banner. The two teams played through 52 minutes of scoreless hockey after the first period ended in a 1-1 tie.
Lindsay DiPietro gave the Jets the lead, but Shannon Morris-Reade tied the game with two seconds remaining in the opening period. Jets goalie Stacey Wilson and North Shore netminder Cassidy Hendricks were near-perfect over 72 minutes. Wilson stopped 36 pf 28 shots, while Hendricks made 22 saves on 23 shots and earned the SCWHL’s Playoff MVP award.
The Rebels, the SCWHL regular season champions, won three games and tied one at the playoff tournament, staged at the Hope and District Arena. They were 1-0-1 to finish first in Pool A, then defeated the Meadow Ridge Moose 4-2 in Saturday night’s semi-final game.
Sibley, who played four years at Syracuse (Orange) University in New York, led the SCWHL tournament in scoring with four goals and three assists for seven points in four games played.
The Jets were the fourth-seed in the tournament, and began and finished with one-goal losses to North Shore. After a 3-2 loss to the Rebels in quarterfinal round robin play Friday night, Fraser Valley got through the quarterfinal with a 6-0 win over the South Fraser TNT Saturday morning then edged the Richmond Devils 3-2 in their semi-final game.
DiPietro (four goals) and Melanie Jue (two goals) each had six points to lead the Jets, placing behind only Sibley in the tournament scoring race.
For the second consecutive season, the Richmond Devils went into the playoff tournament as the six-seed, then earned a medal. After winning a silver medal last season, the Devils won the bronze in 2023, defeating the Meadow Ridge Moose 2-1.
Laura Horwood scored a goal and assist to lead Richmond, and finished fourth in the tournament scoring race with three goals and five points in four games.
