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NEWS photo Mike Wekeficid

HOCKEY HALL of Fame member Fred Pace, of North Vancouver, holds the distintion of having an elite midget triple-A tourna- ment named in his honor. Play begins today at the Winter Club.

Winter Club plays host to tournament

IF YOU ask Bob Blades at the North Shore Winter Club who Fred Page is, he'll reply he’s that “well-known hockey guy.”

By Richard Ostler Contributing Writer

Page, a man credited with a life- long commitment to minor hockey, has one of the Winter Club’s longest-running tournaments named after him.

The puck drops on the 33rd annual Fred Page Midget AAA Hockey Tournament at 8 a.m. this morning. The host North Shore Winter Club will be going head-to- head with Ridge Meadows in the opening game. Round-robin action continues through Friday morning, with playoff games scheduled for Friday afternoon and Saturday. The tournament final takes place on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Nine teams have been invited for the four-day round-robin: seven from the Lower Mainland and teams from Vernon and Victoria.

The team to beat is two-time tournament champs Vernon.

The man who has helped make junior hockey a reality in Canada started playing hockey in the carly 1940s in Ontario. Since then Page has bcen involved in the B.C. Junior Hockey League as a coach, execu- tive, president, chairman and above all else, a hockey fan.

in 1993, he was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame for his dedica- lion building hockey in Canaca and abroad.

Although the North Shore Winter Club has been struggling in recent years because of poor membership and financial problems, Page is opti- mistic about this year’s tournament.

“They used to have dandy tour- naments,” Page said. “They had

some tough times, but the member- ship has come back up again.”

Three years ago, the club was unable to support a midget team. This year the club has two teams, of which one will compete in the tour- nament.

Page suid he is honored to have the tournament named after him and

he is looking forward to watching’

some great hockey.

“Kids go out and iry their best,” he said. “It's amazing how well they play. Anyone that sees it will enjoy it”

Biades, one of the tournament organizers, said this will be high- calibre hockey.

“There will be lots of scouts, mainly from tie Western Hockey League,” he said. “(The WHL) is the best junior hockey league around.”

The big battle, according to Blades, will be the game between North Vancouver and the North Shore Winter Ciub.

“There's a big rivalry between these two teams,” he said. “It's for bragging rights oa the North Shore.”

The North Shore Winter Club is located at 1325 E. Keith Rd.. North Vancouver.

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