WENATCHEE, Wash. - Both the Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy's 18-and-Under and 16-and-Under teams will be spending time in Penticton, British Columbia this weekend in Canadian Sport School Hockey League action, after competitive weekends last week. The 18U program faced RINK Academy in Vernon, British Columbia in a three-game weekend last week, starting off with a 6-4 loss on Friday. Collin Ubrig scored back-to-back third-period goals, but Riley Pederson's power play marker with 5:03 to go was the clincher for RINK. Ubrig scored again in Sunday's finale, with RINK taking wins of 4-1 on Saturday and 7-3 on Sunday.

"RINK is always a good team, and they're always at the top of the standings," said Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy 18U co-coach Jordan McTaggart. "We didn't get the outcomes we wanted, but there were stretches in each game where we were right there with them. If you don't play a 60-minute game against those top teams in the CSSHL, you're probably not going to like the outcome you get, and that's what we ran into this (past) weekend. The big focus is competing for 60 minutes."

The 16U team played two games on the weekend, battling North Shore Academy to 6-2 and 3-1 decisions on the weekend. The Academy's 14U team competed in the Pat Quinn Invitational in Coquitlam, British Columbia, playing four games - the North West Hawks picked up an 8-0 win on the tournament's opening day, and Shawnigan Lake School followed it with a 10-3 decision against Wenatchee. Alex Haglund scored two goals the following day in a 6-3 defeat to the Cariboo Cougars, but the Wild Hockey Academy finished the weekend on a high note by scoring the final three goals in a 7-4 game against the Greater Vancouver Canadians.

The 15O team returns to league competition this week against the Portland Jr. Winterhawks, while the 14U group returns to the ice for practice this weekend. The Wild 18U program played in Penticton on Thursday against Okanagan Hockey Academy, taking a 6-0 loss, but will face off with the Seattle Jr. Kraken on Saturday. The series with Seattle is not in doubt ahead of the best-of-three state playoff - Wenatchee has clinched home-ice advantage, with the winner going to the USA Hockey Pacific District tournament. The 16U team will be in Penticton for three games this weekend, taking part in their first CSSHL showcase of the season.