Two Okanagan BC Hockey League (BCHL) players have been honoured with a $2,000 scholarship to attend a Canadian post-secondary school.
Ayden Third of the Vernon Vipers and Nic Porchetta of the West Kelowna Warriors are two of five BCHL players selected.
Part of the BCHL Scholarship program, it is designed to provide graduating players with financial support to use in the next step of their hockey and academic careers.
The winners were selected based on their academic track record, their stated future career, education goals and time spent in the league.
Porchetta will be attending Vancouver Island University next year. Born in Powell River, the five-foot-nine centreman played portions of five seasons with his hometown Kings, before a late season trade to West Kelowna last year.
In 153 BCHL games, Porchetta registered 29 goals, 33 assists for 62 points.
Third will head to Saskatchewan in September, to take classes at the University of Regina. The native of Regina played three seasons with the Vipers, registering 21 points in 120 games. The defenceman was also the recipient of the Kyle Turris Community Award in July.
“Education has always been a key focus for our league and this scholarship program is a great way to reward our athletes that excel in the classroom, while giving them the financial support needed to continue playing hockey at a Canadian post-secondary school,” said BCHL commissioner Steven Cocker. “Thank you to our Founding Partners at Rogers together with Shaw for supporting this initiative the past four seasons.”
The other three players selected for scholarships were Jordan Fairlie (Prince George Spruce Kings), Jordan Hendry (Trail Smoke Eaters) and Dylan Hewlett (Powell River Kings).
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