It's tournament time
Peewees drop the puck in Rankin this weekend
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, January 28, 2015
RANKIN INLET
Tournament season officially gets underway in Rankin Inlet when eight teams vie for the Powerful Peewees title this coming weekend, Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.
Iqaluit's Quintien Issaluk accepts the Most Valuable Player award from Rankin rec co-ordinator David Clark at the Powerful Peewees hockey championship in Rankin Inlet last year. The Blizzard will return to Rankin to defend their Powerful Peewees title this coming weekend. - NNSL file photo |
The Iqaluit Blizzard is returning to defend its 2014 title, while, for the first time ever, the tournament will feature both an all-female squad and an atom A team.
Organizer David Clark said if all goes according to plan, the event will feature three Rankin teams, Iqaluit, Baker Lake, Arviat, a combined Repulse Bay and Chesterfield Inlet squad, and a combined Coral Harbour and Whale Cove entry.
He said the Powerful Peewees has produced a number of big moments in the past, including a year when a Winnipeg team competed and three years when the final game went into overtime.
"It was pretty cool the year Winnipeg was here, and it's always exciting for the fans when Iqaluit comes, but, mainly, this is a good regional event for the kids," said Clark.
"It's pretty neat to have an all-girl's team this year, and the atom A team is using the tournament as a way to get some good practice in for the upcoming Munn Cup in Thompson, Man.
"We're able to do this now, with bodychecking removed from peewee hockey, and we're also doing something a little different this year by having two pools.
"The top teams will play off in one pool and the bottom four in the other, with the hope it will benefit all the teams by making a lot more of the games mean something."
Clark said the Powerful Peewees is a big event for the young players.
He said the local players are pumped to be playing a tournament in their hometown, while, for many of the regional young players, this is the only tournament they get to compete in all season.
"We had a bit of controversy with some of the Iqaluit parents this past year, but, for the most part, we do a good job hosting in Rankin.
"The communities and the parents in the region are grateful for the tournaments we host, and how well they're organized for the kids.
"We book the airfares for the kids coming from the smaller communities and do what we can to help them cut down on their travel costs.
"Rankin leads our region in hosting hockey events and the community is always very supportive of them."
Clark said the young players love getting to play a big game in front of a large, loud crowd in Rankin.
He said he remembers how exciting the experience was for him when he was a minor hockey player.
"I'd be counting down the days all winter until our tournament. It's pretty exciting, that feeling you have as a kid, when you have trouble sleeping because you can't wait for the tournament to come.
"I still remember it well and, I'm sure, the kids today feel the same way.
"Some of these kids will be playing on our regional teams a few years down the road, and they'll have known each other since their atom and peewee days through these events."
