Iqaluit squad boasts speed, experience
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Jan 24/01) - The Baffin entry in next month's Polar Bear Plate hockey tournament in Rankin Inlet is serving notice they aren't coming on a sightseeing tour.
John Donovan coaches the Iqaluit entry into the junior 'C' event.
He says the rules of the tourney -- which allow each team to dress one 21-year-old and five midget-aged players -- is tailor made for Iqaluit.
"We wouldn't miss this tournament for the world," says Donovan. "Most of our midget players have become junior aged, so the junior program came along at a perfect time for us.
"This is a good program for Nunavut, especially for the midget players to be able to stay in the game and play junior hockey."
Iqaluit's entry is a squad that has played together for a number of years.
Donovan says most of the players are the same ones he brought to the inaugural event two years ago under the juvenile format.
The junior squad's players are spread out among teams in their home recreation league.
To get the team working well together, Donovan has been staging two-hour practices every Saturday evening this month.
Donovan says the Iqaluit team takes care of its own end of the ice first and relies on strong positional play.
"We play a standard break-out along the boards, nothing fancy.
"I expect my players to always skate hard and fore-check as much as they can.
"Our style does resemble the 'trap' in some areas, but we're not going to practise that. We have other things to work on."
Donovan says team speed, defence and goaltending are Iqaluit's strengths.
He says the Iqaluit squad is coming to Rankin Inlet with one thing in mind -- to take the Polar Bear Plate back to the Baffin.
