James McCarthy
Northern News Services
Published Friday, December 19, 2008

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Men's hockey teams from the NWT and northern Alberta are ready to hit the ice tonight for the start of the sixth annual First Nations Cup at the Multiplex.

Billed as the largest aboriginal hockey tournament north of 60, 17 squads will battle for titles in the seniors and masters divisions.

Inuvik was the dominant community last year as Inuvik Northwind took the senior A title, defeating the Diavik Chiefs. Meanwhile Inuvik Black won the masters division by beating the Kingland Ford Rebels in the title game.

Tournament co-ordinator Barrett Lenoir said the organizers are expecting another big event this year.

"We'll have games from Friday evening through Sunday evening," he said. "The finals will be played

around 7 p.m. Sunday."

Included with the tournament is a truck giveaway, where three people will have a chance to shoot from centre ice and score a goal.

There will be another bonus in the return of a well-known former National Hockey League player.

"Gino Odjick will be up here once again," Lenoir said. "It's the second time he'll be here for the tournament."

Odjick - who played 12 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders - will be signing autographs at the Multiplex on Dec. 20 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Tournament player Jonas Sangris will be back on the ice as part of the NCVI Chiefs, formerly the Diavik Chiefs. He said they'll be out looking for a bit of revenge.

"We got to give those guys from Inuvik a licking this year," he said with a laugh.

Sangris' son, Kirk, won't be playing because of age restrictions; all players must be 18 or over.

Jonas Sangris would like to see the tournament move towards a younger base.

"This should be a showcase for our younger First Nations players," he said. "Everyone who wants to play should have the chance to do so, no matter what age. Maybe if they brought the age down to 15 or something like that, it would be better."

NCVI will also be without the services of Derek Sangris, who just began a new job and can't get time off to participate this year.