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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - The hockey action was hot as women took to the ice for the Moosehide Mammas' Chicks with Sticks tournament in Fort Simpson over the weekend.

The heat, which came not only from the calibre of the competition, but also from rising outdoor temperatures, brought about an early end to the tournament. The ice in the arena lasted through the round robin play on Jan. 17 as temperatures rose to 12 C, but deteriorated to a point where the finals on Sunday had to be cancelled.

Kim Schlosser brings the puck up the ice for the Moosehide Mammas Q while Pam Olafson of Moosehide Mammas C follows close behind during the opening game of the Chicks with Sticks tournament. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Having won the round robin, the Hay River Hazards were named the tournament champions. The Hazards went 3-0 in the round robin play. The Moosehide Mammas C team took second with a record of one win, one tie and one loss. Third place went to the Fort Smith Fury followed by the Moosehide Mammas Q team in fourth.

The melting ice added an extra challenge to the games.

The soft ice was harder to push on and prevented skates from gliding as far as usual, said Shari Olsen, a defense player for the Fort Smith Fury.

The ice surface was also sticky, which stopped the puck from moving as far, said Olsen.

"It was a challenge to play the teams and to play the ice," she said.

Despite the ice conditions the tournament was fun and the Moosehide Mammas were great hosts, said Olsen.

Without the concrete pad under the ice, which is new this season, the tournament would have been a lot shorter, said Owen Rowe, one of the Moosehide Mammas' coaches.

"Thank goodness we had concrete in the arena or we would have lost it (the ice) and not had a tournament," Rowe said.

A warm spell of this duration, over three days, would have melted most of the ice when the arena had its original sand base, he said.

"The rec staff should be commended. They did a great job just to get the round robin finished on Saturday," said Rowe.

Even the shortened tournament was long enough to show the Moosehide Mammas have come a long way.

Twenty-five women registered for the team this year. The village can now field two complete teams with even levels of talent, said Rowe.

During the tournament the new players demonstrated how much they've learned, especially about positioning, he said. When they started at the beginning of the season a lot of the women said they couldn't play but now they realize they can, said Rowe.

For Rowe the best game of the tournament was on Saturday when the two Moosehide Mammas teams went head to head for a second time. The goals moved back and forth between the two teams finishing in a 4-4 tie.

Having two teams this year was great, said Susie Hanna, who played for the Moosehide Mammas Q team.

All the players really enjoyed themselves, especially the new Mammas who were excited about their first games, she said.

"Everyone did really good. I'm really proud of them," Hanna said.