LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Fort Simpson was at the centre of women's hockey action over the weekend as the Moosehide Mammas hosted the annual Chicks with Sticks Tournament.

Three teams including the Mammas, the Hay River Hazard and the Fort Smith Fury competed in the tournament from Feb. 6 to 7. Fort Smith skated away with first place after a close final against Hay River.

The Moosehide Mammas' Kelley Andrews-Klein, left, tries to keep the puck away from the Hay River Hazard's Myriam Lachance during a round robin game in the Chicks with Sticks Tournament. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Hay River put the first puck into the net as Brenda Biggar scored more than half-way through the first period, of the two-period match up. Fort Smith came back to take the lead with goals from Jessica Cox and Helen Lefebvre.

Minutes into the second period Fort Smith's Venessa Cochrane expanded the Furys lead to two goals which would go on to stand as the game winner.

Hay River's Olga Aviugana managed to bring the Hazard closer in the dying minutes of the second but it would stand as the last goal of the game.

The Fort Smith Fury came away with a 3-2 victory and a perfect five-game record.

The Fury's first place finish was a team effort, said Jessica Cox, the Fury's captain.

"Both of our lines were responsible for all three points," she said.

During the game the Fury moved the puck really well and the offence put good pressure on the Hay River defence, said Cox.

"It was a close game, right down to the wire," she said.

Despite the competition the two teams had good camaraderie on the ice, said Cox who won the top scorer award for the tournament.

"It was excellent, a lot of fun," said Cox about the overall event.

"The Fort Simpson women did an outstanding job of organizing a fun tournament for women in the NWT."

The Hay River Hazard players put a lot of hard work and tenacity into the final, said Karen Rowe, the team's captain.

"We tried to be aggressive on the boards," she said.

The Hazards also focused on passing during the game making sure the puck got to the right players. Rowe singled out the team's goalie Atikin Hehn, a 14-year-old from Fort Smith, for special praise."She just played a stand-up game and we're so happy to have her," Rowe said.

Hehn received the top goalie award for the tournament. Most sportsmanlike awards were given to the Fury's Beverly Schaefer and Claudette James and the Moosehide Mammas' Laurie Ozmun.

The tournament was a success, said Brenda Moreau, the president of the Moosehide Mammas.

"(There was) good team spirit from all three teams, great camaraderie and overall just great hockey," Moreau said.

The Mammas came in third at the tournament. Their closest game was in the semi-finals where two goals by Sydney Larocque-Rowe put the team in the lead 2-1 in the first period over Hay River. The Hazards came back in the second to win the game 8-2.

"We came out strong and Hay River came out stronger," said Moreau.

"We fought hard in the first period."

Down to nine players in the semi-finals from their original 11 the Mammas ran out of energy in the second period, Moreau said.

"We gained a lot of new players this year and it was during this tournament we saw our practices and what we gained in those practices come into effect."

The Moosehide Mammas will use the lessons learned over the weekend to prepare during the next month for the Hay River tournament that is being held in early March, said Moreau.