INUVIK - Fifteen Inuvik bantam hockey players went on a golden excursion to Edmonton on April 2 and 3.

They finished atop their division at the SWAT tournament in Alberta's capital.

Samuel Hearne student Allison McDonald's, in her first year playing bantam hockey, said her team's winning performance at the event was the highlight of her year.

Three girls and 12 boys from ages 13 to 15 not only took their skills to the ice, they went on a road trip they won't soon forget, which has become an annual tradition.

"Minor hockey has been going down to tournaments in Edmonton and Yellowknife and Whitehorse for a number of years now just because there's not a lot of teams that play here," said Peter Clarkson.

He filled in as the team's coach for the trip as their usual coach Brian Drake couldn't make it.

It's also one of the few times each year the kids get to go shopping and hang out in the big city.

West Edmonton Mall was a popular stop.

"We did a little bit of shopping. We kind of just did our own thing - we went to Galaxy Land and we went to the water park in West Ed," said McDonald, who grew more excited as she recounted the experience.

"We were lucky, we had a tournament before - the peewee tournament - so we took the kids snowboarding and skiing and then had the bantam tournament," Clarkson said. "It's just a really good opportunity to get out over spring break and do a few things."

The time on the ice playing a variety of teams also helped the skill level of the Inuvik team, and Clarkson said he could see improvement over the course of the tournament. For example, Inuvik toppled a team in the finals that had defeated them in round-robin play.

"They had beat us in our second game, 10-3, but we beat them on the finals 8-4," McDonald said, adding that the Inuvik squad comprises a group of tight-knit Samuel Hearne High School students who had a great time - despite one casualty.

"One of the guys broke his collarbone the day before they were supposed to leave (for the tournament)," Clarkson said, adding that the player came for the trip but obviously could not play.

The tournament brought the team's season to a close.

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