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INUVIK
Tying goals with minutes left and the championship Novice II game ending with a winning goal two seconds before the buzzer sounded – these were the moments that made up the exciting 11th annual Gwich'in Cup this past weekend in Inuvik.

Inuvik Grizzlies' Isaiah English, left, and Aklavik's Philip Elanik fight for the puck at a peewee game on Friday night at the Midnight Sun Complex's Roy "Sugloo" Ipana Memorial Arena. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

"I'd have to say overtime in the semi-finals was the most exciting part," said Dylan Charlton of Inuvik's Grizzlies, the Peewee team which ended up continuing on to the finals where it lost to Inuvik Thunder 5-3.

"We went into triple overtime, winning in the end," he said.

"It was also really cool seeing all the kids come in (from the region)."

Two hundred youth were registered for the Gwich'in Cup this year. The tournament began on Thursday afternoon and ran until about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, with a medal ceremony and banquet to finish the weekend off.

Conrad Baetz, one of the organizers of the tournament, said all the close games became a theme for the weekend.

"There were not as many real blowouts or lopsided scores. A lot of the games were really close, really hard-fought. A winning goal scored with two seconds left that won them the trophy, tying goals with minutes left – that kind of stuff. That's exciting hockey," he said.

"That's what we like to see, the kids are having fun, they're working hard, they're trying hard. That's what it's all about."

Teams were created for the tournament, with communities not having the stress of finding enough youths to make a complete roster. Organizers would make teams and add more players onto the rosters, forming a melting pot of players from different communities, so every player would have a place on a team and a chance to shine on the ice.

"I think that's one of the differences in how we run our tournament and it's one of the key things in running a tournament in the North. That way, it includes everybody in the region. No communities are left out because they don't have enough for a team," said Baetz.

"That's what this is all about, trying to make it so that the kids can come and play in an environment like this. They love it, you can see it."

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