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ARVIAT/IQALUIT
Team Iqaluit cruised to the championship banner at the Nunavut Territorial Midget Hockey Championship in Arviat earlier this month.

Iqaluit mercied the combined Panniqtuuq-Arctic Bay team in the championship game, putting an exclamation point to a perfect 5-0 record that saw the team win four games by the mercy rule.

Arviat downed Rankin Inlet in the second of their two hard-fought battles to claim bronze at the event.

Also competing were Baker Lake, a combined team of Kugluktuk-Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour and a combined Whale Cove-Gjoa Haven team.

Iqaluit head coach Todd Gardner said he was a little disappointed there wasn't more legitimate competition for his team at the territorial.

He said even though the Iqaluit squad has been together for quite some time, and the coaches knew it was a strong team, they still expected to face stiffer competition than they did.

"We thought we'd have some closer games, but that's the way it goes sometimes," said Gardner.

"Our guys were all pumped for it going in there and that showed on the ice."

Gardner said he was originally a little skeptical of the territorial being held in smaller communities, but he now supports the move.

He said it's great for a community like Arviat to be able to treat their fans to a major event.

"Any community can do it and I'd rather see these events being held in smaller communities.

"You always see these tournaments being held in Iqaluit or Rankin, with the smaller communities always seeming to be left out.

"Arviat put on a fantastic tournament and the guys there did a great job."

Iqaluit still has Toonik Tyme and, at least, one more tournament to look forward to.

In Arviat, the Baffin squad and Rankin were plainly above the other teams when it came to the bodychecking aspect of the game.

Gardner said body contact is started at the peewee level in both Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet.

He said while he can't speak for other communities, it isn't formerly introduced until bantam in Iqaluit and, by the time the players reach the midget age, they know how to both take, and receive, a bodycheck.

"My players have been using body contact since peewee, mainly because a lot of them continue on to the Arctic Winter Games and some go south to play where

there is body contact.

"So, to take it away would be setting up for a disaster with guys getting hurt later on.

"Coaches need to understand you have to teach these kids the proper way to give, and take, a hit, and that should start at peewee.

"Whether you want to do it in your inter-squad games, or whatnot, that's up to the coaches, but you definitely have to start teaching it at the peewee level and then introduce it for all your games in bantam."

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