KIVALLIQ/HAY RIVER
A thrilling hockey story unravelled in the Western Division of the Northern Hockey Challenge (NHC) this past weekend, while Mother Nature continued to wreak havoc in the East.
The Yellowknife First Air Flyers captured the Western Division crown three games to two in Game 5 with a heart-pumping 2-1 overtime victory in front of a raucous crowd in Hay River.
The Hay River Huskies fell behind two games to zero in Yellowknife before taking game three and moving the series back to Hay River.
Game 4 saw the Huskies trailing 3-0 entering the third period and then battling back for a 5-4 overtime win to force the Game 5 showdown.
Yellowknife is set to host its NHC championship games on the April 26-28 weekend, but will have to wait another four or five days to know who they're playing from the Eastern Division.
The first two games of the Eastern Final had to be cancelled due to poor weather conditions this past Friday, forcing the two teams to meet now in a best two-of-three in Iqaluit this coming weekend.
Rankin captain Pujjuut Kusugak said the weather problems in the East have made it difficult for some players to travel due to their priorities shifting towards hunting, Ski-Doo racing and family commitments.
He said that hasn't, however, dulled any of the players' enthusiasm for wanting to win the NHC title.
"The players have really enjoyed being a part of the NHC and they want to win it," said Kusugak.
"There's a good rivalry between Rankin and Iqaluit and neither side likes to lose.
"We all hope the NHC survives and goes forward, but this might be the only one that ever happens.
"So, to be able to say we were the team that won it would be a lot of pride for our players, team and community."
Kusugak said should Rankin get past Iqaluit, it would be exciting to face Yellowknife in the final.
He said he would expect the excitement level to be very high in any community hosting the final games.
"You hear great stories about when Yellowknife used to come to Rankin and our teams used to go there as, kind of, all-star teams.
"The hockey used to be pretty good back then, too, so it's kind of nice to be able to think about that.
"But we have to take one step at a time, and we have to get past Iqaluit before we think about Yellowknife."
