IQALUIT/RANKIN INLET
The Iqaluit Icemen will meet the Yellowknife First Air Flyers in the inaugural Northern Hockey Challenge (NHC) championship series this coming week.
Iqaluit defeated Rankin Inlet 6-3 on April 14 to claim the Eastern Division championship two games to one.
The Icemen took game one in the series by a 3-1 count, before Rankin stormed back with a 7-4 victory in game two to set the stage for this past Sunday's winner-take-all encounter.
There is no action in the NHC this week due to Iqaluit hosting its biggest community tournament of the year.
The Icemen will travel to Yellowknife to open the NHC championship series with the Flyers with games on April 26, 27 and 28.
Should games four and five be necessary, they will be played in Iqaluit on the May 3-5 weekend.
Hockey Nunavut's Mike Courtney has lived in every Kivalliq community except Arviat.
Courtney, who now calls Iqaluit home, attended all three playoff games on the weekend, as well as two round-robin games with Iqaluit vs. Repulse Bay and Kuujjuaq.
He said the overall level of play he saw in the NHC was very good.
"It was good to see that level of hockey, especially here in Iqaluit," said Courtney. "Basically, we have adult rec here and, when you put a different championship on the line with guys playing different teams, it brings more out of them."
Courtney said the first two games in the Eastern final were really quite intense, but strong goaltending tipped the balance in Iqaluit's favour in game three.
He said he's looking forward to Yellowknife and Iqaluit meeting in the final.
"Really, the only time these guys have ever met was at the big adult rec tournament Yellowknife hosts every year.
"Iqaluit is, of course, taking a stronger team to the NHC final than you would see during a tournament weekend.
"Players on both teams will bring a whole different intensity to this.
"If you win the NHC, you have bragging rights as the Northern champion, as opposed to the Yellowknife community tournament champion, or whatever."
