Rankin claims championship
Edges Naujaat 108 in senior championship game
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, February 4, 2015
ARVIAT
Rankin Inlet defeated Repulse Bay (Naujaat) 10-8 in a wild-and-woolly affair to claim the Jon Lindell Memorial (JLM) Calm Air Cup senior men's championship in Arviat from Jan. 22 to 25.
Wendel Kaludjak of Rankin Inlet accepts the Best Forward award from Nancy KaretakLindell at the Jon Lindell Memorial Calm Air Cup in Arviat this past month. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo |
The Arviat Stars, who saw their bid for a three-peat dashed by Rankin in the semifinal, defeated the Karetakers to claim bronze.
Whale Cove and the Arviat Jets, Wolves and Bruins also competed at the event.
Head organizer Gleason Uppahuak said, competitively, this was the best JLM to date.
He said the crowds were large and the arena loud during the weekend. Uppahuak said the competitiveness of this year's tournament showed teams are starting to see the memorial cup as an important event in regional hockey.
He said that's a good sign for the tournament going forward.
"There were a number of very exciting games, and playoff positions came right down to the final round-robin game between the Karetakers and Bruins.
"The Bruins won the game in overtime, but they were leading with less than a minute left.
"If they had held on, and the Karetakers not tied it in the final 30 seconds, there would have been a three-way tie in that division.
"There were only two mercies in the whole tournament, so that shows this year's JLM was very competitive."
Uppahuak, who also coached the Stars, said he was disappointed the team couldn't pull off the three-peat, but not overly surprised.
He said he knew the Stars were in tough to take this year's title when he saw the rosters of the other teams, especially Naujaat and Rankin.
"We entered the third period of our semifinal against Rankin tied 2-2 and we had our chances, but Rankin's goalie (James Merritt) stoned us from there on.
"He deserved to be named the top goalie this year.
"I congratulate Rankin on their win and thank all the teams for coming, Sila Rainbow for helping with the raffle and the Arviat recreation department for all its hard work.
"I also thank all our sponsors; Padlai Co-op, the Northern store, Eskimo Point Lumber Supply, Arctic Connections and, our main sponsor, Calm Air."
