DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Hailing from Yellowknife, the Fuel Flo men's hockey team rolled over the competition during a weekend tournament in Fort Providence.

Fort Simpson's Nogha men's hockey team travelled to Fort Providence for their tournament from Feb. 12 to 14. In the back, from left, are Brandan Tuckey, Liam Hardisty, Darren Hardisty, Mark Gillis, Darwin Norwegian, Travis Hanna and Gerald Hardisty. In the front, from left, are Calen Hardisty, Sheldon McKay and Jeff Cholette. - photo courtesy of Shawna McLeod

The Aurora Ford Men's Hockey Tournament, which kicked off at the Fort Providence arena the evening of Feb. 12 and ran until Feb. 14, saw Fuel Flo go up against Fort Simpson's Nogha as well as the Fort Providence Bulls and a second Fort Providence team.

The final game saw Fuel Flo wallop Nogha 10-3 to claim first place.

Nogha team captain Darren Hardisty said he chalked up the loss to Fuel Flo's positioning and puck control.

"They are a really good team. Their players could move the puck well," he said.

It didn't help that Nogha was just coming out of a semi-final win against the Bulls and played back-to-back games for the semi-final and final.

"Everybody was on game, we skated hard and played well," Hardisty said.

Two semi-final games kicked off at 10 a.m. on Feb. 14. Fuel Flo was set to play against the second Fort Providence team but Fort Providence forfeited the match.

Meanwhile, Nogha finally got its chance to win against the Bulls, beating the hamlet's home team 4-2 in their semi-final game.

The semi-final win against the Bulls was a bit of a salve for Nogha.

"We're longtime rivals," Hardisty said.

"We've always played against them and they've always beaten us. This is the first time we've beaten them."

Leading up to the semis, teams played round-robin style games. Fuel Flo dominated their games and the Bulls came out strong as well. The Bulls came out on top in their round robin games against the second Fort Providence team as well as Nogha, beating the Simpson team 9-2, before losing to Fuel Flo 5-1.

Andre Bolduc, recreation co-ordinator for Fort Providence, said the tournament received community support as well as support from Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli.

Staff ran a canteen during the tournament.

"I thought it went really well. The teams had a great time, and community members seemed to really enjoy themselves," Bolduc said.

"A lot of people were out (to watch the games) that I don't see out too often."

Hardisty said the tournament marks the second one of the season for Nogha. The team has one game left this winter and are planning to hit Yellowknife in late march for that tournament.

The tournament was advertised as 18-plus and included a $2,500 prize for first place, a $1,200 prize for second place and a $600 prize for third place.