Avataq Cup goes to Coral
Thrilling final ends championship's 15-year run in great fashion
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
RANKIN INLET
The Coral Harbour Islanders held off a furious attempt at last-minute heroics by the Rankin Miners to take a thrilling final game 5-4 and claim their first Avataq Cup First Air senior mens hockey championship in Rankin Inlet earlier this month.
Coral Harbour's Mathew Angootealuk, left, Kevin Angootealuk and John Eetuk accept the Avataq Cup from tournament commissioner Hamish Tatty in Rankin Inlet earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Noel Kaludjak |
Coral received a stellar performance from goalie Joe Nakoolak Bruce, who made a number of spectacular saves in the first and third periods.
The Chiefs defeated the Iceholes to claim bronze at the event.
Also competing were Naujaat, Arviat, Whale Cove, Chesterfield Inlet, The Sea Dogs and Team Todd.
The event ran March 9 to 13, marking the last time it will be called the Avataq Cup. This ends a 15-year run for the name.
The tournament will start fresh as the Terence Tootoo Memorial senior mens championship in 2017.
Attendance was high throughout the five-day event, with playoff Sunday being a complete sellout.
Forward John Eetuk, a veteran of 11 Avataq tournaments, was one of the leaders on the Coral team.
Eetuk said the Avataq Cup is always a fun tournament that's full of action and great hockey.
He said the Coral players began to sense this could be their year during their first game against Whale Cove.
"We had a bad start and a couple of tough periods against Whale but, in the third period, we really started clicking," said Eetuk.
"When we handled a high-calibre team like that 7-1, we knew we could play with any team.
"I didn't care who we played in the semifinal, so it didn't matter to me who won the quarter-final between the Iceholes and Naujaat.
"We didn't really think they had much of a chance, so we were smiling a little bit when the Iceholes upset Naujaat."
Eetuk said the Coral players were confident going into the final against the Miners.
He said that confidence grew as they got off to an early lead in the first period.
"We knew something good might happen once we took that 3-0 lead, so we just kept playing with confidence and things went our way.
"There was no panic on the bench when Pujjuut Kusugak scored with six seconds left to make it 5-4 but there might have been a bit when I iced the puck with two seconds left.
"It surprised me how many people were cheering for us in the final. We knew we had quite a few fans from Coral but I wasn't expecting so many fans cheering for us that it felt like we were the home team."
Eetuk said having confidence in every line made a big difference for Coral.
He said it didn't matter if it was five-on-five, a power play or a penalty kill, the Coral players trusted each other and just kept rolling their lines.
"The other teams will be gunning for us next year. We have a lot of young guys on our squad, so I expect pretty much the same team will be back.
"But there will be a lot of pressure on Coral next year, for sure."
Committee member Andrew Simms organized his first Avataq Cup this year.
Simms said putting the event together was everything he thought it would be and more.
He said a number of unexpected incidents put even more pressure on the committee.
"Putting on a tournament this size can be kind of baffling because there's so many things to be done that you didn't even think of going in," said Simms.
"I wasn't sure what to expect or what to do, so I kind of just went with the flow and dealt with things as they happened.
"It all worked out though, and we had an amazing final game you just couldn't take your eyes off."
Joining Simms on the committee were Hamish Tatty (commissioner), Troy Aksalnik, Chad Taipana, James Merritt and Norman Okalik.
Simms said everyone had different responsibilities during the event.
He said every effort made a big difference and was really appreciated.
"The tournament went great on the ice. Team Todd had the best team they've ever iced at the Avataq, and a couple of teams were underestimated, especially the Iceholes, who made the playoffs and then eliminated Naujaat in the quarter-final, and Coral Harbour, who nobody thought was in the top three and they won the whole thing.
"Having no Iqaluit team this year didn't really impact the tournament that much, except maybe helping the Iceholes sneak into the bronze-medal game.
"But we certainly hope they come back next year because you want as many top teams in the tournament as you can get."
