Saskatchewan teams use home province advantage to win gold medals

Home ice proved to be advantageous for both Saskatchewan clubs at this year’s National Aboriginal Hockey Championships as both squads captured gold medals.

For the boys’ side, this marked the fourth straight year winning the gold medal at the NAHC, which has been held annually since 2001.

The club, however, required a bit of overtime in its championship match before it was able to celebrate another crown. Saskatchewan edged Quebec-based Eastern Door and the North 4-3 in its gold-medal battle.
Meanwhile, this marked the first time Saskatchewan girls’ club won the NAHC title. The girls defeated EDN 7-3 in the championship match.

Courage Bear, who was manager for both of the Saskatchewan teams, believes the clubs were successful in large part because of what they did before the tournament even began.

“We spent a lot of time preparing them,” Bear said.

Before selecting players for their rosters, both teams staged various player identification camps throughout the province. And then, both of the Saskatchewan teams competed in three exhibition contests prior to the national tournament.

“That really helps in our preparations,” Bear said, adding it is beneficial to have players gel and bond before they compete at the Canadian championships.

Earlier this year it appeared the NAHC might not be held in 2011 as extended deadlines came and went and no group had stepped forward to host the national tournament.

But then, in mid-January, the Saskatoon Tribal Council, which was keen to host the 2012 tournament, agreed to also organize this year’s event.

“At the end of the day, we decided to have the event for the kids,” said tournament organizer Mark Arcand.

This year’s tournament attracted seven teams in the boys division and six in the girls category. In previous years, the event has featured up to 10 clubs in each grouping.
Arcand though was pleased with the number of teams that showed up with relatively short notice.

“I was very happy with all the comments we heard,” he said. “The teams that were there were all very impressed we were able to do everything in two and a half months. It was very good to hear that.”

Besides host Saskatchewan and EDN, the boys division included teams from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and the Northwest Territories.

Of these entrants, Ontario was the only one that did not also ice a girls squad.

The Saskatchewan boys team was able to celebrate another title thanks to Damien Kulynych. The left winger scored about seven minutes into OT in the final.
Bear said it was a total team effort that contributed to the victory.

 “We had four lines and everybody contributed,” he said.
Saskatchewan’s 24-player roster included 10 individuals who had previously represented the province at the NAHC.

As for the Saskatchewan girls team, of the 23 players in the line-up, 15 had prior NAHC experience.

“Some girls had played for us for four or five years,” Bear said. “It was nice for them to win.”

The tournament wrapped up Apr. 30.

Though the 2012 event is almost a year away, Arcand said organizers are already working on possible changes.
For instance, tournament officials are contemplating whether to include all-star competitions and games. No all-star festivities have been held at previous NAHC.

“It’s a pretty hectic week for the kids,” Arcand said. “Maybe after the round-robin we can have a fun day for them (with all-star events).”

Photo Caption:

The Saskatchewan girls won their first gold medal ever in the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships defeating Quebec-based Eastern Door and the North 7-3 in the final game. The games were played in Saskatoon.

The boys marked their fourth straight year winning the gold medal at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, in an overtime victory against Quebec-based Eastern Door and the North 4-3.