All Nations’ rink action a treat for devoted fans

Curtis Cardinal’s decision to form an all-Native men’s hockey team in Hazelton this past December has already paid off.

The first-year team, known as the Hazelton Wolverines, captured top honors in the men’s all status division at the Lumber Kings Sports Club All Nations Hockey Tournament.

The event, which attracted 28 teams, was staged April 9 to 11 in Prince George.

Besides serving as the coach and manager, Cardinal also played for the Wolverines. His squad defeated the Nakazdli Chiefs from Fort St. James 7-4 in the championship final. The Wolverines were awarded $2,500 in prize money for winning their division.

“I knew we had a good team,” said Cardinal, who netted a hat trick in the championship final. “The team I had assembled was pretty good.”

The Wolverines’ 20-player roster included 10 individuals from Hazelton. The club also featured six players from Williams Lake. And the squad was rounded out by two players from Prince George as well as one from Columbia Lake and another from Fort St. James.

“I figured we had the right guys,” Cardinal said of his tournament roster, which featured some key out-of-town performers.

One of the Wolverines’ players from Prince George was Dylan Willick, who spent this past season with the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers.

By winning the championship final, the Wolverines were able to avenge their lone round-robin loss in the tournament. The Chiefs had downed the Hazelton side 5-1 earlier in the tourney.

The Wolverines, however, won their two other round-robin contests. They blanked a Saskatchewan-based midget boys’ side 7-0. And it doubled a Moberly Lake club 12-6.

Hazelton then beat the Moberly Lake entry 7-5 in a semi-final match, earning a berth in the championship final.

The men’s all status category attracted just four entrants. The tournament also featured a five-squad women’s division. There were also seven teams participating in the oldtimers (35 and over) grouping. And 12 clubs competed in the men’s C division.

The event has been held annually since 1985. As a result, it has become one of the longest-running Aboriginal hockey tournaments in the country.

Tournament chairman Harley Chingee was pleased at how evenly matched the majority of the teams were.

”There was a total of 54 games played,” he said. “And 17 of them went into overtime.”

That included two of the championship games. The Prince George Beavers captured the women’s title, with a 3-2 OT victory over the Northwest Lightning, a squad from Houston, B.C.

And a club named the Blueberry Blackhawks eked out a 7-6 overtime triumph over the Fort St. James Chiefs to take home the oldtimers crown.

Meanwhile, in the C Division final, a Prince George-based squad known as Kyle Inc., blanked the Nakazdli Junior Chiefs 7-0.

“There was parity in every division,” Chingee added. “There were no real blowouts. That’s good for the fans, but not good for me as it puts everything behind schedule. But that was OK.”

Chingee said he was also impressed with the calibre of play at this year’s tournament. And he had special praise for those who participated in the women’s category.

“The skill was a little improved this year compared to last year,” he said. “And I thought the women’s division was rather skilled this year.”

Chingee estimated there were between 1,200 and 1,500 spectators that showed up each day during the tournament. Matches were held at the Kin Centre, which includes three ice pads, as well as at the CN Centre, home of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars.

“The economy sort of tanked and (our attendance figures) have been down the last few years,” Chingee  said.

He added the three-day tournament attracted about 14,000 fans in both 2004 and ’05. And he’s confident the event can once again attract that sort of number, when the economic situation improves.”There’s a lot of interest in this tournament,” he said.