Border Chiefs take the cup in old-timers' competition

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For the first time ever, Lou Gardiner watched the final game of the Lawrence Weenie Cup Native old-timers' hockey tournament from the stands.

Gardiner, who had won the tournament in each of its first three years, had his hopes for a fourth LWC title dashed when his Ile-a-la-Crosse team was upset in the B-side quarterfinals by the Regina Urban Tribe. Regina in turn fell to the Onion Lake Border Chiefs 6-2 in the tournament final, which took place March 28 in North Battleford.

For the Chiefs, victory was sweet.

"We lost last year in the final in a shootout, so we came here this year to do some business," Onion Lake centre Sandy Chocan said. "I think we did it.

"We lost in the final in the last couple of tournaments we've been in in, so it's good to win this one finally."

After falling behind on an early Regina goal by Ron McNab, the Border Chiefs awoke with a pair of strikes to take a 2-1 lead before the end of the first period. (The teams played two 25-minute periods of straight time).

"We came out flat the first few minutes, but we knew if we kept plugging away we'd finally get to them," Chocan said.

Fitz Chief tallied on a big one-timer seven minutes into the opening period following a feed from Chocan, who was parked behind the Regina net. Three minutes later Dunlop Muskego converted on a feed from Sandy Muskego and David Fiddler.

Thanks to some stellar netminding from goalie Milt Tootoosis, the Urban Tribe hung in tough for a time. They even entertained some thoughts of an upset when Derek Favel knotted the contest a minute into the second period.

But as the tournament's B-side qualifiers, the war-weary Tribe simply didn't have enough fuel left in the tank. Calvin Merasty restored the Chiefs' lead 10 minutes into the second period, and the line of Sandy Chocan, Fitz Chief and Barry MacDonald effectively did the rest.

Barry MacDonald took a Claude Friday feed in full stride at the Regina blueline with 7:49 to play, and he beat the last man back. The defender dove in a valiant attempt to knock the puck away, but MacDonald stepped around him, then outwaited Tootoosis and beat the Tribe goalie with a quick wrist shot high to the glovehand side.

Three minutes after that MacDonald notched his second of the game when he streaked in down the off-wing, cut to the middle and fired one high over Tootoosis' blocker. Howard Cook added an empty-net goal as time wound down.

MacDonald's heroics throughout the weekend earned him the most valuable player of the tournament honours, while Onion Lake goalie Calvin Chocan was deemed the top goalie. Fitz Chief was named an

all-star at forward, along with Regina's Mike Ball. Duke Greyeyes of Sounding Sky was the top defenceman.

Despite his team's loss, Regina winger Mike Ball said he was proud of the effort the Tribe had put forth. In fact, only one team was better than them all weekend. Regina lost its opener to Onion Lake as well.

"We had a long road to get back (to the final)," Ball said. "We had to play four almost back-to-back games on Saturday to climb our way here, and then two more games today just to get into the final. It was a lot of hockey, and it took a lot of heart to get here."

Held in conjunction with the Battlefords Indian-Metis Friendship Centre's All-Native Senior Hockey Tournament, the Lawrence Weenie Cup old-timers tourney drew 10 teams to the Battlefords this year. The tournament is named in honour of the late Lawrence Weenie, the legendary sports broadcaster from Poundmaker First Nation. Weenie passed away four years ago from cancer.

"He was an all-around sportsman, right up until just before he died," noted Urban Tribe goalie Milt Tootoosis, who is Weenie's son and the tournament's main organizer. "He was very active, in both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community."

Weenie was inducted into the FSIN Sports Hall of Fame as a builder in 1997.