NorthWest Traders dominate at Lawrence Weenie Cup

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This year's Lawrence Weenie Cup belonged to Lou Gardiner and the NorthWest Traders.

The team was undefeated throughout regular play at the three-day tournament for players 35-plus, held March 25 to 27 at the Moosomin Multi-Purpose Arena, and continued its winnings ways right through the finals to clinch this year's championship.

The team was lead by Lou Gardiner, who was named tournament MVP for his part in the victory-the third time he's earned that honour in the last five years.

Gardiner's also been on the winning team for four of those years. His one loss came last year when his team was defeated in the semi-finals by the eventual tournament champions.

The NorthWest Traders won every one of their matchups during this year's tournament, but had a bad scare in their game against the Border Chiefs.

"Onion Lake had a 3-0 lead after the first," said Gardiner. "We came back to win it 5-3. We tired them right out. It was a good game."

The Traders knocked off Little Pine Cree, Regina Urban Tribe, Onion Lake Border Chiefs and eventually the Sounding Sky Legends in the final.

The Legends started off the tournament with two wins, but hit a roadblock in form of the Border Chiefs in the third game of the tournament.

The Legends were bounced to the B-side and had to win the rest of the way to make it to the finals. They downed the Big River Dream Team and the Regina Urban Tribe, and even took the rematch against the Border Chiefs, earning them a spot in the final.

The final game was played in two 20-minute periods of stop time.

The opening frame of the match was an even tilt, and it wasn't until the final 22 seconds of the period that the NorthWest Traders opened the scoring with a goal by Randy Dorion off a set- up by Craig Aubichon.

The Legends came out fighting in the second looking for the game-tying goal. They found it 7:23 into the final period when a blast from the point found its way to the back of the net. Lester Ledoux was credited with the goal, while Barry Ledoux and Fabian Cardinal picked up the assists.

The Traders didn't want regulation to end in a tie and with only 2:44 remaining they got their wish.

Bingo Kimbley charged the net, while Gardiner sent a pass to the crease from the side boards.

Kimbley just needed to get his stick on the puck for the goal, and he did just that. Darrel Burnoff had the second assist on the game-winning goal.

The Traders sealed the deal with an empty net goal by Ferris Newell in the dying seconds, giving the team a 3-1 victory over the Legends.

Goaltender Gary Parada kept the Legends' hopes alive in the final, stopping almost everything that came his way.

"Their goalie had a good game," said Gardiner. "He kept them in the game and almost won it for them."

The game was a physical contest with several near scraps and each team picking up six minor penalties.

At the end of the game, the tournament awards were handed out. It was no surprise to hear Gardiner announced as the most valuable player of the tournament.

The top defenceman was the Traders' Adrian Daigneault, while Parada was named the top netminder. Barry Ledoux and Vern Horner were also named all-stars for their performance throughout the tournament.

The tournament is held in memory of the late Lawrence Weenie, who dedicated much of his life to encouraging Aboriginal youth to get involved in sports. Weenie also served as announcer at a variety of sporting events, was known as "The Voice of Indian Hockey."