Comic serious about winning

Page 25

Don Burnstick may be a funny guy, but his Redskins are no joke.

The popular entertainer's Redskins hockey team captured the Native Stanley Cup on their very first try, blanking the Beardy's Blackhawks 2-0 in the final game of the Battlefords Indian-Metis Friendship Centre All-Native Hockey Tournament.

The 40th annual tournament took place March 26 to 28 in North Battleford, Sask. with the final played before a crowd of 1,700-plus fans.

Kenny Thomas and Jerry Cunningham scored the only goals of the final, which was one of the most exciting matches of this year's tournament. Thomas' marker came just four minutes into the contest, and it held up until Cunningham was able to provide insurance early in the third.

The Redskins took home $12,000 for their victory, while Beardy's settled for an $8,000 payday. Third-place Poundmaker, which lost to Beardy's in the B-event final, received $5,000.

Both goalies in the final game played superbly, with Steve Wagner just barely out-dueling Beardy's Adam Gardipy. Gardipy was injured early in the third period when a Beardy's player crashed through the crease and wiped him out in the process. But after a few tense minutes and a careful examination by the Blackhawks trainer, he declared himself fit to play.

The collision left Gardipy shaken, but it did give his team a five-minute power play. Unfortunately for them, however, Wagner and the Redskins defence remained rock solid.

Wagner was named the tournament's top goaltender, but surprisingly, he was the only one of the Redskins to make the tourney's all-star team.

Burnstick bankrolls the Redskins and serves as their manager. Formed about three years ago the Redskins are composed of players from across Western Canada. Many have played pro or semi-pro.

The Redskins' existence as a team was in part the result of a conversation between Burnstick and his good friend, former NHL coach Ted Nolan. Both felt Native hockey players deserved more credit for their abilities. And both felt Native hockey players needed to take the game more seriously.