Windspeaker Sports Briefs - May 2014

Alaska wins Arctic Winter Games

The host Alaska contingent ended up winning the most medals at this year’s Arctic Winter Games. The Games are held every two years and feature representatives from the circumpolar north. As a result, many of the competitors at the AWG are Aboriginal. The multi-sport competition was staged March 15 to March 22 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Team Alaska ended up winning a total of 202 medals (68 gold, 60 silver and 74 bronze). The Yamal contingent, featuring representatives from Russia, finished second in the over-all medal standings, racking up 134 medals, including 55 gold. The Games included five Canadian teams. Alberta North placed third in the medal count, with 129 medals. The Northwest Territories team was fourth with 86 medals, while Team Yukon was right behind them, collecting 85 medals. Nunavut finished in seventh spot with 32 medals while Quebec’s Nunavik side ended up in eighth place with 31 medals.The other competing teams were Greenland and Sapmi, featuring athletes from Finland, Norway and Sweden. The AWG did feature plenty of winter sports, including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. But there were also several activities held indoors such as badminton, basketball and gymnastics. Two of the other activities offered were Arctic Sports and Dene Games. Arctic Sports included one- and two-foot high kick competitions and the Dene Games featured disciplines such as the snow snake and pole push. About 2,000 athletes, coaches and support staff took part in this year’s AWG. Age categories varied from sport to sport, but the majority of the entrants were ages 10 to 24.

It’s no secret that Six Nations has long been a lacrosse hotbed, but if any further proof was required, it is provided with the fact that the Six Nations Warriors, an expansion Junior C team, are gearing up for their inaugural campaign. The Warriors are one of 10 teams that will participate in the West Division of the Ontario Lacrosse Association’s Junior C circuit. The league also includes a seven-squad East Division. The Warriors will play a 16-game regular season schedule. The club’s first game is set for May 9 against the host Shelburne Vets. The Warriors will then stage their home opener the following night against the Vets. The Warriors become the third junior franchise from Six Nations that competes in the OLA. The Six Nations Rebels are one of 26 squads that take part in the OLA’s Junior B league. And the Six Nations Arrows Express is one of 11 entrants in the Junior A loop. Six Nations also has a pair of men’s teams that are members of the OLA. The Six Nations Chiefs and five other clubs take part in a league dubbed Major Series Lacrosse. And the Six Nations Rivermen is one of seven clubs in the OLA’s Senior B league. Six Nations also has another men’s team, the Six Nations Slash, which competes in Can-Am Lacrosse. The Slash is the only Canadian squad in the eight-team league.

A pair of Native American minor hockey league players had their hopes of winning a championship come to an end. Winston Day Chief and Justin Sawyer were members of the South Dakota-based Rapid City Rush, a club that competes in the Central Hockey League. The league, which featured 10 teams during the 2013-14 season, is considered a couple of steps below the National Hockey League. Six of the CHL squads this season were an affiliate team for an NHL franchise. The Rush, however, is not affiliated with a team in the NHL. Rapid City had an impressive regular season, posting a 39-23-4 record. The Rush finished fourth in the league standings, one point behind the third-place Allen Americans from Texas and just eight points behind the front-running Missouri Mavericks. Rapid City though was upset in its opening round of the playoff by the fifth-seeded Quad City Mallards of Illinois. The Mallards won the best-of-seven series thanks to 3-1 Game 7 victory. Day Chief, a 26-year-old Blackfoot who is from Alberta’s Blood Reserve, and Sawyer, a 28-year-old Ojibwe who was born in Peterborough, Ont., were both in their second seasons with the Rush. Day Chief was one of Rapid City’s offensive leaders. He finished third in team scoring with 54 points, including 26 goals, in 58 regular season contests. But he only had two points in the playoff series versus the Mallards. Sawyer, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound defenceman, had a different role with the Rush. He led the squad in penalty minutes; 155 minutes in 58 regular season games. He also had 16 points. And he did not see any playoff action.