Dave Leaderhouse
Special to the Northern Advocate
There is a new champion hoisting the Senator’s Cup, but the old one didn’t go down without a fight.
The 10th annual hockey tournament, hosted by the Prince Albert Grand Council, attracted 15 teams from across the province and in the end it was the Sandy Lake Chiefs squaring off against the defending champion Norway House Bruins.
The Chiefs took the direct route to the championship game winning their first four contests while the Bruins couldn’t have found a longer path as they had to play nine games just to get a chance to defend their title.
In the end it was too much as Sandy Lake completed their perfect weekend with an exciting 3-2 overtime triumph on Sunday at the Art Hauser Centre.
“I don’t know if I have words to tell you how tired I am,” said Norway House netminder Brody Claeys. “These guys all bought in. They blocked shots all third period and in overtime. They have got a lot of heart.”
Playing their 10th game in roughly 72 hours the Bruins fell behind early when Curtis Roach staked the Chiefs to a 1-0 lead under two minutes into the opening period. Somehow, Norway House found their legs and with goals by Troy Williams and Tony Apetagon the Bruins were ahead 2-1 after 20 minutes of play.
Keathen Isbister pulled the Chiefs on even terms in the second period and after a scoreless third frame the stage was set for Hayden Delorme to notch the championship-winning tally six minutes into the extra session.
Claeys finished the game with 35 saves while Damon Cunningham in the Sandy Lake goal was tested just 16 times.
Apetagon for the Bruins and Delorme for the Chiefs were named the players of the game with Claeys picking up top goaltender honours for the tournament. Other awards presented following the final game included: top defenceman – Curtis Roach, Sandy Lake; top forward – Skylar Tait-Reaume, Norway House; fan favourite – Jeremy Boyer, Sandy Lake; top coach – Andrew Anderson, Norway House; most valuable player – Hayden Delorme, Sandy Lake.
Sandy Lake, which took home the top prize of $30,000 for the victory, beat Cumberland Cree, Onion Lake Border Chiefs, Canoe Lake Young Guns and Round Lake Bears on their road to the final game while Norway House won their opener over the Pelican Narrows Raiders before falling to the consolation side with a loss to Round Lake. That is when the marathon began for the defending champs as they had to get past Cumberland Cree, Shoal Lake Eagles, La Ronge 89ers, Whitefish Flyers, Red Pheasant, Canoe Lake and Round Lake for the right to face Sandy Lake in the championship game. The Bruins received second-place prize money of $15,000 for their showing.
Round Lake finished third overall after they were beaten by Sandy Lake in the championship-side semi-final and Norway House in the consolation final. Round Lake collected $8,000 in prize money.
More than 1,500 fans were at the Art Hauser Centre to watch the final game and they were supportive of both teams as the pace was quick and exciting. There were times where each team had control and the players put forward everything they had to try and secure the title. Organizers hope that next year’s event can be just as entertaining.
