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Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by MARCEL VANDER WIER

MAN DOWN 鈥 Firth Rangers defenceman Dave Ecker falls to the ice in Friday's oldtimer final, while Yukon Inn centre Gord Campbell, right, rushes away from the scene.

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Photo by MARCEL VANDER WIER

KICK SAVE 鈥 Firth Rangers goalie Glen Traverse stretches out for a save in the oldtimer hockey final Friday night at the Canada Games Centre.

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Photo by MARCEL VANDER WIER

STRONG-ARM TACTICS 鈥 Rangers defenceman Darnell Kiriak rubs out Yukon Inn centre Chad Cowan during the oldtimer hockey final Friday night.

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Photo by MARCEL VANDER WIER

CHAMPS AGAIN 鈥 Members of the Yukon Inn oldtimer hockey team congratulate one another after winning the clubs second league championship in a row Friday night.

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Photo by MARCEL VANDER WIER

TROPHY PRESENTATION 鈥 Chad Cowan, left, accepts the oldtimer hockey trophy from the league's board president Stu Mackay after Yukon Inn beat the Firth Rangers.

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Photo by MARCEL VANDER WIER

SAY CHEESE 鈥 The 2013 Whitehorse Oldtimer Hockey League champs pose for a team photo with the trophy. At back, from left are: Bernie Adilman, Andrew Smith, Gary McKellar, Gord Kuchler, Bernie Heffner, Warren Kapaniuk, Sean MacLeish, and Lawrence Ignace. In front, from left: Shawn McLeod, Gord Campbell, James Billy, Pat Tobler, Lorne Burnett, and Chad Cowan.

Campbell, Cowan lead Yukon Inn to oldtimers hockey title

Yukon Inn centre Gord Campbell played like a man possessed, and Chad Cowan scored a clutch goal late in the game to give the oldtimer hockey club its second-straight league championship Friday night.

By Marcel Vander Wier on April 15, 2013

Yukon Inn centre Gord Campbell played like a man possessed, and Chad Cowan scored a clutch goal late in the game to give the oldtimer hockey club its second-straight league championship Friday night.

Campbell scored a natural hat trick to lead his team to a 4-1 victory over the Firth Rangers in the second game of a two-game total points final.

Yukon Inn had won the first game of the mini-series last Thursday by a score of 5-2.

Campbell opened the scoring in the first period Friday when Shawn McLeod sprung him for a breakaway on Rangers goalie Glen Traverse from the blueline.

The Rangers were able to tie it up before the end of the first frame courtesy of a low shot from Brian McWatters that beat Yukon Inn goalie James Billy of Carmacks, but it would be the last goal of their season.

Campbell scored two unassisted goals early in the second period to pace his team to a two-goal lead, before Cowan sniped a wrist shot over Traverse's blocker to put Yukon Inn up by three.

A late charge by the Rangers ended when a goal was waved off by referee Doug Graham, much to the disdane of a boisterous crowd in attendance.

Campbell said the extra step in his game was due to haunting memories from last year's playoff final, when he played for Terra Firma.

"Last year, I played against this team, and we lost the first game but won the second,鈥 he chuckled post-game. "We went into overtime, and I had a breakaway and missed. They turned around and scored to win the championship, so it was kind of redemption. I can't lose it two years in a row.

"It just happened to be my night tonight,鈥 Campbell said of the hat trick. "It was fun. It's always easy to get up for the last game of the year. It really is.鈥

The two-game mini-series is an avenue the oldtimer league employs to finish the season before the ice is removed from the Canada Games Centre.

If the Rangers had won Friday, the two teams would have squared off in overtime 鈥 and possibly a subsequent shootout 鈥 to determine the league champion.

As it happened however, there was no need for any tiebreaker format, as the Yukon Inn soundly defeated the Firth Rangers in both contests.

"We carry it by committee,鈥 said Campbell of his club's offensive plan of attack. "Our defence is so strong, and when you have good puck-moving defence in oldtimers, then you've got the step on them coming out of your zone and you hit the red line with speed. It's hard to contain.鈥

Cowan led the way in the first game of the series, scoring two goals 鈥 including the game winner.

Lawrence Ignace, Pat Tobler and Sean McLeish rounded out the scoring for Yukon Inn, while Mike Gau and Mike Rispin had the Rangers' tallies.

Rangers team rep Bob Allison said his team enjoyed their magical playoff run, which included upset wins over second-place Kilrich and third-place Medicine Chest.

"We knocked off a few teams and made it to the final, but we just didn't have enough to do her, unfortunately,鈥 he said. "It was a pretty good run for us.

"Hats off to them. They played well and were the best team all year and they showed it.鈥

Traverse helped spark the playoff charge with some brilliant play between the pipes after Rangers goalie Eugene Johnson suffered an injury in the native hockey tournament.

"We worked hard,鈥 Allison said. "It was nice to see after not a stellar season. It was nice to see us come together and play well. It's a great bunch of guys 鈥 one of the best dressing rooms I've ever been in.鈥

Yukon Inn finished atop the league standings during the regular season with a 23-11-8 record and a league-low 113 goals against.

Firth, meanwhile, finished the regular season ranked seventh in the nine-team league, with a sub-.500 record of 15-19-8.

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