麻豆社区

FAIRBANKS 鈥� Goaltender Brett Skookum got a shot of confidence from his coach before the bronze-medal game.

One game after giving up four goals on nine shots before getting the hook, the 17-year-old from Carmacks made up for it, stopping 33 of 37 shots Friday afternoon after getting the call to lead the Yukon once more at the 2014 Arctic Winter Games.

The midget men始s hockey team held on to defeat Nunavut 5-4 at the Big Dipper Ice Arena to win bronze.

"I wasn始t really expecting it,鈥� Skookum said of the starter始s nod. "It showed the coaches had confidence in me. I was surprised, but I knew we were going to win.鈥�

Having a bronze ulu fitted around his neck post-game was a special feeling, he told the Star.

"It means a lot,鈥� he said. "Both my brothers came here and they won, so it始s good to win one too.鈥�

The young goalie played with the fingers on his right hand taped due to injury. Skookum admitted he had punched a wall following his performance in the Yukon始s 8-6 semifinal loss to Alaska on Thursday.

Offensively, Alex Hanson led the way for the Yukon, scoring twice in the contest. Jarrett Malchow, Riley Pettitt and Wyatt Gale also had goals, with Gale始s standing up as the eventual winner.

Gale led the tournament in scoring with eight goals and seven assists, while Pettitt was second with five goals and nine assists.

Nunavut forward Kenneth-John Putulik had a hat trick in a losing cause.

"It始s always an honour to represent the Yukon,鈥� said Hanson, 16. "It始s nice to be able to contribute a medal to the count.鈥�

Hanson, who spent the season with the NEBC and Yukon District Trackers in Dawson Creek, B.C., said the game was likely the last time this group would play together, as many will graduate from the junior ranks before the 2016 Games.

"It was nice to win a medal with them,鈥� he said.

Yukon coach John Grant said the game was a fitting curtain call for a group he has helped to develop over the past decade.

"I始ve had every single one of these kids, except two 鈥� some from novice at the age of six or seven,鈥� he said. "To watch them grow into young men and to be able to have this group together one last time 鈥� it was a pleasure just to be around them and to see how they始ve matured and grown both as young men and hockey players.鈥�

Nunavut captain Max Shoo had two assists in the game, and finished fourth in tournament scoring.

"We definitely tried our hardest,鈥� said the 18-year-old from Iqaluit. "We could始ve scored a couple and could始ve stopped a couple too. They played really good and hit hard.鈥�

The Yukon played Friday始s game with only seven forwards with Curtis Carlick (abdomen injury) and Josh VanBibber (concussion) relegated to the sidelines.

"They始re all sore and bumped and banged,鈥� Grant said of his team. "They gave it everything they had.鈥�

A former goalie himself, Grant said he had to give Skookum a chance to redeem himself after Thursday始s semifinal loss 鈥� when he was lifted for 15-year-old Tomas Jirousek.

"The mark of a truly good goaltender is how you react to the next start,鈥� he explained of the decision. "We just felt that he had something to prove today and he certainly did it. I think of all the goals that were scored on us over the tournament, and I can始t think of one bad goal. Not one.

"But goaltenders are a different breed, and they seem to carry the weight and the responsibility of every win and loss on their shoulders. He was really frustrated yesterday, but he bounced back really well.鈥�

Host Alaska won gold Saturday, rallying to beat N.W.T. 5-4 in overtime.