麻豆社区

Whitehorse minor hockey's year-end tournament this weekend served to close the book on another successful season.

Twenty-four teams competed for gold medals in five divisions, said league president Carl Burgess.

"It's our big blowout for the year,鈥� he said. "It's been really exciting.鈥�

Burgess said about 450 players saw action at the Canada Games Centre in games from Thursday to Sunday. The five divisional finals were played yesterday in front of large crowds.

Castle Rock hangs on to edge Dawson in bantam final

Geordon Huebschwerlen scored two goals, and Zarek Jones had the winner as Castle Rock bantam club hung on to edge the Klondike Kings 3-2 last night.

Huebschwerlen used his blazing speed to rush in and poke the puck past goalie John Dagostin, and added another goal in the third with a laser wrist shot to put Castle Rock up 2-0.

"I think we played a good game,鈥� Huebschwerlen said. "This championship means a lot to me because it was my first year in house league. It's good to go home with a gold medal.鈥�

The Kings battled back with goals from Caleb Verdonk and Francis Baffard, but it wouldn't be enough.

Klondike coach Nathan Dewell said his club had the best regular season record in the Dawson oldtimer league this season, but wasn't sure what to expect with his players facing off against their own age group.

"We missed the Yukon Championships this year, so it was good to get the team down to Whitehorse for this tournament,鈥� he said. "It's good to get out and test our skill level against kids that are the same age. It was a pleasure to be here, and we're glad we got invited.

"We put on a good showing. Everyone stepped up their game, and we're super proud of the way they played.鈥�

Crosby hat trick powers Atom Jr. Mustangs to victory

Kyron Crosby scored a hat trick as the Atom Jr. Mustangs beat up the Skookum peewee club 6-1 in the peewee final.

Saul Gale, Josh Zaccarelli and Kyle Bierlmeier added singles as the Mustangs dominated throughout the game.

Oscar Sawicki had the lone goal for Skookum in the loss. Skookum had beat the Mustangs 5-4 in their round-robin matchup.

"They bought in today,鈥� Mustangs coach Kirk Gale said post-game. "They had energy and were doing all the right things. They had good puck management and they were fighting and battling out there. They were hard to stop.鈥�

Gale praised Crosby for his effort.

"Kyron's a big, strong fast kid,鈥� he said. "He's got great potential 鈥� a great last name for sure. It held true today.鈥�

Skookum coach Gord Campbell said the addition of Peewee A Mustangs goaltender Cole Smith for the year-end tournament paid huge dividends for a club that had won just once since November.

"We didn't have a goalie all year,鈥� he said. "We picked up Cole and he was phenomenal this weekend. We had a rough year, but he kept us in there and it was awesome to see the kids play so well. It was just a funny season.鈥�

Juneau Capitals win atom final the Canadian way

Losing in the seventh round of a shootout at the Yukon Championships in Haines Junction recently didn't sit well with the Juneau Capitals. They returned from Alaska this weekend looking for revenge on Whitehorse's atoMc Black team and got it, winning 4-2 in the atom final.

After Juneau goalie Dawson Hickok made several big stops to keep his team in the game early, defenceman Paxton Wildes did his best modern-day Bryan Berard rendition, going coast to coast before sniping the first goal of the game.

Wildes would go on to score the winning goal late in the second period.

Evan Fabrello and Dylan Murdoch also scored for the Capitals, who lifted a few techniques from the Canadian playbook.

"It feels good,鈥� said Juneau coach Steve Baseden. "Winning is fun, but in losing, you've got to find your inner strength.

They've been on the other side of having tears, so they're both good life lessons.

"We picked up a lot of our coaching tips from the people here in Canada,鈥� he added. "They've given us DVDs and shown us what Hockey Canada does. They're so nice here.鈥�

Kaelen Lewis had a goal and an assist on Joey Schultz's goal to lead the atoMc Black squad.

"These were two evenly-matched teams,鈥� said coach Mark Daniels. "We've been looking forward to this game. We have a young team with the fewest players of any team in the league and we went almost without a loss all year. It's been a dream team.鈥�

Novice Sens shut out Jets 5-0

Forward Ty Beacon scored a natural hat trick and goalie Charlie Gill did the rest as the Sens defeated the Jets 5-0 in the novice final.

Marko Cooper and Sawyer Adams rounded out the scoring in the lopsided win.

"We've always stressed that winning and losing isn't important, but kids are kids. They know who wins or loses,鈥� said coach Trevor Twardochleb. "They want to win.鈥�

He said that throughout the season, the Jets seemed to have the Sens number, making the final win that much sweeter.

"It's a nice way to finish the year,鈥� Twardochleb said. "When we play as a team, we're a difficult one to beat. What I like about our philosophy is everybody plays. Nobody gets more ice time than anybody else.鈥�

The coach said he was particularly proud of his first-year players, many of whom could barely stand on skates prior to the start of the season.

"I'm so proud to see how well they did,鈥� Twardochleb said. "That's what we're all about.鈥�

Cozens snipes 10 goals in wild Timbits final

Luke Cozens scored 10 goals to lead the Wild to an 11-9 victory over the Flames in the Timbits final Sunday afternoon.

The youngster was virtually unstoppable, scoring two in the first, four in the second and four more in the third in what was a high-scoring, back-and-forth game. Kaelen Halowaty had the other Wild goal.

Landon Cowper led the Flames with a hat trick, while Nash Holmes scored two goals and added one assist 鈥� the only one of the game.

Marcus Morberg also netted a pair, while Taylor Bierlmeier and Brody Calbery had singles in the loss.