Photo by Vince Fedoroff
DEFENDING THE CREASE 鈥� Capital Towing Jets鈥� Gabriel Nadon, left, corrals the ball in front of the net while 202 Saloon Shooters Kyle Nault (goalie), Dan Bray, centre, and Jen Moran defend during Saturday鈥檚 broomball final.
Unlikely combatants battle for broomball glory
The Capital Towing Jets swept aside the 202 Saloon Shooters 2-0 Saturday afternoon to win the Yukon broomball championship.
The Capital Towing Jets swept aside the 202 Saloon Shooters 2-0 Saturday afternoon to win the Yukon broomball championship.
The dynamic duo of Francois Lafortune and Gabriel Nadon provided the offence, and goalie Brayden Hunt the defence as Capital Towing emerged victorious after a hardfought playoff run.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a while coming for us,鈥濃�圝ets captain Scott Smith said of the title. 鈥淏ut it all sort of came together at the end of the season this year.鈥�
Nadon, 16, set up Lafortune for a first-period score, and the veteran returned the favour late in the third, flipping a pass over a defender to a streaking Nadon.
Meanwhile, Hunt concluded a stellar playoff run in which the Jets allowed only one goal in six playoff games, Smith said.
The Shooters beat them 1-0 early in the playoffs when Nadon was in net.
The two teams were newcomers to the Yukon Broomball Association鈥檚 championship game 鈥� a contest that has recently featured league superclubs Nacho Nyak Dun DC and the Spectrum Security Bears.
But this year belonged to Capital Towing, who finished the regular season ranked fifth out of eight teams.
The Shooters concluded the 35-game regular season in fourth, while the Bears won that title handily 鈥� losing just three times.
Slick ice slowed the speedy Shooters in the final, captain Milford Allain said.
鈥淲e have a lot of speed on our team, but the ice conditions really deteriorated as the game went along,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat was a big disadvantage for us.鈥�
Warm weather caused a thin layer of water to cover the ice, rendering it difficult for players to find solid footing.
Allain 鈥� the league鈥檚 longtime president until this season 鈥� said he was pleased to earn a berth in the final.
鈥淚t was a pretty close game through and through,鈥� Allain said. 鈥�(But) I鈥檓 a chump, not a champ.鈥�
He said the additions of Greg Thompson and Cliff Charbonneau helped solidify the Shooters blue-line, pushing the team to the next level.
The local broomball season will feature one final tournament in Haines Junction this weekend.
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