The WRHL Sourdough Rendezvous Hockey Tournament wrapped up with three division finals at Takhini Arena on Sunday.
None of them were particularly close.
All three finals finished with a spread of four or more goals.
The T.A. Firth Rangers defeated the Senior Selkirk Bears 6-1 to win the men’s A division and pocket a cool $1,100 in cash.
“We just came together, had stellar goaltending. You start from the back and move forward,” said Rangers captain Clayton Thomas. “All four D played good, read the plays the way they needed to, and the forwards put it in when they needed.”
The Rangers are sure glad goalie Matt King hasn’t hung up his skates. King - who is the general manager of the Whitehorse Huskies AA team - allowed just four goals in four games at the tournament.
“I thought he retired,” said Thomas. “You can’t shoot from too far out on Matty; he’s just too fast.
“I don’t know what that retirement talk was about. He gets better with age like a fine wine.”
The Rangers stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the first period with three goals from forward Ryan Gleason. Gleason, who also plays for the Whitehorse Huskies, is the team’s top scorer in the Whitehorse Rec Hockey League where they are currently in second place in the A division.
“It’s good to see Gleason going,” said Thomas. “When he’s flying, we’re winning.”
The Rangers’ other goals in the final came from Clint Teichroeb with two and Thomas, who also had an assist. Darcy Carlick and Simon Nugent each had two assists.
Morris Morrison prevented the shutout with a goal for the Bears.
The Rangers went undefeated in the tournament but did have a 2-2 tie against the U-16 Midget Mustangs Yukon rep team in the round robin.
“They are some of the smartest, most mature group of midgets I’ve ever played against,” said Thomas. “They make nice passes and don’t make stupid plays and they’re tough to play.”
The Lead Dawgs led the way in the women’s division. The Dawgs claimed the title with a 5-0 shutout win over Yukon’s Arctic Winter Games female team in the final.
Dawgs’ Katie Vanderstelt scored a hat trick and logged an assist in the final. Tamara Greek and Sue Hamilton also found the back of the net.
CRB Nighthawks flew to first in the men’s B division - the largest with 10 teams - with a 5-1 win over the KDFN North Stars in the final.
Nighthawks’ Kevin Johnstone notched two goals. The other goals came from a real skookum effort, with Mike Skookum, George Skookum and Glen Skookum all scoring.
Garron Kuster scored for the North Stars, assisted by Malachi Lavallee.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com