The “C” in C division might as well have stood for Comeback on Sunday.
N.W.T.‘s Aklavik Knights rallied from down two goals in the third period to beat Fort St. John’s Big Stone Falcons in the C final at the Yukon Native Hockey Tournament at Takhini Arena.
“It feels great to win that after going into the third losing,” said Knights captain David McLeod. “We knew we had to wake up and come back. After we got that first goal, we got hungry and wanted more.”
Trailing 3-1 with under seven minutes left in regulation, Knights’ Michael Krengator scored his second of the game to make it 3-2. Teammate Brandon McLeod put in the tying goal just a minute later, assisted by Jordan McLeod and Momo Ipana.
With just 40 seconds left on the clock, Brandon made a cross-ice pass to David, who roofed a backhander in for the game-winner.
It was a real McLeod family effort.
“I’ve got an uncle, three cousins and my sister on there, so lots of family on the team,” said David. “My sister (Davina) has been one of the better players all week. She scored a pretty awesome goal yesterday against the same team to get to finals.”
Davina McLeod, who used to play for the Yukon Mustangs female rep team, was named the division’s MVP.
The Big Stone Falcons grabbed three player awards, with Shane Roy Top Scorer, Reign Walker Best Defence and Evan O’Neill Best Goalie.
Big Stone reached the final with a 4-2 win over the Carmacks Nighthawks, who took third.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com