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Bantam Mustangs earn silver on the Skeena

The AA Bantam Whitehorse Mustangs returned from a weekend tournament in Kitimat, British Columbia, with a second-place finish.

The AA Bantam Whitehorse Mustangs returned from a weekend tournament in Kitimat, British Columbia, with a second-place finish. Six AA teams from Northern BC competed.

Whitehorse came out strong in its first game Friday morning, but Smithers was backed by solid goaltending and was extremely opportunistic on its few chances.

The Mustangs lost 4-0 despite out-shooting the opposition.

After a night’s rest Whitehorse came out Saturday ready to battle the Kitimat team. After getting the first goal Whitehorse continued to play a smart physical brand of hockey, winning battles and controlling the corners.

Into the third period, Whitehorse found itself trailing 3-2, despite controlling the play for the majority of the game. With a gutsy effort Cale Bechtel tied the game and Tanner Kulych notched the winner. The final score 4-3 for Whitehorse.

In the third game, Whitehorse battered and swarmed Terrace on the way to out-shooting them 57-23.  Joe Densmore opened the scoring and Travis Park added another as the game went into the second with the Mustangs leading.

However, untimely breakdowns and a little bit of luck kept Terrace in the game.

Going into the third period the score was tied 3-3 and the Whitehorse players knew they were up against a hot goalie.

Jaxson Glass made a pretty tip on a shot from the Lawrence Brennan on the point to put Whitehorse ahead and Owen Mackinnon put the nails in the coffin, burying a rebound to a 5-3 win a spot in the final.

The final turned out to be a rematch of Whitehorse’s opening game against Smithers. Penalty trouble distracted the boys and the Smithers team made use of this by scoring two unanswered goals.

Whitehorse continued to press but when centre Jaxson Glass injured his back things became an uphill battle.

With different players filling in, the remaining lines looked for chemistry but failed to find a groove, the score ended up 3-1 for Smithers.

Scott Smeeton was named the MVP for the first game, Cale Bechtel for the second, Joe Densmore for the third and Tanner Kulych was the player of the game in the final.

The Mustangs “Grinder” award for hard work went to Tanner Kulych, Scott Smeeton, Travis Park and Chantelle Rivest.

Hockey

Oldtimers league (Sunday)

Firth Rangers 10

Performance Centre Turbos 3

Tim Vincent led Rangers’ scoring with three goals, Brian Gudmundson scored a pair, while Al Hammond, Stu Mackay, Sean McAskie, Bill Watson and Mike Kenny added singles.

Laurie Malo scored two for the Turbos and Jeff Jensen added one.

Kilrich 4

Yukon Inn 3

Peter Grundmanis scored a pair for Kilrich, and Tony Clennett and Gerry Rivest scored as well.

Greg Bull scored twice and Frank Thomas notched a goal for Yukon Inn.

Medicine Chest 7

Edgewater Windsors 2

Medicine Chest’s Jordan Borgford had a big night, scoring the hat trick and assisting on two more. Kevin Neufeld had two goals, and John Mahoney and Mitch Malchow added singles.

Al Lane and Morley Lessard scored for the Windsors.

AON Flames 3

Klondyke Dental Molars 1

Jim Giczi, Lorne Burnett and Martin Trudeau scored for the Flames.

Bernie Heffner scored the only Klondyke Dental Molars.

Atom division (Sunday)

Pearson Dental 7

Locksmith Services 6

Liam Janke and Wyatt Gale led Pearson with a pair of goals each, while Hanna Woodwalker, Graham Mainer and Jarrett Malchow added singles.

Ryan Chippett scored a hat trick for the Locksmiths, Josh Harlow added a pair, and Scott Peterson notched one as well.

Soccer

Over-35 league (Saturday)

Klondike Copiers 4

Pepsi 3

Klondike Copiers continued their winning ways as they knocked off Pepsi. John MacPhail scored three times, and Afan Jones added one for Klondike. For Pepsi, Simon Pulido, Renzo Ordonez and Bob Lewis each scored once.

Quest 5

Assante Financial Management 3

Quest continues to lead the league, winning their sixth game over Assante Financial Management. Chris Donohoe led the way with three goals. Monday Igbineweka and Doug Hitch each scored once. Ian Robinson, Houshyar Ghandi and Don Russell scored for Assante.

Under-15 Arctic Winter Games 11

Yukon Brew 7

The Arctic Games squad proved to be too much for Yukon Brewing.

Buckwheat Ski Classic

The 20th annual Buckwheat Ski Classic is on schedule for Saturday, March 25.

 Race founder Buckwheat Donahue is currently walking through the US Midwest on his Heartbeat Trail fundraiser (www.buckwheat.info), but a group of volunteers from Alaska and the Yukon have come to his aid to keep the popular ski race going in his absence.

 Once again there will be 50K, 25K and 10K cross-country ski races, as well as a 5K kids race and a 5K snowshoe race. All races take place at Log Cabin on the South Klondike Highway, and there are pre-and post-race events in Skagway, Alaska, including an awards banquet and dance at the historic Eagles Hall.

 The Buckwheat last year was named one of the top 49 things to do in Alaska by the editors of Alaska magazine.

Entry forms are now available at the Mountain Shop in Skagway; Lutak Lumber in Haines; Foggy Mountain in Juneau, and Coast Mountain Sports in Whitehorse. There are separate forms for US adults, Canadian adults, US kids, and Canadian kids.

 Registration forms may be dropped off at the above locations or mailed to Buckwheat Ski Classic, Box 636, Skagway, AK 99840.

Early registration deadline is March 15. Registrations received after that date cost an additional $10.

 The trail at Log Cabin, BC is currently set on the 5K and 10K courses thanks to Skagway trail crew volunteers. Trail conditions are posted at the Mountain Shop in Skagway (907) 983-2544.

 Additional volunteers are always welcome.

If you can help with race-packet preparations, dinner serving, race timing, serving breakfast, T-shirt sales, and aid station prep., please call Jeff Brady at (907) 983-2354 or Su Rappleye at (907) 983-2127.

 The race is a fund-raiser for the Skagway Ski Club and traditionally hosts more than 200 participants from Alaska, the Yukon and elsewhere.

 For more information, call Kristin Wilkinson at (907) 983-2854, or e-mail: info@skagway.com