The Kaska Warriors didn’t need a full 60 minutes to win the old timer division final at the Yukon Native Hockey Tournament.
For the second year in a row the Watson Lake team forced the eight-goal mercy rule as the team captured its fourth straight title on Sunday at the Canada Games Centre.
“We got a bunch of guys together and we put it out every year - it’s only once a year we do that,” said Warriors head coach Don Magun. “We have a good group of guys and we work together and things work out.
“Everybody did their job, stayed focused on the bench, and everybody had their shift.”
The Kaska Warriors scored an eighth goal with eight minutes left in the third period to truncate the game and beat the Whitehorse Arrows 8-0. The Warriors beat the Champagne Aishihik Bruins 10-2 in last year’s final to force the mercy rule.
The Arrows, it should be noted, were playing their second game of the day on Sunday. They reached the final with a 10-6 win over third place’s Northwind Inuvik in the semifinal.
“They played an early game and they were tired,” said Magun. “They are a good bunch of guys.”
Warriors’ Curtis Cardinal racked up two goals and three assists in the final. Louis Gardiner had two goals and two assists and was named the division’s top scorer. Adam Lightfoot registered a goal and three assists and was named the division’s top defenceman. Kevin Ned had a goal and two assists in the final and Rob Green was in net for the shutout.
Arrows’ Scott Casselman was named Best Goalie for the division.
The Whitehorse Arrows won four straight titles of their own before the Kaska Warriors took over in 2013.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com