If all goes well, the Yukon may have a world champion broomball team to boast by the end of the weekend.
Competing at the World Broomball Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, this week, the Yukon Brewing Lead Dogs have picked up four wins in six games, landing the Whitehorse team in the semifinal of the 10-team mixed division.
Accumulating three shutouts in just six games, the Lead Dawgs opened the Championships with a close 1-0 win over Japan before blanking Switzerland 8-0.
The following day, Wednesday, the Dawgs downed the Ontario Wildcates 4-2 and later tied Italy 0-0.
The team secured a spot in the semifinal, where they will play Team New Brunswick on Friday, by defeating Australia to end the round-robin.
Playing the Ontario Wildcats a second time on Thursday, the Dawgs came up short with a 1-0 loss.
Leading the team in points is forward Justin Saunders with four goals and two assists, tying him for fifth in the division. Also producing for the Dawgs is Chris Nash with one goal and four assists, plus Josh Hirsch and Francois Lafortune, each with three points.
The Lead Dawgs competed in their first world championship two years ago in Burnaby, BC, taking second in the Challenge Cup, which was comprised of the teams in the bottom half of the standings after the round-robin portion of the tournament.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com