Editor's note: Before their gold medal at the 2014 World Broomball Championships, the NWT Rebels were in Austria to compete against one of the tougher fields assembled in women's broomball in the 2010 edition. And through it all, they ended up as the third-best team in the world that year. Here's how they did it.
How would you like to be the third-best in the world at something?
There's no shame in it because it means you will get a medal of some colour. Beats being fourth and getting a bouquet of flowers.
The NWT Rebels women's broomball team made the trip to Innsbruck, Austria for the 2010 World Broomball Championships and ended up winning the bronze medal after beating Lapierre Sport from Ontario by a score of 2-0 in the third-place game.
photo courtesy of International Federation of Broomball Associations
In talking with NNSL Media following their return to Canada (“NWT Rebels win bronze”, Yellowknifer, Nov. 10, 2010), team captain Tina Locke-Setter said the team was both pleased and surprised with their performance.
"We knew we had one of the best teams the Rebels have sent to a tournament in years," she said. "I know we completely shocked some of the teams we played and the team was definitely on a high after our win."
The team ended up in third place following the round-robin, which included four wins, three ties and just one loss against their competition. They were actually tied for second place with the Odessa Storm of Saskatchewan, but the Storm beat them out by virtue of having scored more goals during the round-robin.
Had the team finished in second, it would have meant a shot at the gold medal.
They played two games on each day, which could have caused some fatigue issues, but Locke-Setter said the team managed to keep themselves in good shape.
"The team relaxed, hydrated and just tried to enjoy the experience of being somewhere as beautiful as Austria," she said.
Offensively, the team was led by Jenny Crawford with nine points in the nine games played overall. Her performance was good enough to be named to the tournament's all-star team. In fact, the Rebels were the highest-scoring team of the tournament with 15 goals.
Defensively, Val Pond held down the fort between the pipes, registering five shutouts in total.
Locke-Setter said having Pond do her thing made the team's job a lot easier.
"It helps a team focus on the offensive play when you know your goalie is solid and is able to stand up to whatever shots she sees," she said.
The Rebels are up against the 2013-2014 Yellowknife Wolfpack peewee hockey team in the final first-round match-up of the Greatest of All Time competition and voting begins on Monday.