Yellowknife's quotient of the Yukon Rivermen picked up in 2019 where they left off in 2018 – still the rudder that steers the ship.
The Rivermen made the trip to B.C. to play in the Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament (KIBIHT), which wrapped up on Jan. 6, finishing with a record of one win and four losses though there were chances for at least one more win.
Shawn Talbot, the team's assistant coach, said the tournament was a chance to see where their strengths were against the best AAA teams in western Canada.
“The kids all plugged away and we were making changes to the way we played each time just to see what worked,” he said.
Game one of the tournament was against the Chilliwack Bruins from B.C., which ended in a 6-3 loss but the Rivermen were right in the thick of it after two periods. Entering the third period tied 2-2, Chilliwack put the Rivermen behind the eight-ball with three unanswered goals.
“The kids just need to learn to be resilient,” said Talbot. “We weren't outclassed by Chilliwack at all but we just gave up on the puck at times and that cost us.”
Game two was against the Thompson Zone Blazers of Kamloops, the eventual champions of the tournament, and it wasn't exactly a game to write home about as it ended in the Blazers' favour, 12-0.
“They're just a solid unit,” said Talbot of the Blazers. “They're one of the best teams in B.C. and right up there with Mirsad (Mujcin's) team in Prince George.”
Up next was the Comox Valley Chiefs in the final round-robin game and it went a bit better for the Rivermen. It was a back-and-forth affair which ended up going into overtime and it was Andrew Carr who potted the winner to cap off a hat trick for him and a 4-3 win for the Rivermen.
“Andrew played a phenomenal game,” said Talbot. “They're a team that's similar to us in terms of skill and we played a much better style. We believed we could do well against them and the best part about the game was we didn't cheat on plays and we stayed disciplined.”
The Rivermen finished 12 th after the round-robin, meaning a playoff game against the 13 th-ranked Victoria Racquet Club out of B.C. The first period of the contest was a real defensive struggle as Victoria took a 5-3 lead into the intermission.
“It was an up-and-down first period,” said Talbot. “They got on us early but we came back and showed good emotion. They got two near the end of the period and the shoulders started to droop. We tried to regroup for the second period but we fell apart.”
Victoria tacked on five more in the second, which was more than enough to seal a 10-4 victory.
The final game for the Rivermen was a rematch with the Chiefs and like the round-robin meeting, this one needed bonus hockey to decide a winner. Regulation time solved nothing as both teams battled to a 3-3 tie and sudden-death overtime didn't produce a winner, meaning the dreaded shootout.
It took until the fifth round before a winner was decided and it was a Yellowknife ex-pat – Emery Golchert – who ended up clinching it for Comox Valley as he scored the winner to give the Chiefs a 4-3 victory.
Next up for the Rivermen is the Crossroads Cup in Prince George, B.C., which starts on Jan. 18.