The Ashcroft Cowboys stopped defending champion Big Guy Lake 6-5 Sunday to take the Jay. D. Louis Memorial Cup at Kal Tire Place.
The Cowboys erased a 3-0 deficit in the Competitive Division final of the 13th annual Nk’Maplqs Challenge Cup Tournament. Ashcroft brushed back the Vernon TBirds 4-1 in the semifinals.
MVP honours went to Mark Boyce of Ashcroft, the High Scorer award winner was Tyrelle Turgeon of Big Guy Lake and Most Sportsmanlike Player was Sammy Gabriel of the TBirds
All-stars were goalie Conrad McMillan of the TBirds, d-men Dustin Erickson (Big Guy Lake) and Shane Billy (Ashcroft) and forwards Brett Watkinson (Ashcroft), Pat Brady (Ashcroft) and Mike Lalonde (Big Guy Lake).
Other teams in the Competitive category were: Quilchena Braves, Caribou Canucks, Shuswap Flyers, Sto’lo Ice Hawks, Vancouver Serpents, Hustalen Blades, BlueBerry Weekend Warriors and Halfway River.
The Prince George Lumber Kings clipped the 2016 champion Vernon TBirds 6-5 to collect the Graden Alexis Memorial Trophy in the Masters Division final.
The Lumber Kings – whose lineup included 1991 Vernon Lakers Centennial Cup champion members, captain Terry Klapstein and goalie Mirko Pellizarri, both from Quesnel – defeated the Mid Ice Crisis 6-4 in the semifinals. Other Master teams competing were: Chase Old Blades, Moberly Lake, Penticton Native Sons, Butch’s Bandits and the Pickup Sticks.
In the Rec Division, tourney director Keith Louis said there were five teams “competing for the love of the game and a chance to compete.” The teams were the Westside Bears, Caribou Stars, Merritt Thunder, Merritt Mudslingers and the Williams Lake Red Hawks.
