Dog Creek, on the strength of a 7-2 victory over Deep Creek, were crowned the A division champions last Friday in the Williams Lake Recreational Hockey League.
In the B division final it was the Firemen doubling Sight and Sound, 8-4, to claim the title.
Grey Fox took third place in the A division with an 8-3 win over O-Netrix.
En route to the final Dog Creek defeated Pioneer 4-3 in the quarterfinal and Grey Fox — a team that had gone undefeated all year — 4-2.
Dog Creek player and team representative Patrick Harry said the team showed massive amounts of effort in the win.
“The Dog Creek team is made up of members of the Stswecemc Xgattem First Nation and we take pride in playing hard from start to finish, never letting up no matter what the score is,” Harry said.
“We have a range of ages from late 50s right down to midget-age players.”
He said in the past several Dog Creek players played in the league, however, on different teams.
“Two years ago we decided to form our own team, which has gotten a lot of support from our community and our development corporation,” he said. “Hockey is a great way for us to build camaraderie and pride in our community and it’s great to see the next generation of kids come out and watch games, cheer on their fathers, uncles, grandpas and stay healthy.”
Firemen player and team representative Trevor Stockdale, meanwhile, said the team has played in the league for the past five seasons.
“Our win, loss record has definitely varied from year to year but we have always had a good time as a team,” he said.
“[We’re] a mixture of members of the Williams Lake Fire Department, as well as members of the 150 Mile Volunteer Fire Department and a growing number from the Cariboo Fire Centre, as well as friends, family and co-workers.
League awards were also presented following playoffs where Grey Fox player Shane Vermeulen was awarded top forward (44G, 30A, 74PTS), Alkali Renegades player Francis Johnson won top defenceman (22G, 21A, 43PTS) and Grey Fox player Duncan Peeman brought home top goalie (2GAA, 2 shutouts).
Both Stockdale and Harry thanked the league executive of Mark Chestnut, Steve O’Hara and Tim Lloyd for their hard work and leadership behind the scenes in maintaining the league.
Chestnut congratulated both teams on their respective wins and thanked all the league’s teams for another successful season of hockey.
“All teams amped up the compete level in the playoffs where seven of the 10 games were decided by one or two goals,” Chestnut said.
“The executive would like to specifically thank our refs this season: Roy, Doug, John, Rejean, Ian and Cam for their commitment in progressing the league as a fun and competitive experience.”
Final league scores and standings are available on the team’s website at www.onetrix.com/league.
The league is now looking for new teams or players to join for the 2016/17 season.
“We currently have a 10-team league and looking to add two or three more to facilitate the creation of two divisions at the start of next season,” Chestnut said.
