Games from dawn till dusk, bittersweet goodbyes and even a faceoff between players with a height difference of about four feet — the 2016 Hockey Jamboree had it all.
Now in its 44th year, the annual event hosted by the Lake Cowichan Minor Hockey Association was held on Jan. 16 with almost 100 local players participating, ranging in age from four to 17.
Click on the image below for a photo gallery.
The day kicked off with the Lakers novice team playing the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Although the Lakers played competitively, the final score in the loss of 13-8 was a bit of a disappointment. But coach Allan Fawcett noted the team has been improving markedly in certain areas.
“They’ve been working hard at back-checking and scoring. Scoring has gone up 80 per cent from last year,” he said. “We’ve got multiple scorers now so everybody’s sort of got into that groove.”
The team was also missing some players due to vacation and illness.
“That’s all a part of the game, especially at this age,” said Fawcett. “Overall we had enough players to play the game and they played really well.”
This is Fawcett’s second year coaching the novice team and he thanked all the coaching staff for their hard work and dedication.
“Everybody really knows what’s expected and we do push the kids but such is life,” he said. “You push the kids hard and they take that with them all through life.”
The initiation-level teams — players ages four to six — took the ice next, followed by the annual skills competition in which all local players are divided into two teams and battle in a series of challenges based on the NHL’s skills competition format.
Ten-year-old Isabella Atchison sang the national anthem a cappella and, representing the Lady of the Lake, first and second princesses Kirsten Mackie and Sidney Fothergill came to centre ice for the ceremonial puck drop.
The white jerseys and blue jerseys competed in stick handling, speed and shooting categories, with white ultimately coming out on top.
Additionally, the hockey association decided to incorporate a midget 3-on-3 component to the day’s events after the skills trophy had been awarded.
“It was a ton of fun this year and definitely going to be one to remember,” said Raimund Mullin, one of seven midget players who are graduating from minor league hockey this year.
“It’s horrible to have to leave the league but I’m hoping to stay involved in reffing and coming and volunteering and hopefully maybe one day coaching a team,” he said.
The Lakers dominated in the afternoon, starting with the atom team’s staggering 16-2 defeat of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Next, the Lakers peewee team had a much closer game against the Nanaimo Clippers, winning 2-1, followed by the Lake’s bantam team which defeated Nanaimo 9-2.
In the evening, the midget Lakers pulled off an 8-4 victory against the Cowichan Valley Capitals, continuing the team’s season-long undefeated streak.
Association president Todd Vaughan said the team has clicked in a big way this year.
“[They’re] a good group of kids that totally just want to play hockey and are out there; they go out and they put their all into it,” he said.
Vaughan said he’s sad to see seven of his players leaving the league when this season ends, but isn’t concerned about how it will impact next year’s team.
“There’s still a strong group that are coming up from bantam so I think we’re still going to have a really strong team next year,” he said.
But, he added, that doesn’t make it any easier to see his players go, one of whom is his son, Justin.
“When you’ve been with some of those kids since they were four or five years old and watched them play hockey the whole way, it’s kind of weird to think of them not playing anymore,” he said.
Vaughan said this year’s Jamboree was a success thanks to the hard work of volunteers and arena staff.
“I’d like to put a big thank you out there to all the helpers and everyone who came out and supported us and watched us,” he said.
