Hockey teams from 100 Mile House came close to making it a clean sweep at the 27th annual 100 Mile Old Stars Tournament at the South Cariboo Rec. Centre, Nov. 11-13.
Local squads won two out of the three divisions, with the 100 Mile Old Stars taking the 35-plus division after a decisive victory in the final with Molson Mavericks. Kanstam Bruins from the Lower Mainland were third and Quesnel Gold Panners were fourth.
The 50-plus division win went to 100 Mile Bills Boys who entered into the final with 100 Mile Old Stars. The game went to a shootout after running out regulation time at a 1-1 draw.
All five of the Old Stars attempts didn’t find the back of the net. Bills Boys’ Marc Dufour potted the winning goal on his team’s fourth shootout attempt.
Third place team was Merritt Rednecks and Hope Retreads finished up fourth.
Only the 45-plus division victory went to a visiting team, with Summerland Culls earning the victory after 40 minutes with the Kamloops Free Radicals in their final. 100 Mile Old Cats took third and Agassiz Ice Dogs were fourth.
Teams played two 20-minute periods for each game, and according to spokesperson, Shawn Reid, the shorter than standard matches came out of necessity.
“We’re all old and slightly out of shape and none of us could last three periods.”
Reid says fans were treated to some good old-timers hockey, with some great goals, fantastic goaltending and even some funny bloopers.
“Things like unexpected spills that from the stands looked kind of funny, but were probably not so funny to the players.”
The local club hosted a tournament dinner and dance at the 100 Mile Community Hall on Saturday night for players and their partners. Reid says it was a big success and it added to the overall success of the entire weekend.
