TSULQUATE—A packed Wakas Hall was treated to some great floor hockey as the annual Harvey Walkus Memorial Tournament drew a huge field of competitors last weekend.
Sixteen men’s teams and ten ladies sides were whittled down from Thursday to Saturday, setting the stage for competitive finales on Sunday.
The ladies consolation finals saw Skyler take on visiting Port Alberni in a nail-biter. The two teams went goal for goal, cheered on by a vocal crowd, ending regular time with nothing to chose between them at 6-6.
Midway through the overtime Port Alberni struck the winner from the halfway line to clinch the win.
The men’s consolation was a little more one-sided as the Fort Rupert Roaches dispatched the Westcoasters.
After a tight opening spell in what quickly became a physical, competitive matchup, the experienced Roaches stretched out to a comfortable lead through a combination of long-range bombs and tight link-up play, running out 13-5 winners.
The ladies final was another too-close-to-call matchup as Chix with Stix took on the TFN Sharpshooters in a thriller with a dose of controversy at its climax.
The game went into the final minutes at 3-3, both goalies performing heroics to keep the score level.
A shot from the Chix was caught and held by the Sharpshooters’ goalie and cries of “Drop it!” came from the bench, leading to the goalie to apparently try and shake the ball free.
The referees saw the move as too little too late and called for a penalty for delaying the game. The Sharpshooters protested, claiming the ball was stuck in the goalie’s glove.
The pleas fell on deaf ears however, and they were left to play short-handed for two minutes.
With just 20 seconds left on the penalty clock, the Sharpshooters were further incensed when a Chix defender appeared to hand pass the ball forward leading to a goal.
Despite a rally in the final two minutes the Sharpshooters were unable to find an equalizer and the Chix took the top spot in the ladies’ division.
The men’s final paired the TFN Crew with the experienced Regulators.
The first period was a see-saw affair, the Regulators testing the TFN Crew goalie with a barrage of long-range missiles early and were rewarded when Albert Charlie found the back of the net to open the scoring.
The TFN Crew were back on level footing in short order through a put-back and the teams traded goals for the rest of the period, going into the break at 4-4.
The second half of the increasingly physical game was all Regulators, as their experience showed through. A series of composed layoffs met with accurate finishing to push the Regulators comfortably ahead before the TFN Crew grabbed a consolation to round out the 12-5 scoring.
