Kitimat’s women’s hockey players were on the road again last weekend, travelling to Smithers to compete in the Smithers Prowlers 2018 Women’s Hockey Tournament.
Improving on their previous weekend’s matches, the Kitimat players two out of the three games they played this weekend.
They won their first game against the Smithers Road Warriors 4 – 0, but couldn’t repeat their win in their second game against the Road Warriors 2 team, losing 6 – 0. They lost their third match against the team from Burns Lake 2 – 0.
The tournament, sponsored by CN and Subway, featured seven local and regional teams. There were some special rules for the competition which meant that the action never ended.
While there may have been some short respites, the play was non-stop. Timeouts were limited, there were specific rules to keep the games on a friendly note and there was an expectation that this competition was for fun.
There were no bone-crushing checks. In fact, there were very few penalties so the play was without respite.
There was no yelling when someone didn’t keep the puck glued to their stick following a pass. In fact, there was no yelling at all unless it was in support of the players.
Support was easily noticeable. Partners and friends were one group that was available to urge on the efforts of the players but there was another that made the games even more exciting. “Go Mommy!” was a cheer that could be heard more than once during any game.
The tournament fielded seven teams, the Prowlers, the two Road Warriors teams, and teams from Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Terrace and Burns Lake.
– with reporting by Tom Best
