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Edmonton rinks were packed with teams from all over Alberta as the annual Native Provincial hockey tournament had kids from Peewee through Midget playing for the opportunity to take home gold.
Local La Biche residents, Tanner Cunningham, Tristan Draney, Wyatt Mills, Brent Lavallee, Chris Laroque and Jamie Schell, joined the powerhouse St. Albert Thunder to win their first ever gold in the Midget “Bear” division
“The tournament was awesome, this is the first time we have won it all, it was a great feeling,” Cunningham said.
The event has been going on for more than twenty years, bringing together teams from all over Alberta participate. The Midget Bear division had 21 team entries. After playing a standard four game round robin and beating Saddle Lake in the quarterfinals, the St. Albert Thunder moved on to play the team from Good Fish in the semi finals. The Thunder ended up winning that game and faced a team from Enoch in the finals. It was an exciting finale that saw both teams locked at 0-0 deep into the 2nd period, but St. Albert pulled away late and came up with the 4-0 win, taking gold in the Midget “Bear” Division.
“The guys were so happy, they have been to this tournament for many years, sometimes winning bronze, sometimes winning silver, but they finally climbed the mountain and won gold. I could not be prouder,” said Kari Cunningham, mother of Tanner Cunningham.
The players from Lac La Biche aren’t strangers to the St. Albert Thunder; many of the players have played together in the past, and for previous “AAA” teams in the region.
“It was great to play with those guys, they already had a great team, and we came on board to help give them a bit more depth,” said Cunninham.
The Thunder certainly appreciated the help, and were even more excited to come home with the Gold.
