The Sugar Cane gymnasium was filled to capacity Sunday for both the men’s and women’s finals of the 2016 Spring Ball Hockey Classic.
The two-day tournament, held June 4-5, featured cash prizes for first- and second-place teams, along with stylish trophies for award winners.
On the men’s side it was the Hitmen knocking off Dangledesh, 8-6, in a tightly-contested affair.
Meanwhile, in the women’s division, the Kali Muchkins defeated Immaculate, 7-2.
Prior to the final, the Hitmen had defeated Dangledesh to send them to the bottom side of the draw, where they bounced back to upend the Yellow Jackets to advance for the rematch in the championship.
On the women’s side the Munchkins went unbeaten with a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament.
Kyle Crump, recreation manager with the Williams Lake Indian Band and WLIB councillor and Hitmen goaltender Willie Sellars organized the tournament, which saw 14 teams spread over the two divisions compete.
“We’d hosted a similar tournament in September and really, in the past, tournaments were always played outside,” Crump said.
“Working with Willie, we wanted to see the gymnasium used for something positive.”
He said the end result was phenomenal, and was pleased at how many people came out to watch.
“It’s just nice to see,” he said.
“Even those who weren’t playing, they still came out to watch and that’s our whole goal — to bring people together for something positive and fun.”
The finals, meanwhile, were competitive in both divisions.
“The men’s was back and forth and it was a close game,” he said.
“Same thing with the women’s final. Both divisions were excellent.”
Following both championships awards were presented.
The following are award winners in both the men’s and women’s divisions:
Women’s Division Awards
MVP: Andrea Paul (Kali Munchkins)
All-Star: Rosey Myers (Immaculate)
Best Goalie: Zee Chelsea (Kali Munchkins)
Men’s Division Awards
MVP: Jordan Sellars (Hitmen)
All-Star: Cory Loring (Dangledesh)
Best Goalie: Myron Brigham (Yellow Jackets)