The Northern Connector
Friday, February 5, 2016
Inside
SPORTS
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Athlete nominated for award By Cameron Orr THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
CONTRIBUTED / THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
The new portable court arrives in Prince Rupert just in time for the All Native tournament.
Rupert game for All Native basketball Feb. 7 By William Gye THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
PRINCE RUPERT - The All Native Basketball Tournament (ANBT) kicks off this coming week on Feb. 7. ANBT president Peter Haugan spoke about preparations, the unveiling of the new court, and the parody expected in the Seniors’ Division. “Everything is in order, the basketball portion of the tournament isn’t going to start until Feb. 8 - Monday morning. But on Sunday, we will have the coaches/managers’ meeting at 10
a.m. in the morning. At 2 p.m. we will unveil the brand new court. It will be in the arena, and a blessing of the court will happen. All are welcome to come witness the blessing of the new court,” he said. “At 7 p.m. on Sunday, [that] will be the opening ceremonies,” he added. Hosting the opening ceremonies this year is the Metlakatla Alaska Nation. In terms of competitive play, Haugan thinks that all four division titles are up for grabs with no one powerhouse expected to dominate. “The Seniors’ Division is wide open, there
are about five or six really good teams in there. They should push one another to be the champion. It should be a really level playing field, different than what we’ve seen in the past,” Peter mentioned. It should be a fantastic event, showcasing values and skills from First Nations culture, as well some quality basketball that some teams have been training all year for. For more information, check out the ANBT’s Facebook page at: All Native Basketball Tournament, or see the tournament guide sold throughout next week.
KITIMAT - Kitimat’s world renowned racewalking athlete Ben Thorne has been nominated as a finalist for the Sport BC Athlete of the Year. He’s a finalist as Male Senior Athlete of the Year. The final award will be announced March 10. “A significant number of very strong nominations for each of the categories were received this year,” said Sport BC President Rob Newman. “The Athlete of the Year Awards provides a great opportunity to recognize these talented and deserving athletes, coaches and officials. This year’s nominees in all of the award categories are certainly a testament to the strength and depth of sport development in our province over the last 50 years.” Thorne made headlines in 2015 when he earned a bronze medal at the World Athletic Championships in Beijing. He took the medal in the 20 kilomtre race walk event. That event was Thorne’s second Worlds championships, the first in Moscow in 2013 where he placed 20th.
River Kings prevail in first playoff game in Prince Rupert By William Gye/Margaret Speirs THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
TERRACE - The River Kings return to home ice for their second playoff game this weekend, after crushing the Prince Rupert Rampage 5-2 in the first game of the playoffs last Saturday, Jan. 30. The teams set a quick pace, and Colten Braid from Terrace took a boarding penalty early on, which opened the Rampage to score the first goal. Rupert’s Tyler Halliday got the puck on the hash marks and found Kory Movold back door, who opened his playoff account with an open net. Both teams took penalties, for roughing, holding, interference, and cross checking, which saw some open ice play, including some fouron-four. But goalies played strong and teams couldn’t capitalize on power plays, and Prince Rupert took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. As the second frame started, Terrace looked like they found another gear, punishing Prince Rupert with physical play and leading to the River Kings’ first goal. Steve Cullis brushed off the Rupert defenceman, checking him behind the net and then centred the puck to Ben Reinbolt who landed it to make it 1-1.
After a Rupert penalty for boarding, tempers were at the boiling point. Then Terrace’s Dawsen LeBlond picked up the puck out of almost thin air on the right hashmarks of the slot, and went to the short side for a 2-1 River Kings’ lead. The visitors kept up the pressure after their leading marker, but Rampage goaltender Devon Gerrits answered the bell. A couple minutes later, Rupert’s Tyler Halliday made a quick pass to Jared Meers who went short side on Terrace goaltender Patrick Leal in a two-on-one rush. They tied up the game again 2-2. But Terrace took full advantage of the minute following that goal, while Rupert’s defenses were down. Cullis landed one in the net on a pass from Josh Murray, making it 3-2 Terrace on a goal from Cullis. Terrace’s Colten Braid put the cap on what would be a period Prince Rupert would want to forget with a fourth goal in the frame. It was a feed from behind the net from Terrace’s Cory DeKelver, which made it 4-2 for the River Kings at the end of two periods. The third was gut-check time for Prince Rupert. Though they had chances, they couldn’t beat River Kings’ goalie Patrick Leal. Jordan Aubee, Prince Rupert
WILLIAM GYE / THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
The Terrace River Kings’ Dawsen Leblond, #10, shoots one just under the crossbar into the Rampage net at the first playoff game between the two teams in Prince Rupert Jan. 30. Terrace won 5-2. tough guy, dropped the mitts with Cory DeKelver. DeKelver didn’t seem to want anything to do with Aubee, so Aubee received seven minutes in penalties and a game misconduct. The fight happened with eight minutes left, essentially killing any chance of a Rampage comeback. Reinbolt landed a late goal on a
pass from Murray to make the final score 5-2. The Game 2 of the playoff series is at 8 p.m. on Saturday night at the Terrace Sportsplex and Game 3, if necessary, will be Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in Terrace. The team that wins the River Kings / Rampage playoff series will advance to play the winner of the
other western playoff series, being battled with Smithers and Kitimat. In their first playoff game, Smithers shellacked the Ice Demons 9-4 in Kitimat. The hockey season will wrap up with the Coy Cup Championship in Terrace March 22-26. The River Kings have a bye into the tournament as the host team.