Disappointing second year for B.C. squads

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British Columbia's entrants in the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC) held April 17 to 23 in Miramichi, N.B., once again struggled.

B.C. was represented in both the girls' and boys' divisions at the nationals, but neither side managed to register a victory.

The lone bright spot was for the female club which managed a tie in one of its four games. As for the B.C. male team, it lost all six of its matches.

The performances of the B.C. squads was reminiscent of last year when the nationals were staged in Prince George. Despite having home-ice advantage at the 2004 tournament, the B.C. girls' team only registered one victory in seven matches. And the B.C. boys' club lost all five of its contests.

The NAHC is the premier hockey event organized annually by the Aboriginal Sport Circle. Both B.C. squads faced some stiff opponents in Miramichi.

"This tournament represented the most highly competitive one in the four-year history of the event," said Rick Brant, the executive director of the Aboriginal Sport Circle, adding he was impressed with the calibre of play of all the entrants.

"All the teams were highly competitive," he said.

The B.C. female squad was blanked 8-0 in its tournament opener by Ontario South. The club then managed what proved to be its lone point of the event when it played to a 4-4 draw against the Northwest Territories entry.

In its final two round-robin games, B.C. was blanked 5-0 by Ontario North and suffered a lopsided 13-0 loss against the Quebec-based club called Eastern Door and the North (EDN).

The B.C. male squad was dumped 7-2 by Alberta in its opener. Then Ontario South registered an 8-0 victory over B.C.

The West Coast side also endured a pair of other round-robin defeats. Team Atlantic dumped B.C. 9-2. And Ontario South earned a 7-4 victory.

In quarter-final action B.C. was blanked 7-0 by Team Atlantic. And in its final match B.C. was downed 8-5 by Alberta in a relegation contest that decided seventh and eighth place.

EDN won the female crown at the nationals as it edged Ontario South 4-3 in the gold-medal game.

Ontario South had won the girls' title in each of the previous three nationals.

Meanwhile, Ontario North successfully defended its championship in the boys' category.

Ontario North beat Team Atlantic 3-2 in overtime in the gold-medal battle.

Though an official announcement has not been made, it is expected the 2006 NAHC will be held in Quebec.