Windspeaker Sports Briefs - November 2013

Asham demoted
It remains to be seen whether Arron Asham has played his final National Hockey League game. The 35-year-old Métis from Portage La Prairie, Man. is in his 16th pro season.

Asham started the 2013-14 campaign with the NHL’s New York Rangers, but after playing three games with the Rangers the club placed him on waivers.

Since no other NHL squad was interested in his services at the time, the Rangers sent Asham to their minor league affiliate Hartford Wolfpack, members of the American Hockey League. The fact Asham cleared waivers, after he no longer fits into the Rangers’ immediate plans, could indeed signal that the right winger will not play another NHL contest.

Besides the Rangers, Asham played for five other NHL teams during his career. He broke into the league during the 1988-89 campaign with the Montreal Canadiens. He also suited up for the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Offensively his most productive season was in 2002-03 with the Islanders when he registered career highs in goals (15), assists (19) and obviously, points (34). Asham has appeared in a total of 858 NHL matches. He recorded 227 points, including 105 goals.

Hot start for Blizzard
Early indications are the OCN Blizzard will have yet another successful campaign. The Opaskwayak Cree Nation club competes in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL). The squad, which plays its home contests in The Pas, Man., advanced to the league semi-finals in each of the past two seasons.

As for this year, the Blizzard was sporting a 7-4-1 record following its first 12 contests. With its 15 points, the OCN side was atop the league’s Sher-Wood Division, which features five entrants. Five other clubs compete in the MJHL’s Addison Division.

Though they do not necessarily have to be, the majority of the Blizzard players are Aboriginal. The OCN team has been around since the 1996-97 season. The organization was a powerhouse in the late ’90s and early on into the next decade, winning five consecutive MJHL championships from 1999 through 2003. The two semi-final appearances in the past two years are the closest the Blizzard has come to advancing to the league final since.

Iroquois win match
The Iroquois Nationals registered a convincing victory in the fourth annual Bowhunter Cup.

The lacrosse game has annually featured the Iroquois Nationals men’s team against an American squad.

The Iroquois Nationals handily defeated the United States Indoor League’s development team 24-11 in this year’s contest.

The match was staged Oct. 12 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Oshweken, Ont.

Roger Vyse, who also plays professionally with the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), led the Iroquois Nationals in this year’s contest with 10 points (four goals, six assists). Vyse, who is from Hagersville, Ont., was especially a force in the second quarter of the game as he registered three goals and three assists in that frame.

Both of the participating clubs featured players who also toil in the NLL.

Two-sport tournament
A long-running Aboriginal tournament that features both hockey and broomball categories will once again be held this year in Val d’Or, Que. The 33rd annual Senior Hockey and Broomball Tournament is scheduled for Dec. 5 to Dec. 8.

The event is organized by Cree Regional Events and Entertainment (CREE).

More than 60 squads are expected to take part in the tournament. The event will feature five divisions, including the highest calibre men’s A grouping. There will also be three other men’s divisions; competitive, recreational and oldtimers for those ages 40 and over.

There will also be a women’s hockey division. And two broomball categories will be contested. They are for open and recreational squads. Teams will be vying for a share of close to $70,000 in prize money that is up for grabs. The registration deadline is Nov. 20. For more information call the CREE office at (819) 825-2648.

Blackwater in Austria
Much-travelled Judd Blackwater has taken his hockey talents overseas this season. The 26-year-old, who is from Alberta’s Blood Tribe, is toiling for a squad called Ljubljana Olimpija HK in the Austrian Hockey League.

Blackwater, who is in his sixth pro season, has now played for nine different pro franchises in four different leagues.

A year ago he toiled for the Las Vegas Wranglers, members of the East Coast Hockey League. He racked up 50 points, including 19 goals in 67 games with the Wranglers.

As for this season, he had five points in his first 11 contests.