Lopsided victory for Manitoba squad

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There was no question as to which boys' entry was the best iced at the inaugural National Aboriginal Hockey Championships held April 21 to 27 in Akwesasne.

The Manitoba club was Number 1 especially after Manitoba crushed the Quebec reps (Eastern Door and The North) 8-2 in the gold-medal match.

A mercy rule was called into play in the final from the 8:27 mark of the second period. The tournament rule stipulated the game clock would continue to run (even during normal stoppages) once a team built a five-goal lead. Manitoba cruised to victory after taking a 7-2 lead in the second period.

Manitoba coach Derek Fontaine enjoyed his club's lopsided victory. And he didn't mind the fact the final was sped along.

"Those are the rules," he said. "And it's good because you don't want to run up the score on anybody."

The mercy rule also came into effect during four of Manitoba's five round-robin matches.

Manitoba blanked Ontario North and Nova Scotia by 5-0 and 9-0 scores, respectively. Manitoba also easily defeated Quebec 8-1 and Ontario South 9-3.

The only game Manitoba didn't dominate was its 4-4 round-robin tie against New Brunswick.

Quebec coach Steve Cheechoo knew his side faced a formidable task in the final.

"I think they're much older than us," Cheechoo said of the Manitoba club.

"It was a learning experience for us," Cheechoo added of the tournament. "And we wanted to develop our players as well. We didn't want to take all 17-year-olds. We wanted to think about next year as well."

Cheechoo is thrilled Native players now have their own Canadian championships to take part in.

"I think it's good for the Native people," he said. "They can now showcase their skills on a national level and get more exposure. And there were a lot of scouts here."

No doubt some of the tournament participants will go on to play for Major Junior A clubs next season. Those who had played more than 10 games at the Major Junior A level before the tournament were not eligible to take part.

Manitoba's roster included two players who had Western Hockey League stints. Defenceman Lyle McKay, Manitoba's captain, had played seven contests with the Brandon Wheat Kings this past season. And forward Ricky Kozack had a brief stay with the WHL's Prince George Cougars.

"Winning this feels really good," said McKay, who spent the majority of the past two seasons at the Tier II Junior A level with Manitoba's Selkirk Steelers.

McKay was one of seven Manitoba players to score in the final. Forward Joshua Sutherland led the way with a pair of goals. Also scoring for Manitoba were forwards Jamie Mousseau, Jay Courchene, Brian Spence and Kozack and defenceman Ryan Constant.

Forward Michael White and blueliner Sheldon Chewanish scored Quebec's goals.