The highlight of every midget hockey player’s season has come and gone.
The 16th annual Yelnats Cup midget hockey tournament took to the ice at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre from March 31 to April 3 as 24 teams from across the province and British Columbia flocked to the arena for a chance at glory.
For longtime tournament organizer and volunteer Christina Singeris, it was bittersweet as her youngest son Alexander Singeris captained the Cochrane Chiefs in the Tier 5/6 division to the cup after a 4-3 overtime win against North West Warriors on April 3.
“After seven years of being part of this, it’s finally over,” she said. “After 20 years I’m retiring from hockey.
“All three of my sons – Anthony, Milton, and Alexander – have their names on the cup. It’s incredible because this game was so tight. Last time when my first two sons played it also went to overtime and Anthony got the winning goal.”
This time around, the hero for the Chiefs was forward Craig DeleMare, who playing in his last ever minor hockey game, scored the winner less than a minute into overtime after bursting through on a breakaway.
“I’m speechless,” DeleMare said. “It was absolutely amazing, I’m so pumped. We played these guys in the first game of the season, and the exact same thing happened, but the goalie saved my shot. It was amazing to get the goal this time around.
“I’m having the best time of my life.”
For Chiefs head coach Dave Koop, it was a special occasion as his son Ethan was part of the championship side.
“I’ve been in this tournament a couple times, but I’ve never won it as a coach,” Koop said. “It was a lot of fun, this is a great bunch of kids. We have five graduating players and to finish their careers on top is the best thing that could happen.”
One of the graduating players, Chiefs goalie Haileigh Gofton, had won the tournament before, but this time around it was a lot harder to go all the way.
“We really had to step our game up to win it this year,” she said. “This win was extra sweet, it’s without doubt one of the highlights of my hockey career.”
Does she plan to continue playing in the future despite her minor career being over?
“I hope so,” she said. “Maybe try out for university or a recreational league team, we’ll have to wait and see.”
As for the Yelnats tournament itself, nothing is set in stone about any future plans, but Singeris believes plans may be in the works to include a female division in future years.
“We’ve had 24 teams this year, which is the most we can handle,” she said. “One of the things that’s been mentioned is to reduce the number of teams per tier to include the girls, but nothing is set in stone. However, that would be the next logical step in including everyone.”
One thing Singeris does know for sure though, is that local businesses will continue to step up and support the tournament through thick and thin.
“If it wasn’t for our parents and volunteers, we wouldn’t be as nearly successful as we are,” she confirmed. “They always work hard and no one complains. The retail businesses in this town step up to the plate and support us 100 per cent.
“It’s been a sweet way for this to end for me personally. Part of me would love to come back but it’s time for the young to take over. I’ll always have amazing memories from this, and hopefully it can continue and in 20 or 25 years I’ll be watching my grandchildren on the ice.”
