THUNDER BAY -- Thunder Bay’s minor hockey championships (U15 – U18 aged teams) are wrapping up for the season with a number of deciding playoff games coming to a close.
Division final sweeps were the theme this year.
This season was special to many seeing with the return to an ‘almost normal’ hockey five-on-five format realized, by the easing of COVID protocols. The pervious year saw only the frequently interrupted and unfinished four-on-four non-contact version of the game. City championship playoffs and no spectator restrictions, provided crowded arenas around the city with stiff competition. Regular season game play ended with the top teams rolling into the playoff formats.
In the U18AA Division, the top finisher in regular season play, the Current River Comets, took the city title in a three-game playoff against third placed Fort William Canadians, winning the series 3-0.
U18A Division, the fifth-place Neebing Hawks bested that divisions first place Fort William Hurricanes with a 3-0 series finish.
The U15AA third-place regular season South End Rangers took the Cup in close games versus the fourth-place Norwest Stars in their 3-0 series win.
And in the fiercely competitive U15A Division, The Elks 82s team, who finished fifth in the regular season, finished with a six-game winning streak, after being two games down in a five-game semifinal series, to take the top podium spot away from KC Sabres with 3–0 win in the best-of-five final.
Banquet’s and parties will wrap up the 2021-22 season in next couple of weeks. All fingers are crossed for the a fully inclusive 2022-23 season, with the return of athletes excluded due to vaccination restrictions which are currently lifted.
A highlight return over Easter weekend this year is the always popular 3v3 tournament run by KC Minor Hockey.
Here young players get to pick their hockey friends to play in this non-stop skating and scoring format just for fun.
