Scaling down hockey doesn’t make the sport any less fun.
More than 200 kids took part in the annual Epic Ministicks Hockey Tournament, which was held on Saturday inside the gymnasium of the former Port Arthur Collegiate Institute building.
The tournament was organized by the Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team, and business development officer Dan Pella said they want to provide a fun holiday activity for children.
“It’s mainly for the kids. It’s a good time of year to do this and it can get pretty crazy,” Pella said.
“I think they enjoy it because it’s something different than the regular ice hockey. It’s a small space and they get to run around and bang into each other.”
The event consisted of 55 teams each with four players competing against three different age groups. The tournament was open to both boys and girls and each game was 12 minutes in duration.
There were eight mini-rinks set up throughout the gym with spirited action on each one.
Randy Neufeld registered his son Julian along with a team of his hockey friends and classmates from school.
“They’re having a blast and winning some games. They’re having fun and it’s a great event,” Neufeld said.
Each participant had to hear a helmet and hockey gloves and body contact was not permitted.
The round robin portion of the competition kicked off at 9:30 a.m. and action continued into the afternoon with the finals at 1:30 p.m.
Members of the winning teams were awarded with new full-sized hockey sticks and medals.
