Four in a row for Eagles in Northern First Nations Hockey Tournament

The Lac Seul Eagles soared to their fourth consecutive championship Sunday at the Northern First Nations Hockey Tournament in Sioux Lookout.
Lac Seul outscored Pikangikum Stampede in the championship game 5-1 to take the title.
Despite the Eagles’ defending champion status, there was reason to consider them the underdogs heading into this year’s final. The Stampede, after all, had earlier in the tournament defeated Lac Seul 6-3. Pikangikum posted an undefeated record during round robin play: five wins and a tie.
In three playoff games including the final, however, Lac Seul allowed just two goals. The Eagles started their playoff run by shutting out last year’s C-side champion Kasabonika Islanders 8-0, then edged the Michikan Mavericks 3-1 in a semifinal game.
Jeff Schenderling led the Eagles in tournament scoring, just as he did in 2013, with 25 points.
In its semifinal, Pikangikum squeaked by the Bamaji Ice by a score of 4-3. Kyle Peters scored two goals for the Stampede in that game, including the game-winner.
Bamaji also fell short in the B-side final, losing to the Mavericks 4-1. Kevin Mckay opened the scoring for Michikan and assisted on his team’s other three goals. He was also his team’s leading scorer in the tournament, with 25 points.
The Mavericks posted the only perfect round robin record, with six wins and no losses.
Another Michikan team didn’t fare as well in its championship game. The Michikan Bears dropped a 7-2 decision to the Hudson Bay Cree in the C-side final. Richard Soloman had five points in the game – two goals and three assists – to lead the Cree offence.
Soloman also tied with teammate Sheldon Sackaney for the tournament lead in scoring. Each of them had 31 points. Sackaney also scored the most goals: 21.