The Castlegar Maximum Ice Hockey league hosted a tournament last weekend.
This year marked 25 years for the tournament and 16 teams participated in games at the Pioneer Arena and Castlegar Community Complex. Most of the teams came from the local area but several teams travelled from Creston, Cranbrook and Spokane to participate.
The tournament featured three men’s divisions and one ladies’ division. The Dekes of Hazard won the Competitive Division, the Cellar Dwellers won the Max Division and the Spokane Oldtimers won the Ice Division. The Kootenay Cougars were the victors in the Ladies Division.
There was a lot of great hockey played out on the ice and it took staying undefeated for the length of the tournament to win each division.
The charity tournament raised money for a number of local causes. This year’s funds will go to the Michael Hinde Foundation, the Aurora Wright bursary and the Max Ice bursary at Stanley Humpries Secondary School. The tournament was also able to support the Timberwolves from the West Kootenay Lacrosse League through the concession profits.
“We couldn’t have done this tournament without the hard work of our volunteers,” said tournament organizer Logan Voykin. “Our volunteers spent hours in the rink freezing their butts off making this tournament happen and we would be lost without them. I can’t say enough good things about the people that help behind the scenes. They are high-quality individuals who sacrifice their time for this weekend and spend countless hours planning this tournament.”