No arena, no problem: Coral Harbour teens take hockey gold despite not having a space to practise in
CBC
A hockey team from Coral Harbour, Nunavut, won gold in Rankin Inlet this past weekend, despite not having access to an arena to practise in all season.
Not only did the U15 team take the championship at the annual Rock Cup tournament, they also managed to do it undefeated throughout the weekend.
"We're very serious about hockey and it just felt amazing to see hard work paying off," said coach Lenny Emiktowt.
Not having ice to practise on wasn't the only challenge the team had to overcome.
Their plane was delayed by a blizzard, meaning players had to hit the ice directly after their plane landed in Rankin Inlet on Saturday. They were originally supposed to arrive last Thursday.
Emiktowt said the team's hard work and dedication was impressive to watch.
"Obviously having no rink quite concerning for some of the youth or the whole community. Hockey, it plays a huge part in our mental health and our lives here," he said.
He said he said despite the team's challenges, he wasn't surprised they came out on top.
"They were determined to win," he said. "I'm a little bit emotional. It's not easy here when there's nothing to do."
Some players did practise on a small lake in the community, but that's only when it was cleared of snow.
Coral Harbour's arena has been closed all winter over fire and safety inspection issues.
"I hope it gets attention for the rest of the territory to help us out," Emiktowt said.
Emiktowt added they're still waiting to hear from the hamlet about when the arena will reopen.
Last fall, Community and Government Services Minister David Joanasie told the Legislative Assembly that the government is trying to work with the hamlet to fix the issues.
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