99ers capture first place in home tournament

The local 99ers Brockie.org Atom ‘AA’ hockey team hosted Dryden, Kenora, Red Lake, and two teams from Thunder Bay for a tournament over the weekend.
The 99ers opened round-robin play by blanking the Westfort Rangers 9-0 and then crushed the Red Lake Rockets 14-1 in their second game.
The Dryden Paper Kings handed the 99ers their only defeat, downing them 4-2 in a closely-contested game.
But the 99ers bounced back, battling the Norwest Stars to a 5-5 draw before beating Kenora 6-0 in their final round-robin game.
The Paper Kings, who previously won the ‘A’-side of all the tournaments they’ve entered so far and, in fact, have suffered just two losses their entire season, ended up finishing in first place after pool play, with the 99ers in second.
But the 99ers would not be daunted.
In the final, the locals scored first in the second period and then quickly followed that with a short-handed goal, giving them a 2-0 lead.
The team then played solid defensive hockey—keeping Dryden off of the scoreboard en route to the 2-0 victory.
To defeat the Dryden Paper Kings in the ‘A’-side final was a testament to total team play and was an exceptional accomplishment. The boys should be very proud of themselves.
Over and above the success of winning the local tournament, the 99ers also met a team goal set by sponsor Craig Brockie: that being to reach 99 points in the season.
The 99ers surpassed that goal over the weekend—and still have lots of hockey left to play.
Congratulations, 99ers! You have proven the determination, hard work, and, most of all, teamwork is what it takes to get the job done!