As AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill blared over the loudspeaker Team Nunavut and Team Alaska’s U15 Men’s teams took to the ice greeted by the shouts of excited fans, athletes, and families. Prior to the puck drop, I spoke with Robin Ouellette, a retired teacher from Machetanz Elementary who showed up at the game to cheer on her former student, #35 Torsten Decovich. “I am super excited to be here to support a former Bear Cub” Robin said. The first period set the stage for an intense showdown, with Team Alaska dominating from the first whistle, displaying exceptional skill and coordination on the ice. The defensive maneuvers and goaltending of both teams kept the score close. With 11:29 left in the first period, Asher Roy scored the first goal for Team Alaska, opening the scoring. After the first period, the score was Alaska 1 Nunavut 0, despite the shots on goal being 13-1 in favor of Alaska, the Nunavut goalie did everything –including standing on his head– to keep the puck out of his net.
As the second period began, the scoring started as soon as the puck hit the ice and with 16:50 left in the second period Ryaln McIlroy extended the lead to 2-0 for Team Alaska. Team Alaska struck just moments later with 15:31 left in the second period with a goal from Patrick Forestal scores, making the score 3-0 for Team Alaska. Team Alaska further extended the score with 10:53 left in the second period on a goal from Isaiah Gonzalez scored, increasing Alaska's lead to 4-0 and moments later at 10:46 of the second period Roman Marcotte scored on an unassisted breakaway, making it 5-0 in favor of Team Alaska. Cooper Circousta scored from an impossible angle from behind the net with 4:26 left in the second period, contributing Alaska's fifth goal of the high octane period. As the clock ran down to 10 seconds, Isaiah Gonzalez scored his second goal of the game, bringing the lead up to 7-0 for Team Alaska.
Despite a shot-on-goal differential now at 50 shots to 3 and Alaska dominating the game, Nunavut fans were not ruffled. They faithfully clapped noisemakers, waved flags, and stomped their feet trying to gain momentum for their squad. One fan shared “Go Nunavut”! The third period got chippy with plenty of penalties and some harsh warnings from the refs to both teams. With 7:23 left in the third period Nunavut finally broke through and shored off a rebound from the goalies' pads. As the final horn rang overhead the score read Team Alaska 7 Team Nunavut 1 and shots were 64 to 7 in favor of Alaska.