Despite snowy roads, the 34th annual 100 Mile Adult Hockey Tournament was a resounding success.
Lead organizer and longtime hockey player Greg Aiken said that they had 12 teams for the men’s divisions, seven local and five out of town, and four for the women’s, two local and two out of town. Everything went smoothly and ran on time, Aiken added, with no big problems on the ice outside of some friendly ribbing of the referees.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of close games, which we kind of strive to do. We want all the divisions to be competitive and the lady’s division was competitive but I was hoping for some other close games in the other division but it’s something we work on every year,” Aiken said. “We have a lot of returning teams every year. They seem to have a good time and enjoy themselves, that’s what we strive for to give them a good experience in 100 Mile House.”
Set up in a round-robin style, Aiken said the winners of each division were the ones who won the most games. In the Rec Division it was 100 Mile Motor Sports who took first place. In the 45+ Division, the Puck Hogs took first while Kamloop’s Free Radicals claimed first in the 65+ Division. Aiken observed wryly the Free Radicals have dominated that division for the last seven years in a row.
The Ladies’ Division, which took place at the Rolf Zeis Memorial Arena in Lac La Hache, saw the Quesnel Team take top marks.
Off the ice, Aiken praised the team of volunteers he worked with to make the tournament happen. The referees, scorekeepers, refreshment garden attendants and other volunteers all helped make the event a success. He noted that the Red Rock Grill did a great job in catering their dinner/dance on Saturday night.
Aiken said he encourages anyone who took part in the tournament to reach out to him at gregoryaiken13@gmail.com to provide feedback on the balance of each division. That way next year they can ensure the games are more competitive and fun for everyone.
“We get input from each of the teams on where they’re at and who they’ve got. It’s not a perfect science but we do our best to make it as perfect as possible,” Aiken remarked. “I like to get input from all the other teams coming to town. We just want to make it better every year.”
