Chance For Two Medals

The final games of the 2019 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships take place tomorrow in Whitehorse after the field had been narrowed down to the final four teams on both the men's and women's sides of the event. Manitoba, the two-time defending champions in the women's event, will return to the final for the third-straight year as they look to three-peat against Saskatchewan while the Manitoba men will compete for bronze after falling to Alberta in the semi-final. Regardless of the outcome, three provinces have a chance at two medals on the final day of the 2019 NAHC.

It's pretty remarkable to have both teams from a single province play for a gold medal, but Saskatchewan will have that opportunity tomorrow as both their men's and women's teams play in the final. The Saskatchewan women went 2-0 in the round-robin, scoring 11 goals and surrendering just one goal in downing Team North 7-0 and Team BC 4-1. Saskatchewan moved to the qualifying round where they dominated with a 2-0 win over Team BC, leading to a semi-final berth tonight where they defeated Team BC 3-0 in a rematch to advance to the gold medal final.

The Saskatchewan men went 1-1 in round-robin play, losing 6-3 to Alberta and winning 7-1 over Eastern Door & North. In the qualifying round, Saskatchewan downed Eastern Door & North by a 9-0 score to advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal saw Saskatchewan defeat Team Atlantic 9-2 and then rally to defeat top-seeded Team BC in the semifinal tonight by a 3-1 score to secure a berth in the gold medal game as the only province to have both teams play for gold.

The Saskatchewan women will face the Manitoba women who, as stated above, are looking for the three-peat. Manitoba went 2-0 in the round-robin, scoring 14 goals and surrendering just two goals in a 7-0 win over Alberta and a 7-2 win over New Brunswick. They beat second-seeded Ontario 6-2 to advance to the semi-final where they would face Ontario again, and they only made the score worse as they beat Ontario for a second time by a 7-0 score to advance to the gold medal final.

The Saskatchewan men will battle the Alberta men who went 2-0 in the round-robin with that aforementioned 6-3 win over Saskatchewan and a 5-3 win over Eastern Door & North. In the qualifying round, Alberta hammered third-seeded Manitoba 7-0 to advance to the semi-final where they'd meet the Manitobans again, and Alberta qualified for the gold medal final with a 6-4 over Manitoba in the rematch.

As it stands, the four games that will happen in Whitehorse on Sunday are as follows:

Women - Ontario vs British Columbia (8:30am)
Men - Manitoba vs British Columbia (11:30am)

Women - Manitoba vs Saskatchewan (2:30pm)
Men - Alberta vs Saskatchewan (5:30pm)

Depending on which teams are successful, Manitoba could return to their province with two medals, British Columbia could return to their province with two medals, but Saskatchewan is guaranteed to return to their province with two medals. All three provinces should be proud of the men and women who are representing them this week in Whitehorse, and I know I'll be watching these teams compete on Sunday.

Good luck to the remaining teams, and here's hoping Manitoba brings home two medals!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!