Igloo Hockey Festival off to fantastic start

The second annual Igloo Hockey Festival, being hosted at Bourda by the GCC Hockey Teams, got off to a fantastic start on Saturday (August 26) with Under-10 mixed hockey.  The diminutive stars of the sport played with great enthusiasm and seemed to be able to continue for as long as they were allowed, despite the scorching heat of the morning sun. 

The GCC Hurricanes blew away the opposition by playing unbeaten throughout including a 2-0 victory over GCC Thunder in the finals.  Kayson Gomes from GCC Thunder was the top scorer of the competition with five goals.

The Saints Scorpions registered two convincing victories for the day to secure a place in the Under-14 Boys final and await the outcome of the semi-final match between the Hikers and the Old Fort Arrows. 

On the girls side, GCC Marian face GCC Challengers, who dominated their pool round clash 9-2.  GCC Marian however, will be at full strength for the final which should make for a more intriguing battle for the Girls Under -4 title.  This final should be a high-scoring duel as the top scorers of the competition, Sarah Klautky and Abosaide Cadogan, will both feature for Marian and Challengers respectively.

The Boys Under-17 semi-finals have GCC playing against Joseph Warriors and Hikers taking on Old Fort Cannons.  While the GCC Spartans enter the final day of competition as strong favourites in the Girls Under-17 final, they first have to get past the Old Fort Goal-chasers.  The winner of that match will meet Saints in the final. 

The Under-21 Girls champions will be determined by the winner of the GCC Spartans vs Old Fort Lady Bugs match with the Spartans being the favourite through their early match successes.  National striker Aliyah Gordon has been the player to watch in this competition so far and will surely play a key role in the final.  The Under-21 Boys competition however, remains wide open as Saints clash against Old Fort Lions while Hikers face arch-rivals GCC.

The Open Women’s division saw the Woodpecker Hikers defeat GCC Spice by 6-5 and await the outcome of a Saints vs Pizza Hut GCC battle to determine who goes forward to the final.  In the Men’s Open division, Bounty GCC crushed Old Fort Gosh by 11-1 while Saints mashed up the GCC Bulldogs by 8-4.  The Pepsi Hikers and Old Fort Damn both make their first appearance on the second day with both teams expected to be solid contenders for the crown.