Team Tootoo too much to handle

Team Tootoo defeated Team North 6-4 in the championship game to claim the A Division title at the Terence Tootoo Memorial (TTM) senior men’s hockey championship in Rankin Inlet on March 17. Team Rankin Inlet captured the B Division crown at the event. Team Tootoo’s Panniuq Karetak said there has definitely been some years when the pace at the TTM has been quicker. He said the pace may have seemed a little bit slower to some this year because it’s, for the most part, the same guys who are competing. “We’re all a little bit older now and we all play the game a little bit safer and don’t take too many risks,” said Karetak. “It was a really weird year, to be honest. Sometimes it was really sloppy and sometimes there was a lot of flow going.” Karetak said everyone on Team Tootoo came into the championship game feeling pretty confident about their chances. He said the team knew a lot of the players on Team North were pretty young and a lot of the guys on Team Tootoo still had most of their speed intact. “We had some good passers and shooters on the team and I think it was just a matter of using our experience against a really young squad who were a young-and-gun-style team. “They were a very, very young team and we just had to make sure we kept them on the outside, stuck to our game plan and kept our eyes on the prize. “They had some really skilled players, but when two teams like that play against each other, usually the more experienced team comes out on top. Team North were like playing a Naujaat team in that they never quit. They just keep coming.” Karetak said he prefers the TTM to have the highest level of play possible, so he doesn’t mind teams recruiting players from other areas. He said sometimes when a tournament is simply community against community, you see a lot of mercy-rule games and that’s no fun for anyone. “I’ve played in too many of those games over the years and it would just feel like we were going backwards at this point. “It was really good hockey in both divisions this year and you can’t ask for much more than that. There were no blowout games. “I think Coral Harbour was the only team that had just a community team and that’s always nice to see. We really wanted Naujaat to come too, but, unfortunately, they couldn’t find any accommodations over the weekend so they couldn’t make it this year. “I think this year had the highest intensity ever at the TTM and I’m already looking forward to it again next year.”