March 24th – 28th 2015 saw the best under 20 juvenile broomball teams in Canada gather in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The weather overcast with snow forecast the games commenced at 8am day one at the PCU Centre. The eight boys and eight girls teams safely inside taking to the ice to at the prescribed times created a wonderful spectacle for the supporters and parents in attendance. The tournament opening ceremony was held late on the Wednesday afternoon with a piper playing in the young athletes and an honor guard from the RCMP also in attendance. The ball drop was performed by the Mayor of Portage la Prairie.
Winners and losers
After three days of close games Saturday dawned with just eight teams left to play for Bronze, Silver and Gold. First game on the Saturday was for the Bronze medal on the ‘B’ side of the Girls draw with Big River Crusaders taking the game from the host team from Manitoba. Next was the ‘B’ side boys Bronze between Bruno Axemen and Odessa Bandits with Odessa Bandits the winners. The third game of the day was the ‘B’ side Gold/Silver girls game between Debden Roadrunners and Twisted Sisters – Twister Sisters running away with the Gold medal. Last game from the ‘B’ side was the boys final between Blitz Temiscouata and The Windsor Devils. The Blitz taking this game and the gold medal.
‘A’ Side Finals
The “A’ side finals were all hotly contested with the first of the four games the girls Bronze between Eastern Thunder and T-Miss, Eastern Thunder taking this one. The Bronze Boys game saw Team Manitoba up against last years champions the Valley Gamblers. The Valley Gamblers getting the win in this game. The big games started with the girls Gold/Silver between Seaway Valley Devils and CAJ-Centre-du-Quebec. A close fought game with Seaway Valley Devils receiving the Gold medal. The last game of the tournament was probably the best game all week between Palmerston Posse and As-St-Coeur-de-Marie. The game was highlighted with high speed and stick skills by both sides, in the end only one can win and the team from Quebec, As-St-Coeur-de-Marie winning by just the single goal.
This yearly event is a showcase of talent that clearly demonstrates that the future of broomball across Canada is well in hand. For further details and all the scores visit the Broomball Canada web site.
