Organizers are hoping to build on the success of the last year's Ice Breaker Tournament.
The Westfort Rangers brought back the annual event in 2021 after the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“[This is] the first local tournament, with games starting just a few weeks ahead in the Lakehead Minor Hockey League and Thunder Bay Minor Hockey Association loops,” said Westfort Hockey Association president Lex MacArthur, who also sits on the tournament organizing committee. “The [tournament] is the unofficial kickoff to the season and a measuring stick for teams to see how they are progressing.”
The long-standing tournament will play games at the Delaney, Port Arthur, Neebing and Fort William First Nation arenas with the Tournament Centre hosting all of the championship games on Nov. 12.
Sixty teams will take part in the four-day event with six divisions: Under-11A, Under-11AA, Under-13A, Under-13AA, Under-15A, and Under-18A.
MacArthur noted that there are a lot of logistics that go into putting together this event.
“[We strive to] ensure [that there is] adequate time between games for teams, when there [are] instances of playing multiple games in a day,” he added. “We outsource the scheduling of the on ice and off ice officials to Colin Dzijacky, who assigns referees, and Albina Dagenais, who schedules timekeepers. Both are invaluable to organizations in their roles.”
“The executive puts in a lot of hours, sometimes 15–16-hour days during the weekend. We are fortunate to have a decent sized group of dedicated volunteers on hand to ensure that the games run smoothly, scores get reported and standings updated in a timely fashion.”
Registration for the tournament opened in the middle of August, with MacArthur indicating that 45 teams signed up before the beginning of September.
The tournament begins on Nov. 9 at 10:00 a.m.
