Fifteen hockey teams duked it out three-on-three style at the Centre de Loisirs des Draveurs arena in Fort-Coulonge over the weekend in the 13th annual Pontiac Cup, with three teams emerging as champions.
Joel Boisvert, long-time organizer, said the tournament is a fundraiser for the arena, which last year acquired a set of boards and replaced its refrigeration system.
“What we can give back is just a little bit toward [the arena], but it helps out at the end of the year to make them open the doors for the next year. Just that little bit helps,” he said.
Boisvert said while the turnout was not quite as large as in years past, teams were able to play more games. He said he was happy with the participation on the ice as well as in the stands in what was a busy weekend.
“It was great to have everybody out, it’s super great hockey to watch [ . . . ] we had games from 8:00 in the morning to 10:30 at night, so it was a jam-packed weekend and I think everybody had fun.” he said.
In the open division final, The Danford Lakers were two-time defending champions of the tournament but were dethroned by the hometown Fort-Coulonge Comets by a convincing score of 6-1.
While the result didn’t go his team’s way, Danford Laker Ryan Peck said his team had a lot of fun throughout the weekend.
“As always, the organizers do a great job of making sure everything runs smoothly and making it a fun weekend for everyone involved,” he said.
In the B division, Pembroke team the Hustlers took home the hardware, while the Tomatoes captured the women’s division title.
Boisvert expects to donate over $10,000 toward the arena, which he said will go toward general operations of the rink.
“Anything we can give out is money toward the rink that they didn’t have, so any amount is great.”
