Valcartier Lions valiantly defended their championship status with a 7-5 win over the Petawawa Stags during the final game of the CAF Men’s National Hockey Championships at CFB Shilo on March 9. (Photo: K-J Millar/Shilo Stag News)

K-J Millar
Shilo Stag News

The 2024 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Men’s National Hockey Championships wrapped when the Quebec Valcartier Lions team defended the prized cup with a 7-5 win over the Petawawa Stags at the competition held at CFB Shilo on March 9.

Tournament teams hit the ice at Gunner Arena on the afternoon of March 5 with a late start after inclement weather in Manitoba that closed highways, delayed flights and made travelling from across the country problematic.

As Co-Patron of the game, Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Line Laurendeau said she represents the players, coaches and everyone involved in the game. The tournament is an opportunity for the CAF to work together to grow the sport of hockey and improve it.

“Coming here is to reconnect with the players, the coaches, the officials and everybody else to see how we evolve and to strengthen our relationships.Through our relationships, this sport will grow and become better. Receiving feedback is circular because that’s how we improve.”

Andy Depner, recreation and sports coordinator, said despite the schedule amendments, the tournament was a fundamental success, being hosted at CFB Shilo for the first time, in his estimation, of 15 or more years.

“We had to change things up a bit. We had to adjust the tournament schedule based on the weather. We obviously got a lot of snow over the weekend as people travelled. And then we got a bunch more snow on Wednesday night as we were finishing up round-robins.”

The four national regions of Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and Canada West provinces came together in the round-robin tournament with enthusiasm and anticipation, all vying for their chance at the cup.

“We had [a solid] tournament here with four strong teams playing.
Each game was pretty tight,” Depner said.

The 2023 winners, Lions, went head to head with the rival Stags in the repeat 2024 final championship game, with Valcartier claiming the gold medal for the second year in a row and Stags adorned with silver. Earlier in the day, Canada West team, Edmonton Warriors, faced off against Atlantic Mariners, claiming the victory bronze.

“Any of the teams could have ended up in the champinship. Any of the teams could have won. When you see that parity across the tournament and that level of [competition] from all the teams, it’s really great to see,” Depner said.

“It takes a lot of resources and planning to pull off an event at the scale of Nationals, but it always feels worth it when you see the competition and camaraderie I’ve seen this week in Shilo. Teams have come out and played hard, the DND community has shown up and supported this tournament all week long …”

“… Despite the winter weather that has blown in, and we’ve had some amazing support from our rink staff, organizers, scorekeepers, athletic trainers, our canteen has been pumping out breakfast sandwiches all week, and the list goes on. I couldn’t thank everyone enough for how they’ve pulled together to make this event such a success.”

Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Laurendeau said from the time she stepped onto CFB Shilo until her departure at the end of the weeklong competition, she was treated like gold.

“The tournament was conducted excellently. I can only say positive things about CFB Shilo and the people from the base, the players, the families, the supporting staff all put Shilo on the map for events like this,” she said.

WATCH VIDEO: Blizzard of hockey action with 2024 CAF Men’s National Champs

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