It was an exciting weekend for the Nakusp Falcons Bantam team as they took part in the annual Bantam tournament at the Nakusp Arena.
Unlike other games the Bantam Falcons have played this season, the teams they faced were all from the Okanagan, including cities like Vernon, Kelowna, and Salmon Arm.
The home team kicked off the tournament weekend with a game against the Salmon Arm Brawlers.
Falcons were energetic as they took on their first team, and it was very clear they had been working very hard on their game.
“The team has been working on passing and position playing,” said Wayne Hascarl, head coach of the Falcons. “Just being in the right spot at the right time, using the whole ice, and keeping their feet moving.”
Hascarl looked forward to the weekend ahead, seeing it as an opportunity for the Falcons to work on their skills as they had never gone up against any of these teams before.
Falcons players were impressed with what they saw over the three-day tournament.
“They were all pretty good and they all had really good goalies, but I think ours was still better,” joked Isaac Flamand, captain of the Bantam Falcons. “Lots of them had really tall players and that kind of threw me off, but we still played our hardest.”
Play hard they did. Though they lost their first game against Salmon Arm, the team managed to tie both of their games on Saturday.
By Sunday morning the Falcons were once again playing against Salmon Arm, this time to determine who would go on to the finals and who would take fourth in the tournament.
Parents from other teams who had never seen the Falcons play were very impressed with what they saw.
“It’s a pretty good team,” said Jeremy Menzies. “This is the second game against them and it’s some good hockey, I’m really impressed with them.”
While many at the arena took the tournament seriously, there were some light-hearted moments during the games. One such moment was when the Falcons’ goalie stopped the puck from getting into his net by literally falling flat on his back.
Though the team only managed to take fourth place in the tournament, many of the players saw it as a chance to learn and grow.
“It gets us ready for our league,” said Flamand. “These teams are usually really good, and tougher. I think it’s a test for us.”