(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

National Spotlight

Local teams vying for National gold at Chief Thunderstick Championships

May 17, 2024 | 4:15 PM

The fourth annual Fred Sasakamoose “Chief Thunderstick” National Hockey Championship kicked off on Thursday in Saskatoon with more than a handful of local teams competing for their shot at national glory.

Among those teams is last year’s runners-up the PBCN (Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation) Stars, who fell in last year’s final to Manitoba’s Cross Lake Islanders.

Other local teams in Central Sask. competing in this year’s tournament include the Muskeg Lake Blades, James Smith Resilient, Pelican Lake, Red Pheasant Rebels, La Ronge 89ers, Canoe Lake Young Guns, Beardy’s Blackhawks, Whitefish Flyers, Sweetgrass Broken Feathers, Mistawasis Nêhiyawak, and Onion Lake Border Chiefs.

In total, 40 teams from across the country are competing in the 2024 installment with 15 from Saskatchewan, eight from Manitoba, seven from Alberta, four from Quebec, three from Ontario, and one each from New Brunswick, Yukon, and Nunavut.

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In the women’s division, 13 teams will battle for the title as a new champion will be crowned since last year’s winners, the Mistawasis Sage Strong, are not competing in 2024.

The local teams in the women’s tournament include the Fort Carlton Blackhawks, Red Pheasant Lady Rebels, La Ronge Lady9ers, and Northeast Wildcats. Out of the 13 teams, six are from Saskatchewan, three from Alberta, two from Manitoba, and one each from Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

A National Champion in both the men’s and women’s divisions will be crowned on Sunday.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com