December 2nd-4th was a busy time for the local Nelson arenas as the U15 House team hosted their Nelson Shoppers Drug Mart Tournament. 6 teams participated in the event: 4 U15 teams from Nelson, Castlegar, Trail and Idaho and 2 U13 Rep teams who stepped in to fill some last minute cancellations. Shout out to the Nelson and Castlegar U13 Rep teams who took on the challenge of playing the older age group!
The semi-final showdown on Sunday was exciting as the Nelson U13 Rep team faced off against the Nelson U15 House team. There were siblings on both teams playing against each other for the first time! Ultimately, the House team won, ensuring that a Nelson team would be in the gold medal game.
After the O Canada played at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon at the NDCC, the puck dropped as the Nelson Leafs took on the Palouse Bears from Idaho. It was a tightly contested match until late in the third period, when the Bears pulled ahead. An empty net goal sealed the day and the team from the US was victorious 5-2.
Congratulations to all players and volunteers who made the tournament a success! Thank you to the various businesses from our community for supporting the tournament!