Obviously the Ungava Cup is a lot bigger than I first anticipated. With keyword searches on my last title, I got 28 hits in the last two days! As such, I'll try to give as much of an update as I can.
The latest game (that we just got back from) had 4-1 Salluit facing off against 4-1 Kangirsuk, battling for a share of first place. Kangirsuk came out to a 4-1 lead after two periods, only to have Salluit shrink that lead to 4-3 late in the third. Kangirsuk took a penalty with only 48 seconds left, Salluit pulled their goalie to try to get the equalizer, but came up a little short.
That leaves Kangirsuk tied for first with Kuujjuaq, and I wasn't able to figure out who won between them to settle the tie. Whoever won between them will play in the first semi-final at 1:00, while whoever lost between them will host Salluit at 3:00. The bronze medal game is scheduled for 7:00, while the gold/silver game is at 9:30. Should be an exciting day!
That aside (for those just tuning in because of the title), a brief commentary on the ultimate small town hockey experience. The arena is called the Kopak Tayara Memorial Arena. The arena manager is Johnny Tayara (probably not a coincidence that he has the same last name as the one over the door). When we scored our one goal in the second period, they announced the goal as being scored by Johnny Tayara. I was thinking that there must be more than one guy by that name. Sure enough, when the period was over and the Zamboni came out onto the ice, it was Johnny Tayara driving, with skate guards and full equipment. His last name is on the arena, he's the manager, he scored the only goal to that point, and he was driving the Zamboni in full equipment during the intermission. That's small town hockey!
Play on Johnny... play on!
Stay tuned.
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