Coyne finishes on top in broomball league
Two goals scored on a power play was all Coyne needed Saturday in the Yukon Broomball Association's league championship final.
By Jon Molson on March 16, 2009
Two goals scored on a power play was all Coyne needed Saturday in the Yukon Broomball Association's league championship final.
Coyne was dominant in this year's playoffs, outscoring its last three opponents by a 13-1 margin, including Saturday's 2-0 victory over the Yukon News.
The victory earned the squad its second consecutive broomball title in a row.
"It feels really good to keep our title again this year,” said Coyne goaltender Tim MacIntosh. "There was a lot of good competition. This team (the News) is a really good team to play against, and our boys kept it up like they do. We all had our game clicking and it feels good to win again.”
The Year-end Broomball Trophy was out on display, sitting in between the two benches during the entire game.
It was an evenly played game right from the beginning, with both teams having their fare share of chances over the three periods.
The first frame looked like it would end in a scoreless draw, however, a late major penalty gave Coyne the extra body. The team took advantage and scored twice with less than five minutes remaining in period.
The first tally was sent through the five-hole of Yukon News goalie Chris Sawyer.
The second goal was put in a couple minutes later after the Yukon News couldn't get the ball out of its zone. The second goal was scored on the backhand.
Coyne didn't sit back after getting an early lead and kept its momentum going in the final two periods. For the remainder of the game the squad played more in the offensive zone, controlling ball, which helped them get the win.
Coyne finished the playoffs with a 4-0 record. It placed third in the league's standings in the regular season at 13-7.
The top three teams all had 13 wins this year in the broomball league.
Roadhouse finished with the most points, while the Yukon News were right in the mix, placing second in both the season and final.
MacIntosh said his team was excited about facing the News in the final.
"We were ready to come out to win this game, actually," he said. "Everybody came prepared to play and we did it again here."
Sukhie Sidhu, a forward on Coyne, said the team peaked at the right time of the season.
"We clicked really well when everyone was there and then we support each other," she said.
This is Sidhu's second season playing for Coyne. She finished with three goals and seven assist in eight games during the regular season. Sidhu said MacIntosh did a great job in net.
"Tim is phenomenal," she said. "He is the reason we get so far in some games, some games we shouldn't win and he is the reason why. He is the most valuable player on the team."
There were more than a few highlights for broomball officials this year in the league.
On the top of the list was a 30 per cent increase in overall membership. The additional players allowed the league to expand to six teams. The sixth team was sponsored by Whitehorse Flippers Pub.
Flippers was mostly rookies, but still managed to play its way to a fourth place finish. Capital Towing finished in the top three, beating Flippers 5-2.
The Yukon Broomball Association will put on one final tournament, which will be held in Haines Junction in April.
Milford Allain, one of the more experienced players on Flippers, said most of the players are hoping to win the Haines Junction tournament.
"They are pretty stoked about it, so they want to win it," he said.
Flippers got off to a good start in the playoffs, winning its first two games, before dropping its next three. However, Allain said the experience the team gained during that stretch will help out in Haines Junction.
He added the squad has improved a lot on defence and just has to work on scoring more goals.
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