The ice surfaces of the Canada Games Centre and the Takhini Arena were bustling with oldtimers hockey action this past weekend.

Thirteen teams battled it out across three divisions in the annual Oldtimers Hockey Tournament.

It took two shootouts to determine a winner in the top divisions with the Haines Junction One-Timers downing the Whitehorse Roadhouse Rats 5-4 in the Goodie division and Nu-Line Powerline Contractors defeating the Carmacks Eagle Rock Flyers 3-2 in the Whipper division.

In the third tier, the Dauber division, the Dease Lake Rams played their way to 7-0 win over the Whitehorse Fossils.

"It was a great tournament and a lot of fun,” said Bernie Adilman, president of the Whitehorse oldtimers hockey league and tournament organizer.

"We had two great finals and everything went as smoothly as expected.”

Adilman, who played for the Carmacks team, said the tournament presents a good opportunity for the players to mix up their regular season teams and get to know new teammates.

"You usually see the guys across the ice from you during the regular season so to play alongside them on the same team is a lot of fun,” he said.

Two of 13 the teams were made up from players from the Whitehorse league with the other teams representing neighbouring communities and mixed in with local and out-of-town players.

"It was a great tournament,” said Mike Gau, captain of the Nu-Line Powerline Contractors team.

"The teams were really even and it was great hockey.”

It took ten shooters to decide a winner in the Whipper division final.

"You don't get to do a shootout very often,” saud Gau. "I appreciate the pros when they do it because it's not easy.”

After the Nu-Line team sealed their win, the Haines Junction and Whitehorse Roadhouse teams took the ice, hoping to avoid a similar fate.

"We watched the shootout before our final and we said to ourselves lets take care of this game in regulation but we fell asleep at the wheel,” said Haines Junction captain Sean Sheardown.

After the first period, Haines Junction found themselves down 4-1 to the hometown Rats.

Sheardown said after the rocky start the team calmed their nerves and leveled out for the rest of the game.

"We had to work pretty much the entire game to get back into it,” he said. "There wasn't a whole lot of time left on the clock when we got the tying goal so at that point we were pretty grateful just to take it to overtime.”

Sheardown attributed the team's success to their cohesiveness on the ice.

"There was a lot of positive energy amongst each other,” he said. "A lot of support for each other. We didn't get down on each other when things were going bad.”

The team also benefited from strong goaltending from goalie Gene Johnson.

"He was fantastic for us,” said Sheardown.

With the win, the Haines Junction team preserved an undefeated record, after going 3-0 in the preliminary round.

"We've played in this tournament a few times,” said Sheardown.

"I've been out in the junction five or six years now and we come in every year to play and in the time I've been around this is the first time we've won the thing so that felt pretty nice.”

For their efforts, the team was rewarded with towels.

Sheardown said the prize didn't matter but the win was a nice achievement for the team.

"We've been playing pretty steady here in the Junction and gone into a few tournaments but haven't had very much success. This was the first tournament we've won so it definitely feels good.”

Gau, who was playing in the tournament for the second year in a row, said the Nu-Line team was able to capture the middle division title because of their emphasis on the defensive end.

"Defence was first with us,” he said.

"We knew not everyone can score but everyone can back-check so we really emphasized that and it resulted in very few odd-man rushes and we got rid of the loose rebounds quickly so it helped out our goalie.”

The team was also able to generate offensive opportunities and bury the puck when it mattered most.

Gau said the tournament was a bit of adjustment for the team who are used to playing pick-up hockey once a week.

"We're used to playing without refs, no set lines, just mixing it up,” he said.

"We just threw the team together and it was a lot of fun. It's a great tournament.

"The games are really tight and you see it on the ice, you're lining up for the face-off and the other guy is talking about what a great game it is and how much fun they're having so it makes for a really good time.”

After playing to a 2-2 tie the day before, the Dease Lake Rams simply overpowered the Whitehorse Fossils in the Dauber final, winning 7-0.

"It was just one of those games were everything went right for one team and wrong for the other,” said Adilman.

Sheardown said the tournament marks a nice break from the regular season schedule.

"It's always great to play in this,” he said.

"The focus is on the camaraderie. Winning or losing is secondary.”