Competing in their first World Broomball Championships, the players on the Yukon's two participating squads took more than a few people by surprise, including themselves in some cases.

There were plenty of highlights for both Yukon Brewing Lead Dawgs teams, including the men's masters team defeating one of the top teams in their category 1-0 and the co-ed squad finishing in second place in the Challenge Cup category.

"I never thought playing with these guys during the course of the season here in Whitehorse that they could dig as deep as they did and come up with the skills that were needed to play at a world class level," said the coach of the two teams Chris Ziegler. "I am so proud of these guys, it's unreal."

The Yukon's teams were made up of mostly players in the Whitehorse Broomball League, which includes five squads in total.

The tournament was held in Burnaby, B.C. from Tuesday through Friday with each team averaging around two games a day.

With 49 teams and more than 1,000 players taking part, this was the largest World Broomball Championships in the history of the event.

The World Broomball Championships are held every two years and included 45 teams in its inaugural competition in 1996.

The Yukon's co-ed squad featured 16 players altogether and began the tournament against Team Australia.

Australia played a highly intense game, which featured some excellent ball control around the rink's perimeter. The team's perimeter control resulted in lots of shots on net, which forced Yukon co-ed goalie Tim MacIntosh to make a number of difficult saves to help preserve the 0-0 score throughout the majority of the game.

MacIntosh had a little bit of luck on his side with the Australians hitting the post in the first, the only shot that they managed to get past him.

With the score 0-0 in the final few minutes of the contest, Yukoner Justin Saunders broke the goose egg after an up the middle pass courtesy of teammate Johnny Sembsmoen. Saunders made no mistake burying the ball to give the Yukon the 1-0 win.

The co-ed Lead Dawgs next game was against Italy, which was a team that bolstered a seven foot tall defenceman, who had one of the toughest shots in the tournament. The Italians also had the natural ability to move the ball as a unit, which created a number of chances throughout the course of the two periods.

Despite the additional chances, the Yukon squad was able to hold off the Italians, thanks to both solid defensive play and superb goaltending for a second straight game by MacIntosh. The game ended in a 0-0 tie.

The Lead dawgs were in tough in the team's next contest was against the reigning world champions from Ontario. The team from Ontario showed their experience and talent and before the conclusion of the first period netted four goals.

Trailing by four in the second, the Lead Dawgs settled down, scoring its first goal of the game early on in the frame. The goal was notched by Jodie Laluk and was a credit to the overall speed of the Yukon squad, which was one of the quickest and most fit at the championships. Ontario would respond with a second period goal of their own and the final score was 5-1.

The team dropped its next three contests by two goals, which included a 3-1 loss to an American team, a 2-0 loss against a group from Edmonton and a 2-0 loss to Japan.

The Yukon's record of 1-3-1 qualified them for the Challenge Cup, which was a lower division than the World Cup. The co-ed Lead Dawgs missed out from qualifying for the World Cup by just two points.

The Lead Dawgs squared off against host Burnaby in the opener of the Challenge Cup in one of the most exciting games of the championships.

The Yukoners got off on the right foot against Burnaby, netting the games first goal early on in the first period. Burnaby didn't waste any time responding, drawing even just a couple of minutes later. Both teams were held scoreless for the remainder of the contest, which forced a four-on-four overtime session.

Burnaby had the first great chance in overtime, when the team rang a shot off the post. Stefan Saunders was able to get to the rebound and send a pass up to his brother Justin.

Justin once again was up for the task, roofing a perfectly placed shot above Burnaby's netminder to give his team the 2-1 victory and qualify them for the gold medal final.

The Challenge Cup final featured a rematch between the Lead Dawgs and a very quick and skilled Japanese team.

Japan got on the board nine minutes into the first period, taking a 1-0 lead into the second.

In the second frame, the Yukon ran into some penalty problems, which resulted in the team being short two players with only a few minutes remaining on the clock. Incredibly the team killed off both penalties, limiting the Japanese to just a couple of shots on net.

However, Japan capitalized on an empty net not long after the penalties had expired. The Japanese team added two more goals and went on to win the Challenge Cup by a 3-0 score.

"I was really surprised when I found out we were getting to go to the medal round," said MacIntosh. "We were very pleased with ourselves that's for sure."

MacIntosh, who was named co-ed Lead Dawgs MVP for his stellar play in net, said the highlight of the championships was just taking part and he hopes to go again on another Yukon team when they are held in 2010 in Austria.

The Yukon's men's masters group competed in a seven team division, which included two Ontario teams and one B.C., Alberta and Quebec squad.

The masters group also got off to a great start, tying B.C. in what was a 0-0 goaltenders duel. Ryan Hannah was in goal for the masters Lead Dawgs team in the tie.

After dropping its next two contests by a mere goal, the Lead Dawgs responded in its fourth game against a squad from Ontario.

Facing one of the toughest teams in the division, players on the Yukon squad brought their A game in the 1-0 victory. Doug Roberts scored the winning goal for the Yukon in the game.

The victory in the fourth game would be the team's only win in Burnaby and the Lead Dawgs concluded the tournament with three straight losses and finished in sixth place.

"It was a great experience and both teams did the Yukon proud," said Lead Dawgs masters player Shayne Fairman. "We got lots of compliments from other teams."

Ziegler said he couldn't give enough credit to his players in the championships.

"It's a very tough tournament," he said. "You have to get into it quickly; if you don't you are going to be done real quick. They hit the ground running, I can't say enough about them."