It was starting to feel like pre-COVID times at the Smithers Civic Centre March 12 and 13 as Prince Rupert prevailed over a field of five teams from across the north in the Smithers Minor Hockey U13 tournament.
The Seawolves who finished the round-robin at 2-2-0 squeaked into the gold medal game by virtue of scoring more goals than Smithers who also went 2-2-0.
In the final at the new arena, Rupert was up against big and tough Mackenzie Knights squad, who went undefeated during the round-robin.
Mackenzie got on the scoreboard first, but Rupert came roaring back to tie and never looked back, finishing off their opponents 7-3 for first place.
In the battle for third place, Smithers dominated Burns Lake (1-3-0) 5-0.
Fraser Lake also competed finishing fifth with a record of 0-4-0.
Meanwhile the Smithers Storm U13 rep team was in Quesnel. In a tough battle for fourth place against Prince George, Smithers came away victorious.
With the lifting of mask restrictions March 11 and sunny weather throughout the weekend, the atmosphere was jubilant inside the rinks and outside, where the Sum Shockin’ Good food truck was serving up burgers, fries and Newfoundland fare.