Action between the Yarmouth Vikings and Par-en-Bas Sharks, which will be two of the teams competing at this week’s Cook’s Cup. TINA COMEAU PHOTO
By Tina Comeau
THE VANGUARD
www.thevanguard.ca
The Mariners Centre in Yarmouth will be the scene of three days of high school hockey action this week when the annual Cook’s Cup is held Dec. 6-8.
The tournament is hosted by the Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School Viking’s boys hockey team.
Last year’s tournament saw only four teams taking part, but this year, with the tournament dates pushed up earlier in December, there will be nine boys teams taking to the ice.
Aside from YCMHS, participating schools will include Par-en-Bas (PEB), Barrington, Clare, Park View, Avonview, Sir John A MacDonald and Forest Heights from Nova Scotia. As well, St. Malachy of Saint John, New Brunswick, is also competing in the tournament.
Friday will see the nine teams playing the round robin. On Saturday games will shift to the crossovers and semi-finals. The consolation and championship games will be played Sunday afternoon.
There will also be a two-game series between the Yarmouth and Barrington girls’ high school hockey teams on Friday.
The YCMHS boys’ team plays its league games in the South West High School Hockey League, along with PEB, Clare, Barrington and Bridgewater. So far the team has competed in one tournament this season, that being the Glen Murray held in Bridgewater last month.
Vikings head coach Kyle Boudreau predicts that the Cook’s Cup will have good, competitive hockey for those on the ice and those watching in the stands.
“We have some of the top high school teams in the province attending this year’s tournament, as well as a contender from New Brunswick,” he says. Asked to describe the Vikings team, Boudreau calls them “A fairly young team who is tight knit and hard working. They’re a good group of very coachable kids.”
Among the players on the team is Grade 12 student Luc Lacroix, who plays defence and is the Vikings captain. He says the team is pumped not only to be competing at the tournament, but also to be hosting it.
He points out that this year the players have taken more ownership in helping to promote the tournament by producing some “commercials” – which fall in the category of cheesy fun – to create some advance buzz for the event. He says the high school is also getting behind the team in terms of fan support for the event and he and his teammates are hoping for good community support as well.
Asked why people should come out to the Mariners Centre to take in the Cook’s Cup, Lacroix says, “It’ll be good, high-calibre hockey.”
During the tournament points will be given out for game wins and ties, but also for the periods of each game, which will make for good battles on the ice. Up to five points per game are up for grabs for the teams.
In Yarmouth there are no midget rep teams – which would be the age group involved here – because so many players instead end up playing high school hockey.
The Cook’s Cup draws its name from Cook’s Dairy, the Yarmouth dairy company which has been the title sponsor of the event and continues to be so even with a change in company ownership to Agropour Cooperative. The tournament is a major fundraiser for the YCMHS hockey program, which strives to keep hockey affordable for those who want to play.
In addition to watching the games at the rink, all of the games played in Arena 1 will be livestreamed over the internet at new.livestream.com/mcentremedia/CooksCup2013
You can watch video promos of the Cook’s Cup that were made by the YCMHS Vikings team, and find other tournament info, on the 2013 Cook’s Cup YCMHS Vikings Facebook page.
QUICK GLANCE
Tournament admission:
• Tournament passes will be $15 for adults and $7 for students.
• Day passes will be $10 for adults and $5 for students.
• Single game tickets will be $5 for adults and $3 for students.
• Younger under 12 get in for free.
Cook’s Cup Schedule:
The tournament divisions are:
• Yarmouth, Clare, St. Malachy
• PEB, Barrington, Forest Heights
• Parkview, Avonview, Sir John A
FRIDAY, DEC. 6:
• Game 1: 10–11: 30 a.m. PEB vs Barrington, Arena 1
• Game 2: 10:30 a.m. – noon Yarmouth vs Barrington (GIRLS), Arena 2
• Game 3: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Yarmouth vs Clare, Arena 1
• Game 4: 1-2:30 p.m. Avonview vs Parkview, Arena 1
• Game 5: 2:30 – 4 p.m. Barrington vs Forest Heights, Arena 1
• Game 6: 2:30 – 4 p.m. Barrington vs Yarmouth (GIRLS), Arena 2
• Game 7: 4 – 5:30 p.m. Clare vs St. Malachy, Arena 2
• Game 8: 4:30 –6 p.m. Sir John A vs Avonview, Arena 1
• Game 9: 6 –7:30 p.m. Forest Heights vs PEB, Arena 1
• OPENING CEREMONIES 7:30 – 8 pm
• Game 10: 8 – 9:30 p.m. St. Malachy vs Yarmouth, Arena 1
• Game 11: 8 – 9:30 p.m. St. Parkview vs Sir John A, Arena 2
SATURDAY, DEC. 7:
• Game 12: 9 – 10:30 a.m. 9th place vs 8th place, Arena 2
• Game 13: 9:30 – 11 a.m. 5th place vs 4th place, Arena 1
• Game 14: 10:30 a.m. – noon 6th place vs 3rd place, Arena 2
• Game 15: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 7th place vs 2nd place, Arena 1
• Game 16: 12:30 – 2 p.m. Winner Game 12 vs 1st place, Arena 1
• Game 17: 2:30 – 4:15 pm Winner Game 14 vs Winner Game 15, Arena 1
• Game 18: 4:15 – 6 p.m. Winner Game 13 vs Winner Game 16, Arena 1
SUNDAY, DEC. 8:
• Game 19 1- 3 p.m. *Consolation Game (Loser Game#17 vs Loser Game#18), Arena 1
• Game 20 3 – 5 p.m. *Championship Game (Winner Game#17 vs Winner Game#18), Arena 1
* NOTE: If St. Malachy, N.B. is one of the final four teams they have to play at 1 p.m. to catch the ferry back to Saint John at 4 p.m., so the order of these two games may change to accommodate.
