Bring it on! Iqaluit firefighters, RCMP ready for rematch

Iqaluit’s fire department and RCMP detachment members will be on opposing sides this weekend, having spent most of the year working together to safeguard the community.

The fourth annual Guns and Hoses hockey game, set for Sunday, will transform colleagues into friendly rivals as the first-responders compete for the game’s trophy.

Offered the chance for a little trash talk to hype up the game, each side passed.

Firefighters’ goalie Connor Ogg foils a shot on goal in the third period against the RCMP at last year’s Guns and Hoses charity hockey game. The two teams faceoff again at 5 p.m. Sunday at Arnaitok Arena. (Photo by Daron Letts)

“Let’s start with the positive,” said fire Chief Solomon Tagak, who will manage the firefighters team. “There’s friendly competition there but we all work well together, right?”

The gleaming Guns and Hoses Cup has been prominently displayed in the fire hall ever since the red helmets bested the blue ballcaps 4-3 in last year’s match.

The RCMP must be bitter, though?

“To be quite frank, we have a really strong relationship with the fire department,” said RCMP Cpl. Rodney McIntyre, a 19-year veteran of the service including two stints in Iqaluit and a year in Kinngait and a defenceman on the hockey team.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.

A cheerful disposition, given that the RCMP also lost a charity softball game against the firefighters in August.

Firefighters’ goalie Connor Ogg, a standout in last year’s Guns and Hoses match, seems to hold no grudges for the RCMP slapshots he faced that day.

“I know that [the RCMP] are putting together a good team this year,” he said.

Ogg hasn’t practised once this season, instead spending his spare time volunteering every two weeks for the past two months at Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre with fellow firefighters.

Rather than chirping his opponents, he spoke about the charities that inspired him and his team to organize the game in the first place. Last year’s event raised $620 for men’s mental health services and collected a large hamper of food for the food centre.

Sunday’s game starts at 5 p.m. at the Arnaitok Arena on Nunavut Drive. Admission is free, and fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate.

Tagak is going the extra mile and bringing a small present for his RCMP friends.

“I do like to present them with a gift at the beginning of every hockey match — something I know they love,” he said. “A box of cop food: doughnuts.”

Game on!