‘We’re off the ground:’ Record number of teams play in Twerdin hockey tournament

A crowd of more than 500 people cheered and clapped as players from the QFC hockey team threw off their helmets and gloves and celebrated a championship win in the A division final at the Brian Twerdin Toonik Tyme Memorial Hockey Tournament in Iqaluit on Saturday.

QFC’s 5-1 victory over the Grinding Brewins of Iqaluit was a rematch of last year’s division final in the Twerdin tournament. QFC won that time, too, in overtime.

“It was amazing,” said Robert Comeau, a defenceman for the Iqaluit-based QFC team, sponsored by Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Corp., after Saturday’s win.

Comeau is also president of the Iqaluit Hockey League, which organized the tournament.

“We knew it was going to be a battle, but we just kept pushing and going,” he said.

Robert Comeau, in the middle, a defenceman for QFC, plays against the Grinding Brewins in the A division final of the Brian Twerdin Toonik Tyme Memorial Hockey Tournament on Saturday at AWG arena in Iqaluit. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)

For the annual Toonik Tyme tournament, it was the third year since being renamed to honour Brian Twerdin, a longtime businessman and volunteer in Iqaluit.

Over the Easter weekend from April 16 to 19 at the Arctic Winter Games arena in Iqaluit, 10 teams took part in the tournament — six from Iqaluit, and squads from Kinngait, Pangnirtung, Kuujjuaq and Arctic Bay.

All the games were streamed on the Iqaluit Hockey League’s Facebook page, with the first stream reaching 18,400 viewers.

The teams were divided into A- and B-divisions, with A-division teams playing a higher “calibre of hockey,” Comeau said.

While QFC won in the A division, the B-division championship was an all-Iqaluit affair with NuBrew winning 3-1 against the Northern Guardians.

Comeau said it’s the largest number of teams the tournament has had since he started organizing it four years ago. He said it’s an honour to be part of the event that helps bring the community together.

“This weekend has made it pretty clear to me that we’re off the ground now and we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.

Organizers started working on the tournament in January, right after their Christmas tournament. It took a lot of emailing, fundraisers, contacting the teams and holding long conversations to make the tournament happen, Comeau said.

“But it’s really fun, man. It really is,” he said, adding that next year they will start the fundraising efforts earlier.

But for now, he is ready to rest.

“Tomorrow, I’m putting my phone on airplane mode and having a full-on rest day,” he said after the arena was almost clear.