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Canadian Air Force takes floor hockey tournament

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachelle Elsea
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing wrapped up floor hockey season Dec 2 with an all star match up of the Royal Canadian Air Force versus the United States Air Force's team, "Team Erickson," at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

The idea of floor hockey began in June when a Guard unit from Minneapolis, Minn., deployed to the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.

From the month of arrival until September, the sport was strictly inter-unit.

"The first league consisted of teams from each shop within CE," said Senior Master Sgt. Kurt Huver, 386th ECES superintendent. "There were around eight teams and they were made up of Mississippi Guard unit members verse Minnesota Guard unit members."

A few weeks into playing the teams chipped in money to buy around 22 new hockey sticks.

Around the same time the season concluded, Canadian units began to arrive at the base.

It was time to start a second league. The CE teams went from eight to two and the invitation to play was extended base-wide.

The Canadians not only brought a Canadian Army team and a Canadian Air Force team, but they also brought more equipment to include two full sets of goalie gear.

The season, which began in early October, was host to eight teams. The teams matched off in a single elimination tournament and played around 36 games.

"I felt the season was a success and I know Hockey Night in the Desert was one thing that many looked forward to each week," said Master Sgt. Jace Erickson, 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron first sergeant. "It was a release for us and a great way to build teamwork and camaraderie within our units as well as with our coalition partners. I am very proud of my team, everyone always gave their best, they knew and played their positions, they were always willing to adapt, and had fun doing it."

Sergeant Erickson said the hockey season made his deployment that much better.

"I'm really going to miss the fun times that we had here on Friday nights and gaining the interest of many that have never played before," said Sergeant Erickson. "Hockey Night in the Desert is definitely something that I will never forget."

The Canadian teams also enjoyed the time spent together.

"The season was successful," said Lt. Chris Flaherty, 2nd Air Movements Squadron mobile air movements section officer from the 8th Wing Trenton, Ontario, Canada. "Overall we were undefeated with a few scares in the middle from some very competitive USAF teams."

I noticed that most of the players in the league improved their skills drastically in addition to their overall team-passing and play-making, he added.

"We were composed of some seasoned hockey players who had played a lot of ice and ball hockey prior to coming here," said Lieutenant Flaherty. "Our success was attributed to this and our ability to pass the ball with accuracy. I will miss the Friday night hockey and the competitive nature of the league."

The final score was 6-1 in favor of the Canadian Air Force team.