Both the male and female versions of Team Saskatchewan have local ties looking at the rosters for this year's National Aboriginal Hockey Championships in Kamloops, BC.
On the female team are U15 Western Prairie Thunder teammates Hayden Hilbig (Kindersley, Metis) and Berkley Wuttunee (Kerrobert, Red Pheasant First Nation), along with a returning player in Kaylee Williams (Kyle, Muskoday First Nation). The male roster features Berkley's father Tyson Wuttunee as an assistant coach, guiding the likes of Kindersley Jr. Klippers defenseman Jaxon Herchak (Waldheim) on the ice along with other great junior level talent.
The female team already has two games under their belt entering Tuesday. Saskatchewan won the opening game of the tournament Monday morning against Alberta 2-1 and then tied Manitoba 1-1 in their second game of the tournament that evening. The female team is back on the ice against Ontario this afternoon, and then have games set for Wednesday and Thursday to finish the preliminary round.
The male team also got going on Monday with one game, dropping a 5-3 game to Manitoba as Herchak picked up two assists in the effort. Their next game pits them up against Eastern Door and North this afternoon. On Wednesday the boys have a pair of games against Ontario and BC, before closing out the prelim stage themselves on Thursday against Alberta.
Six teams total are in the event vying for gold. The full slate of games continues until the finals on Saturday, May 10, and you can catch all the action streamed live through their Facebook page HERE.