It came down to two Cariboo teams vying for the championship during the Dan LeClerc Memorial Hockey Tournament held March 14 to 16, 2025.
Cariboo Fire Centre 1 emerged the winners 6-2 against Cariboo Fire Centre 2.
Playing them in the semi-finals were Prince George against Cariboo Team 1, with Cariboo winning 4-3 and Princeton against Cariboo Team 2, with Cariboo winning 4-1.
There were 16 teams in total from all over the province, said Rob Bardossy, one of the tourney organizers and a senior wildfire officer in aviation at the Cariboo Fire Centre.
“It went well,” he said. “We want to thank the community for volunteering and for donations. We are pretty sure we will be hosting it again in Williams Lake next year and we have another four teams wanting to get in.”
Feedback about the tournament from out-of-towners was positive, he added.
“Williams Lake is a central location, it’s big enough to accommodate the players and that many games, but small enough for people to get around easily," Bardossy said. "Many people just parked their vehicles and moved around.”
The organizing committee met afterwards to discuss extra ideas to make it even better next year and maybe add some events such as a puck toss or the shoot to score which happen at Stampeders and Mustangs games.
“It was great seeing everyone,” Bardossy added. “We had a good turnout on Saturday night with about 300 to 350 people.”
Seeing people from other districts is always great for networking and camaraderie, he added.
"It was super awesome."
