AVR REBECCA MAINARDI
Halifax Mariners win ball hockey gold after hard-fought final
RYAN MELANSON
By Trident Staff
A gold-medal game between local rivals provided an exciting finish to the 2024 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Atlantic Region Ball Hockey Championship on July 12, with the CFB Halifax Mariners taking a 4-3 overtime win against the 12 Wing Shearwater Flyers to claim this year’s banner.
The teams played two 20-minute periods of regulation time; the first period saw Halifax come away with a 3-1 lead after two quick goals in the final minutes broke an early 1-1 tie. The Shearwater squad answered in the second period, quickly making it 3-2 and then tying it up with 12 minutes remaining. The tie held long enough to force the game to overtime, but with plenty of scoring chances on both sides, it was only a matter of time. Halifax’s championship victory also avenged their only loss of the week, when they fell 6-4 against the Flyers in their opening game.
The tournament ran from July 9-12 at the Shearwater Arena. The round-robin portion saw the Mariners collect wins against 14 Wing Greenwood (7-6) and 5 CDSB Gagetown (6-3). In the semi-finals, Halifax again faced Gagetown, taking a 3-2 win, while Shearwater took an 8-1 victory over Greenwood to earn their spot in the final.
The gold-medal winning Mariners team was led by SLt Rick Miller as Team Captain, with Sailor 1st Class Triston Manson and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jordan Skinner handling coaching duties. The tournament MVP award went to Petty Officer 1st Class Rob Cashin, who scored the overtime winner.
With no national Ball Hockey tournament set for this year, the regional gold becomes the top prize, and Acting Wing Commander LCol William Veenhof said he was happy to see it handed out at 12 Wing.
“We’re excited to have the tournament here to keep adding to everything that has made this a special centennial year for the RCAF and 12 Wing. What a hard-fought victory and it was great to see it play out between Shearwater and Halifax.”
