Posted Wed, 15 Oct 2014, 6:29am by Ian Watson
3 Days. 12 Teams. Now... The Winners.
Eastern Canada Cup Play: The 2014 Eastern Canada cup was featured in the pilot episode of www.OutSport.TV.
The tournament started about 25 years ago by a bunch of guys from Toronto who were just looking for some ice time to play some games. It has now grown and evolved into a tournament that draws teams from places like Ottawa, Montreal, and Chicago, and players from as far as Denver, LA, and more. Roatating between Montreal and Toronto, the weekend is a celebration of the international gay hockey community; jam packed with parties, turkey... and of course hockey.
A true bonding weekend of fun, passion, friends, and comradere, players "come out for the boys, in every sense" say Dre Barone, a player from Montreal. The best aspect of the tournament for Dave Doucette, a hometown player from here in Toronto, is "to be able to play hockey at a competitive level." He explains that because of stereotypes and ongoing homophobia within sport most of the guys wouldn't get this opportunity outside of the Gay hockey league. "We're just a bunch of guys that have played hockey our whole lives."
Dre reitereates this "playing with a bunch of gays in an inclusive environment is just great".
The tournament consists of three divisions, both comepetitive and recreational.
Toronto Renegades: Eastern Canada Cup 2014 Division A ChampionsTim Tobin's (LA) lent his solid goaltending to the Toronto Renegades, who with an impressive team performance, were the only team to go undefeated through the entire tournament. Defeating Toronto Tank 5-2 in the final secured the Renegades the top spot in Division A
Montreal Dragons: Eastern Canada Cup 2014 Division B ChampionsAn upset in Division B. Through the tournament the Ottawa Gatineau Capitals had been undefeated until they faced off against the Montreal Dragons in the final. Impressive shut-out goaltending by Patrick Fontaine earned the Caps top spot for Division B.
Toronto Puck Buddies: Eastern Canada Cup Division C Champions
In a rivaly reminicent of the NHL, The Toronto Puck Buddies took on the NYC/Pittsburgh Tigers in the Division C final. In dramatic fashion, and keeping with Olympic tradation, Puck Buddies' goalie Jim Lawrence made a big glove save in the last minute to ensure the Canadian team's 1 goal victory.
So on the same day the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers in the inagural "Hometown Hockey" NHL broadcast on Sportsnet, the Toronto Puck Buddies beat the NYC/Pittsburgh Tigers to claim the Division C title at the 2014 Eastern Canada Cup.
Next year's tournament takes place in Montreal. For final round-robin box scores, check out www.easterncanadacup.com. If you're interested in playing next year, keep your eyes on the website, or follow Eastern Canada Cup on facebook.
Also be sure to check out our pilot episode of OutSport.TV where we feature the Trounament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdPQvpzFMoE
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