Above: Ceremonial Puck Drop with members of the Borduzak Family.
by Lucie Roy
photos by Lucie Roy and Stephen Dafoe
The 22nd Annual Dennis Blair Borduzak Memorial Tournament took place from Jan. 24-27 in the Morinville and Legal arenas.
For the past 22 years, the Sturgeon Hockey Club has organized the “4 the love of the Game” tournament as a dedication to the memory of a young player who passed away June 15 1989 at the age of 8 years following his first year of Novice Hockey.
With 25 teams competing across 6 Divisions a total of 33 games were played.
Players are from Westlock, St Albert, Bonnyville, Fort Sask. Sherwood Park, Grande Prairie, Edson, Hinton Edson, Wetaskiwin, Edmonton and seven teams being Sturgeon Mustangs.
The Ceremonial Puck Drop, Moment of Silence and National Anthem took place at the Legal Arena on Saturday with members of the Borduzak family in attendance which included siblings Kevin, Curtis, Stacy and Jamie.
The son of Dennis and Pat Borduzak twin Dennis was the youngest of 5 children. He had a brain aneurysm that took his life.
Before he passed an organ donation had been contemplated and several of his organs were graciously donated to the HOPE Foundation of Alberta and three lives were saved because of this courageous boy and his parents.
Dennis will be best remembered for his bright blue eyes, beautiful smile and his love of reading story books and his enthusiasm for hockey.
The number 4 was his jersey number which is worn on the right shoulder of the Legal Novice Hockey Team.
He understood that working together as a team was the only way to achieve their common goal.
The games included a DJ and Light Show, Heart and Hustle and MVP Player Awards and participation medals as well as a prize for the Best Dressed Coach.
Division 1 and Division 2 finals were held Sunday at the Ray McDonald Arena.
The Division 1 Gold Medal Game with Sturgeon 1 Mustangs versus St. Albert Steel.
The St. Albert Steel picked up the Gold Medal and Sturgeon 1 the Silver Medal.
The next two games were Division 2. The Edmonton Eagles played the Sherwood Park Snipers for Bronze with Sherwood Park taking the Bronze,
The Division 2 Gold Medal Game was played by Sturgeon 2 Mustangs and Fort Saskatchewan Rangers.
The high intensity game was tied in the 3rd period then tied in the 3rd period.
The game went into overtime and the Sturgeon 2 Mustangs won the Gold.
At time of posting, there were no results received for the Division 3, 4, 5 & 7 and 6 games.
There were numerous kids activities at the Legal arena and an opportunity to have your picture taken beside a Connor McDavid life-size cardboard cutout.
It was a fantastic weekend! Thanks to all the volunteers!