Chilliwack’s Hayden Guilderson and Team BC made history, winning gold for the first time ever at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships.
Guilderson helped his midget squad to a 5-3 win over Ontario in the gold medal match. The tournament was held April 29 to May 4 in Kahnawake, Quebec.
Heading into the tournament as the fifth seed, Guilderson and company gradually climbed the rankings, landing themselves in the semi-finals against Manitoba.
A 4-3 overtime win put them in the finals.
Guilderson, a Yale secondary school student and Tzeachten First Nations member, played in the Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association this year with the tier-one midget AAA Junior Bruins.
His team at the NAHC had another Chilliwack native, Lara Mussell Savage, handling the role of general manager.
Merritt’s Joe Quewezance was the head coach.
“When we held the selection camp back in April (in Williams Lake) we were blown away by the amount of young talented Aboriginal hockey players in BC,” the exuberant bench boss said. “And once the team was selected, we were confident it was going to be a strong contender. The hard work and dedication from these boys was unprecedented and the team dynamics were incredible.”
This was the 12th year for the NAHC.