There was no one more excited on the ice when Team Manitoba finished off the week with a gold medal at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships than Waywayseecappo Wolverines forward Ben Roulette.
The Captain for Team Manitoba was looking at the clock for the last ten seconds counting down the time during the team’s 4-2 win over Team Ontario to take the gold medal in Winnipeg on Saturday.
“I’ve never really won something this big before,” said Roulette. “So to win this is very special to me.”
Roulette finished the tournament with three goals and two assists, playing more of a shutdown role at this year’s edition. But his most important goal came on Saturday, scoring the eventual game winner in the second period to give Manitoba a 3-0 lead.
“I forget the whole goal right now,” said Roulette moments after the final buzzer. “It was a blur and I’m just happy it went in.
Roulette wasn’t the only Wolverine player or prospect that ended up winning gold, with Darian Sinclair also tasting victory, but unable to play the last half of games in the tournament. He had one assist in his two games played.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Alex Christmas, who was just recently signed by the Wolverines this offseason, played for Team Atlantic, and had two goals and six assists en route to a 6th place finish. The biggest moment of the tournament for the team was tying the eventual champions on Wednesday 4-4.
The NAHC will take place in Grande Prairie, Alberta next year.