The 20th annual Nlha’kapmx Cup Warrior native rec tournament this past weekend at the Shulus arena was not just about hockey; it was also an opportunity for family members, relatives and friends from throughout the southern Interior to gather and celebrate their history and their close relationship.
Take this year’s champions, the Kamloops Chiefs, for example. Yes, they were happy with their decisive 6-2 victory over the Merritt Warriors in the final game Sunday afternoon. After all, the host squad had defeated them 4-2 in the round robin of the five-team tournament. But when the final buzzer went to end the championship game, the Chiefs were more interested in collecting the clan for pictures than in basking in their win. As Kamloops’ coach Gene Gottfriedson stated, “The tournament is really all about our families getting together and spending time with each other.”
He went on to explain that there were a total of ten Gottfriedsons and Potskins (their cousins) on the Chiefs’ team. Even more meaningful, the Kamloops’ squad consisted of no fewer than five father-and-son combinations.
“We’ve been getting together for tournaments like this for 25 years,” said Gottfriedson. “They’re pretty special.”
The Kamloops’ coach chuckled when asked about two Nicola Valley additions to his talented squad. “We adopted Joe (Quewezance),” he said with a laugh, “and Brendan (Colter) was looking for a team to play for, so we gave him a call.”
The late local pick-ups more than carried their weight for their new team as both Quewezance and Colter scored twice for the Chiefs in the championship game. Meanwhile, Jordan Collins notched both goals for the Warriors.
Third place in the weekend tournament went to the Mudslingers, fourth to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and fifth to the Buzzards.
The ‘Chilli Boyz’ (as they were also known) from Quilchena had all kinds of family representation on hand at the Shulus rink with two generations represented on the ice, and two more generations cheering them on from the grandstands. One of those fans was Walter Archachan, nephew of the late William ‘Willy’ Chillihitzia, one of the early sports leaders and hockey enthusiasts at the top of Nicola Lake back in the 1940s.
“We used to play right on the lake,” said Archachan, “or on the swamp by the old bridge, or even in the hay fields – wherever there was ice. We’d use gum boots for goal posts, and hockey sticks made from willow that we cut in the bush. Back in those days, we didn’t even know what a blue line or red line was. At the lake, we had a wooden scoreboard on the shoreline, and a concession that sold hot dogs for ten cents.”
Originally called the Quilchena Rangers and then the Braves, “the team would play games against the likes of the Douglas Lake Red Wings and “a bunch of non-natives who would come out from town, said Archachan. We all became really good friends.”
Archachan also recalls the first Quilchena teams that would go into Merritt to play games. “We played on an outdoor rink that was located where the Bedford Apartments are now, and later at the first indoor rink in town – where the A&W is.”
It wasn’t until the late 1970s that Chillihitzias and their relatives began playing minor hockey in Merritt. The first wave included the likes of John Chillihitzia (youngest son of William Sr.), Kevin Ned and Steve Manuel. Several of these talented youngsters would eventually play for the junior A Merritt Centennials.
On Saturday, the Chillihitzias also took time out from one of their games to get a team picture taken, with wily veterans standing alongside youngsters not yet old enough to play in the tournament. The photograph captured all that the Nlha’kapmx Cup tournament has come to stand for. Both a treasured past and a promising future.
