Team Yukon leads the medal list at the Arctic Winter Games

Team Yukon leads the medal list at the Arctic Winter Games.

The team has a total of 17 medals – five gold, nine silver and three bronze – when the competition begins on the third day.

Alberta North and Northwest Territories are close behind with 15 and 12 medals respectively. Sápmi’s team is last in the medal table.

The Yukon women’s ice hockey team advanced to the second day of play by defeating their counterparts from Nunavut 11-1 during the second day of competition.

Alia Drummond, Emery Twardochleb, Jordan MacDonald and Rachel Kormendy each scored two goals to get the team into the win column.

The team bounced back from a previous loss on the opening day of the competition on January 29, losing 5-1 to Northern Alberta.

The junior boys’ futsal team maintained their winning streak in the competition with a 4-2 win over the NWT team. The Yukon women’s futsal team beat the NWT 2-1 after losing to Alaska on the first day of competition. Kassia Emery and Callah MacGillvray each scored to give the junior women’s team the lead. However, the men’s and women’s youth futsal teams drew the final matches.

The Arctic Sports team started with the triple jump. The women also did the two foot high kick and the open men did the head pull. Junior female Amélie Guilbeault finished fifth in the triple jump and open male Eric Porter sixth.

The wrestling team was behind in their first competition on January 30th. Team Yukon officials said the wrestlers fought hard but fell short against Alberta North. Only Jamyi Hinchey battled Alaska in the second team event of the day and quickly dispatched his opponent.

The U16 boys hockey team faced the NWT team. Despite doing their best, they couldn’t find the back of the net and lost 4-0 to their counterparts.

The Yukon U19 boys hockey team played an equally tough game against Nunavut. They fell behind 2-0 in the second before clawing back one point in the third. Team Yukon officials said that despite their efforts, they could not find the equalizer. They also had a late game against Alberta North.

The cross-country skiing team started collecting medals on the first day of the competition, winning gold, silver and bronze in the first game of the competition. Six skiers reached the podium: Sophia Giangrande, Simon Connell and Sophie Molgat won gold; Silver went to Abigail Jirousek, Cheyenne Tirschmann and bronze to Nicolas Giangrande.

The biathlon team, both skiing and snowshoeing, competed in freezing temperatures. Team Yukon officials said the weather challenge didn’t stop the athletes, with five from each event reaching the podium. Johna Irving-Staley, Stella Mueller and Alex Brown won gold in snowshoe biathlon. Chase O’Brien won silver and Claire Macmillan won bronze.

Isla Hupe won gold and Cole Germain silver in biathlon. Niamh Hupe, Lydia Brown and Alex Lebarge won bronze.

Team Yukon’s snowboard team impressed in their first game of the competition, with Stian Langbakk winning gold. Watson Lake’s Isabelle Paquette got silver and Seamus MacDonald also got silver.

The snowshoe team’s efforts paid off, as every athlete placed on the podium. Aver Kinsella and Taiga Buurman won gold. Johannes Benkert, Jaime Chown Chaikel and Mathias Frostad earned silver; and Dredyn Kassi won bronze.

“Everyone on the snowshoe team ran so hard they got sick,” says Team Yukon’s press release.

During the giant slalom, the alpine skiing team won silver. Tom Vollmer and Tori Vollmer earned gold, Ellyann Dinn and Zach Ball earned silver, and Grace Allaway of Haines Junction earned bronze.

The Dene Games athlete gave it his all in the racket stroke. Youth athlete Marcus Herron earned bronze. Team Yukon officials said the open men’s and women’s competition continued into the evening.

The women’s volleyball team beat Greenland 3-0. On the men’s side, Team Yukon men’s volleyball player Sebastian Tajonera said the team “took the dub and it felt ecstatic.” The men beat Alaska 2-0. Both teams also had late games.

The table tennis matches started in the junior team competition and mixed doubles. The tournament continues today.

The girls’ basketball team picked up its first win of the games, beating Nunavut 54-45. The men won in Nunavut 78-57.

Coming from a 4-0 deficit, the men’s curling team defeated NWT 6-5 during their second day of competition. The girls team fought hard against NWT but were unable to secure the win, making it their second loss in the competition.

The badminton team played on the first day of competition in singles and doubles. Most of the players found winnings on the first day.

Team Yukon officials said the speed skater had a busy day competing in the 1,000m individual events. Many skaters made it to the finals, which progressed late. The speed skating team consists of two sisters, Greg and Lisa Freeman, who are coached by their mother, Cynthia Freeman.

Contact Patrick Egwu at [email protected]