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By Willie Sellars

It's official: the Lac La Hache Tomahawks will be icing a hockey team for the upcoming 2011-2012 season. The team is going to consist of players from around the Williams Lake and 100 Mile House areas, and play in the Senior AA, Central Interior Hockey League (CIHL). “Following the league AGM on Saturday two teams were accepted, our team and the Quesnel Kangaroos,” says Al Navrot, who will be the team's head coach. “The hard work is just starting. Our first goal was to get into the league, and finding more sponsors is the next step. Our executive still has a long road ahead.”

Navrot is the former coach of the Williams Lake Stampeders and has lived in the Cariboo for most of his life. Lac La Hache, Quesnel, Vanderhoof, and Williams Lake will make up a new division in the league for next season.

The executive for the team, made up of directors from Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, and Lac La Hache, are very excited and proud of the fact that senior hockey will be a part of the Lac La Hache community for this upcoming winter. “We are positive and have been right from the start that this team would go through. It’ll be great for our community,” says executive member and Lac La Hache community club President, Larry McCrea.

It’s been a long time since competitive senior hockey has taken place in the village, dating back to the early 1930’s where teams such as the Lac La Hache Wild Horses played on outdoor rinks, in a league consisting of Williams Lake, Prince George, Canim Lake, Vanderhoof, and Soda Creek. These teams made up the old Cariboo Hockey League.  

Making up the 10-team CIHL are teams from Williams Lake, Kitimat, Smithers, Houston, Terrace, Prince Rupert, Hazelton, Vanderhoof, Lac La Hache and Quesnel. “The new additions to the league could potentially spark some interest for future teams in the south, maybe the old Ashcroft Cowboys could start back up, or the Kamloops Falcons,” stated assistant head coach Wally Arcand.

For now the fans in the Cariboo will have a couple more teams to cheer for---the Lac La Hache Tomahawks and the Quesnel Kangaroos, to go along with the already popular Williams Lake Stampeders. It’s still a while until the season begins but Navrot says, “We’re already on the lookout for potential players, guys that are committed and want to play competitive hockey.” Senior hockey is slowly making a name for itself in the south, and this reporter is smiling ear to ear. 

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