INNISFAIL – The Innisfail Phantoms have hosted its 11th annual Spirit of the Sticks tournament.
And a special Innisfailian was on the minds of everyone during the three-day event in Innisfail and Bowden from June 1 to 3.
This year, the Innisfail Minor Lacrosse Association (IMLA) dedicated the tournament to the late Dez Lorencz, who passed away on April 2.
“We dedicated the tournament this year to Dez Lorencz because he was a big part of the Innisfail Minor Lacrosse Association for many years,” said tournament coordinator Kiwita Salt.
They also created the Dez Lorencz Spirit Award, presented to players in the gold medal games in each division who best exemplified dedication, passion and leadership.
“We also have a special award this year that we’ve created, dedicated to him as well,” said Salt.
The tournament included 32 teams, eight in each division from across Alberta including High River, Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Innisfail, among others.
In the past, they have hosted teams from British Columbia as well, but none from B.C. participated this year.
Players competed in novice, peewee, bantam and midget divisions in the tournament.
Midget players, 15-year old Matthew Voghell and 16-year old Gage Mackie, had a challenge in defending their tournament title and gold medal this year.
They began the tournament with two losses.
“This is the fourth year that Innisfail is defending their title for the midget division,” said Voghell. “We got a lot of tough competition.”
This was Mackie’s last Spirit of the Sticks tournament. He graduates from IMLA at the end of this season.
“The tournament is a chance to prove ourselves to the league and those who might doubt us,” said Mackie, noting his two gold medals.
“(For me) it’s really about trying to finish off my last season strong,” he added.
Midget Lacrosse coach Brad Bouchard said the tournament proved to be competitive.
“They’re all good teams and they’re all tough teams,” said Boucher, noting his team's third place placing in league standings and coming off a five-game winning streak.
“We ask them to represent Innisfail and play hard, and they’re doing it well,” he said. “They’re playing hard as a team.”
The tournament also included a raffle draw, a variety of vendors, several food trucks in Bowden and 50/50 draws.
Tournament coordinator Kiwita Salt said everyone was enjoying the weekend.
“It’s just to have a fun weekend for the players to enjoy, get together as a team and play some competitive lacrosse,” Salt concluded.
