Arviat hockey player, coach, general manager, Kivalliq Junior Canucks executive and tournament organizer Gleason Uppahuak said Arviat has always had a friendly rivalry with Naujaat that almost always features fast, clean hockey with both teams doing all they can to win at any age.
He said Arviat's rivalry with Rankin Inlet, however, especially in the senior men's bracket, is far more intense.
鈥淒uring my A Division time, we always played clean no matter who we played,鈥� said Uppahuak. 鈥淚t's always been clean, for the most part, and intense against Rankin, as far back as my midget and Polar Bear Plate days.
鈥淲e had a little scrum here and there, including myself a couple of times in front of my goalie, but we never had a really rough or dirty bush-league-style rivalry against Rankin.
鈥淲e've always been intense, but friendly.鈥�
Uppahuak said it's always a little sweeter when Arviat defeats Naujaat or Rankin Inlet in a playoff game.
He said it's still one of his best memories in hockey when Arviat defeated Rankin Inlet to claim the 2013 Avataq Memorial championship 鈥� now known as the Terence Tootoo Memorial (TTM) 鈥� in front of a packed crown in the old Rankin arena.
鈥淚'm still on a mission to win the B Division championship at the TTM. I've made it to the B Division final three of the past four years but couldn't get it done.
鈥淲e lost to Rankin in the B Division semifinal this past month at the TTM, breaking our three-year streak of making the final game.
鈥淭hat loss left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I do have one problem with the B Division at the TTM regarding players who are A Division talents, however.
鈥淚n my own personal opinion, I think some people are starting to take advantage of it, like, Rankin had a few players on their B Division team that should have been playing in the A Division. I don't want to use the words abuse or take advantage of, but you do have an advantage if, for example, you have an A Division talented goalie playing on your B Division team.鈥�
Uppahuak said he knew Rankin Inlet wanted to take the B Division championship back this year and he understood their mission.
But, he said, Arviat does its best to make sure all its A Division players play in the A Division.
鈥淭hat also makes sure that our B Division players are all actually playing in the B Division and everyone gets a chance to play.
鈥淚t would be hard, I guess, to keep A Division players out of the B Division, but that's why we have the two divisions now.
鈥淥ur A Division team, Eskimo Point Lumber Supply, dissolved at this year's TTM because five or six of their players never made it in, but I only added one player, my older brother Douglas, to our B Division team.
鈥淎s for Naujaat, ever since I can remember we've always been very competitive against each other. When a Naujaat team plays an Arviat team, I can tell you that every player on both teams plays a full, hard, three periods of hockey.鈥�
