CAF bronze for old timers in repeat nationals appearance
Gold was the colour the 14 Wing Greenwood men’s old timers hockey team was looking for at the 2024 Canadian Armed Forces nationals March 23 to 28, repeating their 2023 championship.
“Five games, we just didn’t get the puck luck,” says team captain Warrant Officer Jeff Hull. “Pucks missing the net, bouncing around – frustrating, then you start panicking and changing lines…. We went into nationals a stronger team than last year – but so did everyone else.”
14 Wing did make history with their March 27 win over Kingston: members were presented the first-ever bronze medals awarded at a CAF old timers’ championship.
“It’s not where we wanted to be, but no one was injured all week, everyone had a great time – and Greenwood is still the ‘funnest’ dressing room to be in.
“Making nationals is a big deal – we’d never made it before last year.”
In the March 24 opening game for Greenwood against Esquimalt, a slow start and a 1-0 deficit saw Greenwood pick up the pace. They made it 1-1 with a goal from Captain Mark Roach before the end of the first. Through the second, Dave Jenkins and Adam Sommerfeld both scored, and it was 3-2 Greenwood heading into the third. Greenwood started the third with pressure, working their way through a hard-fought battle to a 4-2 lead on a Sommerfeld goal; Jenkins made it 5-2 on an empty netter with one minute left in the game. Sommerfeld was Greenwood’s game MVP.
In their second game of the day, Greenwood had a good start against Kingston with an early power play goal from Warrant Officer PO Poulin, which Kingston tied late in the first. Through the second, Greenwood gave up a goal to head into the third down 2-1. The third started rough, with two quick Kingston goals. With a late push, Jenkins scored one with just 1:30 left, but Kingston took the 4-2 win. Jenkins was Greenwood’s game MVP.
March 25, Greenwood met Ottawa for its last round robin march, looking for the win to improve quarter-final placements. Ottawa took a 5-2 win and the first of the finals’ spots.
In the March 26 quarterfinal, Greenwood again met Esquimalt, coming into the game in third place from the round robin. Glessing and Poulin each scored, but “no puck luck” and an excellent Esquimalt goalie (their game MVP) meant Greenwood took a 3-2 loss. Glessing was Greenwood’s game MVP.
Greenwood met Kingston again in the bronze medal game March 27 and took a 3-2 win for the bronze medal. Ottawa and Esquimalt met in the final, with Ottawa winning the championship 8-0.
Hull said the 14 Wing team took two opportunities to send both Master Corporal Jeff Bond and Master Warrant Officer Brian McIntosh out onto game ice alone, applauding the men with their sticks from the bench. Bond, 60, retires from the military this summer; McIntosh, a pick-up from 12 Wing Shearwater, also will retire before the next hockey season.
Hull is already looking ahead to the 24/ 25 season: he knows he loses Colonel Jeff Davis, Warrant Officer Chris Green and Glessing to postings; and both Bond and McIntosh to retirement. Team coach Chief Warrant Officer Dave McDowell retires this summer, and assistant coach Dave Jamieson will also retire before next season. Still, most of the 14 Wing roster will return, and age variability in the old timers’ category means there’s some room to “re-stock” a few of the under-40 allowable players from athletes Hull knows are already at 14 Wing, or are posting in.
