Debassige caps season with silver medal

By Sam Laskaris

KAHNAWAKE, Que. – Deidre Debassige capped her successful hockey season with yet another medal from a prestigious tournament.
The 17-year-old  from M’Chigeeng First Nation was a member of the Ontario girls’ side that captured the silver medal at this year’s National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC).
Saskatchewan downed Ontario 5-3 in the championship final, which concluded May 3 in Kahnawake.
“We were hungry for gold,” said Debassige, who was a member of the Ontario squad that placed fourth at the 2013 NAHC, also staged in Kahnawake. “We knew we had a chance right from the first practice. We knew we had a good team and we clicked on and off the ice.”
For Debassige, a Grade 11 student at Sudbury’s Lockerby Composite School, this year’s NAHC marked her second national tournament in as many weeks.
She was also a member of the Sudbury Lady Wolves, a Midget AA squad that captured the bronze medal at the national Esso Cup, which wrapped up on Apr. 26 in Stoney Creek, Ont.
The Lady Wolves had advanced to the Esso Cup by winning the gold medal at their provincial tournament in Toronto last month.
Though both the NAHC and the Esso Cup were national tournaments, Debassige said participating in the Kahnawake event was more special for her as she was competing  with other First Nations players.
“It meant a bit more,” said Debassige, who was also one of two defence players in the female division who were named to the tournament’s first all-star squad.  “I was playing with my ‘relatives’ from all over the province.”
The Ontario girls’ squad featured several other Anishinabek players, including three players from Wikwemikong; Amber Lewis, Seneca Manitowabi and Cheyenne Bates-Saucier.
Others on the Silver-Medal winners were Nicole Rogers (Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point), Jamie Sabourin (Pic Mobert), Emily DeCock (Alderville), Presley Young (Nipissing) Jana, Headrick (Garden River) and Courtney Corbiere-Wabegijig (Atikameksheng).  General Manager is Gloria Hendrick-Laliberte  (Chippewas of the Thames), Chaperone Leslie Sabourin (Pic Mobert).
Debassige and her teammates posted a 2-0-1 round-robin record. The club then registered a 4-1 victory over Team North 4-1 in its quarter-final match and earned a berth into the gold-medal contest with a convincing 7-1 semi-final win over the host Quebec-based team called Eastern Door and the North.
The NAHC primarily featured bantam and midget-aged players. This year’s event involved 16 clubs, eight in the female division and eight in the male category.
Saskatchewan also won the boys’ division.
The Ontario boys’ team, silver medallists a year ago, failed to capture any hardware this time around, placing fifth.
Ontario’s roster included two players — Hank Bouchard and Dalton Demerah – from Fort William First Nation. Other Anishinabek players were Troy Lajeunesse (Dokis), Nathaniel McLeod (Nipissing) and Chase Stewart (Pic River).