Is there anything better than earning bragging rights over your friends?

Not according to Lukas Coufal, there isn't.

"Playing against Walden was exactly what I wanted," said the offensive leader of Walden Futurescape, U15 tournament champions at the Nickel Centre Minor Hockey Winterblast after beating Walden Home Hardware by a final score of 3-1.

"A bunch of my friends are on that team - and I scored four goals last time against them."

This game, Coufal was limited to just a pair, including an insurance marker with just under six minutes to play. Teo Landry rounded out the scoring for the winners while Kowen Cousineau netted the only goal for the Hardware crew in a losing cause.

Back in the houseleague ranks after playing rep hockey last year - "I wanted to play all the high-school sports this year" - Coufal is thrilled that his team might even possess a tad more intensity than some others who compete in the "A" or "AA" ranks.

"We're really hard on the puck," said Coufal. "Alex Campbell just never gives up; he won't let the other team get it. He is definitely one of the better battlers on our team, for sure."

With the NEHL (Northeastern Houseleague) now having tiered off with playoffs right around the corner, Coufal is looking forward to helping his team take a run at the title, although a very solid Onaping Falls Huskies team might stand in their way.

There were several good battles to be had at the Winterblast Tournament on championship Sunday, with games spread between both the Garson and Coniston Arenas. In U13 action, the second goal of the game for Jasper Jarratt with 2:26 remaining snapped a 3-3 tie, lifting the North Channel Lightning past Copper Cliff Laari Construction 4-3.

James Orchard and Willow Post chipped in with one goal each for the Lightning while Lukas Larose (2) and Christopher Folino found the back of the net for Laari Construction.

The final encounter of the weekend would remain close until the final minutes, with the Nickel Centre Blast - Black clinging to a 3-2 lead over Copper Cliff Pro Am Sports when Max Portelance put the nails in the coffin, completing his hat trick with his second and third goals of the game, leading the tournament host to a 5-2 win.

Will Mackey and Nicholas Prevost both hit paydirt for Nickel Centre in the opening period while Jack O'Kane and Jakob Gagnon kept things close for Copper Cliff in the U18 matchup (though both finalists are U16 teams).

Copper Cliff FCR (Freelandt Caldwell Reilly) were the class of the U11 division, putting the finishing touches on a 6-0-0 tournament run with a 4-1 win over the Nickel Centre Blast - Orange in the gold medal affair.

A hat trick by Braydon Chevrette provided ample offense for the CCMHA reps, with Lily Martel adding a solo marker and Cole Ginson briefly pulling the hometown crew into a 1-1 tie in the first.

Finally, a third period snipe from Caleb Shydlowsky powered the Nickel Centre Blast - Orange past the Thessalon Eagles 2-1 in the U9 finale after Karson Dempster (Blast) and Benjamin Bird (Eagles) traded goals earlier in the game.