NWT broomball team defeats US for bronze in France

A mixed broomball team largely featuring Yellowknife players took bronze at a tournament in France on the weekend, defeating rivals from the United States in a shootout.

The team, United Coyotes, was undefeated in the round-robin stage of the European Broomball Championship, held in Angers, a city in western France. The French were hosting a broomball tournament of this size for the first time.

Ten of United Coyotes’ 17 players live in Yellowknife.

The NWT group was defeated in the semi-finals of the event by opponents from New Brunswick, but went on to win bronze in dramatic circumstances, said team member Angela Love.

Love reported United Coyotes took a two-goal lead in the bronze medal play-off before USA Rebels tied the game at 2-2 and sent it into overtime.

United Coyotes killed a penalty in the last minute of overtime before claiming victory in the sixth round of the subsequent shootout.

Earlier in the tournament, United Coyotes had tied USA Rebels 1-1 at the round-robin stage while defeating Switzerland’s Lausanne 6-0 and Italy’s Pochi 3-1.

Their semi-final appearance ended in a 5-4 shootout defeat by New Brunswick Marauders.