The Norway House Bruins secured their third consecutive tournament championship after a strong performance at the Garden Hill First Nation hockey tournament held on March 28-29, 2026.
The men’s Senior AAA hockey team, which hails from Norway House, Manitoba, triumphed at the event despite playing with a limited roster. The tournament was hosted in Garden Hill, a remote community located on the shore of Island Lake in northeastern Manitoba that is only accessible by air or winter ice roads. According to the Garden Hill First Nation, the community is a signatory of Treaty 5 and became a separate administrative entity in 1969.
The Bruins have established a reputation as a dominant force in regional senior hockey. In addition to their recent win in Garden Hill, the team has celebrated back-to-back victories at other major events, including the Sioux Valley Dakota Nations tournament and the Senators Cup. Much of the local talent feeding into the senior program originates from the Norway House North Stars, a junior team founded in 1991 and the longest-standing member of the Keystone Junior Hockey League.
Following their success in Garden Hill, the Bruins are preparing for upcoming playoffs where they will face the Sandy Lake Chiefs. This matchup pits the Manitoba-based Bruins against a traditionally competitive senior team from the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. The development was recently highlighted by the Rez Hockey Podcast, an organization that tracks and promotes First Nations, Inuit and Metis hockey across Canada.
