The Oxford House Wolverines came into the final of the Keewatin Tribal Council's 2010 Tribal Days hockey tournament in Thompson looking to defend their 2009 championship and with five minutes left and a 6-2 lead, it looked certain that they would.

But Split Lake wasn't about to go quietly.

After scoring only two goals in the first 55 minutes, Split Lake scored three times in under two minutes to make it a one-goal game, but ultimately fell short, losing 6-5 to give Oxford House the championship trophy - and the $3,800 cash prize - for the second straight year.

It was the third straight year that the two teams have met in the final of the tournament.

Oxford House led 3-2 after 40 minutes and the teams treated the crowd - as large as any Norman Northstars’ crowd in the C.A. Nesbitt Arena this season and probably twice as loud - to a wild third period. Oxford House got the first three goals of the final frame and ended up needing them all.

Earlier, in the Gordon Beard Arena, the Split Lake old-timers did what the senior team couldn't, scoring three times in the second period to open up a 4-2 lead and then hanging on in the third for a 6-5 win over Brochet's Barren Lands Legends, who made things interesting with a power play goal 2:24 before the end of regulation, less than 90 seconds after an apparent goal had been disallowed.

The teams traded goals through the third period, scoring three times in the space of 34 seconds early in the frame, with Split Lake going up by a pair of goals with less than four minutes to play.

The senior division champions were undefeated in the tournament, beating War Lake 6-3, Brochet 11-4 and God's Lake 8-2 to finish first in their pool, then shutting God's River out 8-0 in the semifinal. Split Lake beat KTC 9-1, Lac Brochet 8-0 and God's River 10-2 in the round robin, then won 4-1 over God's Lake in the playoffs.

God's River beat God's Lake 8-3 in the third-place game.

Split Lake was 1-1-1 in the old-timers' round robin, tying York Landing 4-4, beating Oxford House 9-1 and losing 8-2 to Brochet, which also recorded an 8-2 win over Oxford House and tied York Landing 4-4. Brochet then beat Oxford House 7-1 in the playoff semifinal, while Split Lake made the final with a 5-2 win over York Landing.

York Landing beat Oxford House 8-2 to claim third place in the old-timers' division.