GTHL and WRFN complete home and home exchange!
In early February a U11 team from the Greater Toronto Hockey League traveled north to complete the cultural exchange. In November a team of excited Whitefish River First Nation kids and parents headed down to Toronto to start the first half.
The exchange program strived to provide opportunities for GTHL and First Nations players, parents and other participants to develop relationships, fellowship and a cultural understanding through a shared passion for the game of hockey. For younger recreational-level players and players who had not previously played organized hockey, the exchange aimed to provide introductory skill development opportunities (both on and off the ice) in order to encourage further participation in the game of hockey, while fostering new learning experiences and relationships.
The visiting southerners were treated to three days of fun. They started right off the bus in Manitowaning and into the rink. There they had a unique opportunity to be instructed by the 3Nolans featuring a former NHL Coach of the Year, Father, Ted Nolan and his two sons.
The weekend was a great mix of hockey, cultural teachings, sledding, ice fishing and so, so much food! Steve Whitaker, Principal of Shawanosowe School, shared following the exchange. “Though from a distance it may seem like a relatively minor event, I believe that those of us who were directly involved felt the power of the moment, and the potential it could have for eliciting real change.” Let’s all hope for more of these initiatives.
Hockey Catch-up
Delaney Bridgeman notched 2 goals and 2 assists leading her Sudbury Lady Wolves U18 A side to 4 of a possible 6 points in 3 games in Toronto this past weekend, defeating Toronto Leaside 2 – 1 (GWG for Delaney), tying them 3 – 3 (GTG Delaney) and then tying Central York 1 – 1 to cement first place in their division heading into next week’s playoffs. Way to go Boog, and best of luck in the playoffs.
Meanwhile Kohyn Eshkawkogan Captain of the Mississauga Reps U15 AAA squad has guided the Reps into a playoff position. Last year they finished 13th now in a tight playoff race and could finish 7th to face the formidable Junior Canadians.
In December, JRC laid it to the Reps with a 7-1 win. Unfortunately Kohyn was out of the lineup with a broken wrist for that game. Upon his return, the Reps shut down the high flying JRC squad and defeated them 3-1. They face off against JRC in the rubber match on Wednesday at 9:30. This will be their third and final matchup of the season.
The former Panther and Little Current Flyer is definitely turning heads in the GTHL and at the Hill Academy.
Soo Extravaganza
This past weekend the island had a couple of teams attend the Peewee Soo Extravaganza Tournament in Sault Ste. Marie. The Manitoulin Panthers participated in the U13 A division, and Mindemoya Thunder represented the island in the U15 House League division.
The Panthers opened Friday against the LBMX Storm Wolves, down one when Jaxsin Chatwell netted one to even it, from Bryden Romaniuk and Trinity Cheechoo, then Lincoln Rancourt added 2, the first from Spencer Cortes, the second from Carter Morrell and Memphis Shawanda in the third for a 3-1 comeback win. Next up was a match against Floreani/O’Toole/Dool Orthodontics that saw Max King net a shorty from Memphis, then Shawn Simon putting the Panthers up by 2, assist to Max. The F/O/D team fought back to make it 2-1, but the Panthers held on for the win. Saturday afternoon it was the Reyco Predators, and the Panthers found themselves down early again, but came back for the win with an unassisted marker by Ryan Carter, then the game winner by Max, assists to Cohen Rajotte and Spencer. Breaking the trend Saturday night, Alexander Boucier opened the scoring against Bobcat Trail, from Kobe Mayers and Spencer, then Alexander returned the favour setting up Kobe before adding his second of the game from Carter for a 3-0 win.
Finishing first overall, the U13 side downed Reyco 8-1 in the semis, with goals from Ryan (2), Sean (2), Max, Kobe, Lincoln and Roen Deschenes. Assists to Bryden (2), Carter (3), Trinity, Max, Jaxsin, Alexander, and Lincoln with goalie Brynn Best solid in net, allowing a single goal, to set up a final against F/O/D. In the final, the teams battled hard through the first and second, goalie Liam Stephens solid between the pipes to keep the shutout, and the match remained scoreless until Bryden scored the golden goal in the third, assisted by Ryan and Spencer for the championship. Congrats Panthers!
Thunder Rumbles in the Sault
The U15 Mindemoya Thunder welcomed leading scorer Jack Bridgeman back to the fold after competing in Espanola two weeks ago without him, having lent Jack to AP for the U15 Panthers for their tourney in Powassan. Immediately igniting a dormant offense, Jack scored tying it at ones in the first period of the Soo tournament’s
Friday opener against the namesake Blind River Thunder. Jack added 2 more, one from a Kohan Campbell set up, one unassisted, before himself setting up Lucas Brown for the final marker in a 4 – 2 win. Next up Friday for the Thunder were the SMHA Blue Wolves. Jack opened the scoring unassisted before Preston Riberdy notched the eventual game winner from Tristin Cyr and Corie Brown. The Blue Wolves made it 2 -1 before Jack potted 4 more, the first from Lucas, the second from Corie Brown and Josh Daniso, the third from Lucas and Corie, and the last one from Ethan Ense and Brinley Watson for a 6 – 1 win.
Saturday the Mindemoya side were in tough against eventual champion the Fratellis Whalers, finding themselves down 3 – 0 after 2. Jack was finding nothing but iron, 4 times, when he finally broke through in the 3rd, from Lucas and Brinley. Jack then set up Lucas and the Thunder were within one with 47 seconds to go, but that was as close as they got, losing 3-2. That set up a must win against the Sudbury Sharks if they were to make Sunday hockey. The game got a really late start. Sudbury broke out 1 – 0, Jack replied unassisted to tie it at 1-1 after 1. Jack added one more in the second and another to start the 3rd to put Mindemoya up 3-1. When Sudbury countered to make it 3-2, Ethan notched one to make it 4 – 2, Jack added another before Sudbury got one late, and by the time it wrapped at 11:20 Saturday night, the 5 – 3 final had them into the semi-finals Sunday morning.
Sunday saw the Thunder opponent, the Espanola Farquhar Dairy Eagles, adopt a very dubious game plan, assigning two players to shadow Jack, for the entire game. With Espanola taking two of their players out of game play to nullify the Thunder and divisional leading scorer, other Mindemoya players would need to step up. Lucas did first, tying it at ones in the first, assisted by Kohan. The Thunder were down 3 – 1 when Ethan answered the bell, potting one unassisted to keep it close, at 3 – 2 after 2. Jack finally broke free of his checkers for an unassisted goal to tie it at 3 – 3 in the third, but couldn’t lose them for the remainder of the game and a tired Thunder side fell to Espanola’s game plan 6 – 3. Congrats on making it to Sunday hockey, Thunder!
Virtual Ice Fishing Battle Royale Weekend!
The Wiikwemkoong Anglers are back at it again with a huge event open to anybody who fishes in MNRF’s Zone 14 (North Channel) Zone 13 (South Bay) and Zone 10 (Manitoulin inland lakes). And the Anglers are hoping you can handle four days of fishing too! It goes from February 17th at 12:00 pm – February 20th at 3:00 pm.
Registration is $30 for adults and can be paid with EMT (Electronic Money Transfer) to: wikyangler@gmail.com. There is a prize up for grabs just by registering and it is a spanking new ION R1 8” electric auger.
Junior Anglers (age 17 and under) can be registered (Name, Age) by contacting the Wiikwemkoong Anglers Page or texting 1-705-348-0231. They will then confirm that you are registered. Registration will be accepted until 12:00 PM Monday, February 20th, 2023. Registration is complete when payment is received.
The derby will take place over the course of 4 days. You are permitted to submit two (2) submissions/species/day with the following five species of fish: Rainbow Trout, White Fish, Pike, Perch and Ling (Burbot).
The way prizes are awarded depend on the number of paid registrations but the plan is to use 70% of all registrations to be divided amongst the 1st place winners of each of the 5 divisions.
Prizes are determined by the length of each fish and the time of measurement submission. In the event of a tie, the time of submission will be the determining factor. The time at which your fish was caught is considered the time of submission.
A Passcode will be revealed on Friday February 17th, at 11:30 AM via Facebook Event Page “VIRTUAL ICE FISHING BATTLE ROYALE WEEKEND”. This passcode must be stated in your video submission(s) to show that the fish was caught during the duration of the event. Any submission that does not have this passcode included will not be accepted.
A non-registered individual may not be fishing with registered participants. If there are non-registered individuals found to be fishing with registered participants, the registered participants will be disqualified from the derby. The Wiikwemkoong Anglers stress that all participants must do their utmost to exhibit good sportsmanship and environmental stewardship and are responsible for removing all their belongings, including their litter, at the end of each day. Just as important the W.A. asks everyone to be conscious of soft and thinning ice. Be safe out there!
A good sport is good for sports.
chipstoquips@gmail.com
