B.J. Memorial results!
The annual B.J. Memorial tournament took place last weekend and once again a whole lot of moving parts came together for another great event. In the Ladies Division team, “Get Er Done” shut out the hometown favorite, Earl’s Girls, 3-0. The winning roster featured: Vanessa Charbonneau, Teagan Feltz, Jasmine Bouffard, Neve Belanger, Anna King, Logan Stevenson, Sydney Little, Hannah White, Lillia Samuels, Catherine Chevalier, Alyssa Macdonald, Tawny Michelle, Meagan Smith and Tori Laflamme.
In the Sportsmen Division, the “BI Pontiacs” doubled up the “Patriots” 6-3. The cup winning team included: Dave Lazarus, Jarrod Shawanda, Graeme Siren, Zack Pregent, Brenden Biedermann, Talon McGregor, Kennedy Sintal, Nevada Waindubence, Justin Lanktree, Tyler Rydall, Josh Taibossigai, Jayden Southwind, Jason Bednarski and Gavin Brown.
In the Men’s 40+ Division, “AOK” won 7-4 over team ‘Hall’. Congratulations to players: Mike Abotossaway, Troy Abotossaway, Craig Abotossaway, Mark Moffat, Jim McCumber, Bryan Corbiere, Wade Debassige, Jason Abotossaway, Jamie Gray, Aaron Assinewei, Shaun Assinewei and Matt Maracle.
The BJ Memorial Hockey Tournament Committee rep, Deidre Debassige, reported that there were an amazing 31 games played and added, “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much to all of the teams, referees, timekeepers, arena management, volunteers and fans for making the 22nd Annual B.J. Memorial Hockey Tournament another great weekend for the Island and for the sport we all love the most. It’s important to highlight all family, friends and businesses that sponsored games in memory of loved ones that led to all tournament fees covered.
Special recognition must also go out to the MFN LNHL Athletes in Motion committee and other volunteers whose efforts resulted in approximately $20,000 raised for all teams representing M’Chigeeng First Nation at the upcoming Little NHL during March Break! It really is amazing to see how much this tournament brings everyone together and we only hope it continues to do so for many years ahead. See you all next year!”
Panther Points!
The girls of the Panther U-18 team had a weekend off their home ice thanks to the Northern Ontario curling playdowns. The team will be in a double-header this coming weekend with a report to follow next week.
In the interim, a very cool moment took place back on January 13th for one of their players and a local elder before the Maple Leafs game that night. Zaagaasge “Zee” Toulouse, one of the Panther players, was selected to be part of the annual Indigenous Celebrations game. She got to sit in on the Leafs pregame ceremony to honour Whitefish River elder, Jim McGregor.
Mr. McGregor is the last founding member of Little Native Hockey League tournament and is celebrating their 50th year this coming March. Jim spoke to the Leafs about the history of the tournament and its importance before being presented with a signed Leafs jersey by Captain John Tavares on behalf of the team and the organization. You can still see and hear the moment on the Jan 13 Leaf: Blueprint feature. Zee can also be seen in the Leaf: Blueprint video right beside Mr. McGregor! It is on Toronto’s page on the NHL website.
Off their Rock, hockey!
The OHL’s Owen Sound Attack, Carter George, has longtime roots here on Manitoulin and keeps on getting noticed before this spring’s NHL draft! The goaltender of record for Team Canada at the 2023 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup played in the recent OHL Top Prospects Game for Team White. Although his side lost, Carter was cornered for a post-game interview. He handled himself very professionally with a humble confidence that must come from a lot of practice both on and off the ice. Many NHLers could take notes! Good luck, Carter!
A good sport…
Last week in an U18 game in Mindemoya between the home team Thunder and the visiting Wiikwemkoong Hawks there was a touching moment of sportsmanship. The Hawks started the game with an already short bench and half-way through the game, their energy was flagging. To the bystanders, a confusing moment happened when, a Thunder time-out ended with three Mindemoya players leaving the ice. The reason was revealed soon after when the trio returned wearing their ‘away’ jerseys to play for the Wiikwemkoong side!
It was an amazing move that players and those in attendance will remember for a long time. It was great for the home team to offer and also a classy move for the Wiky team to accept and helped create that unforgettable memory. Moments like these transcend what sports is usually thought of and can be duplicated in other instances if we are just open to empathy for the other side more often.
A good sport is good for sports!
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