Island Elementary Basketball!
The annual Island Elementary Basketball Championships took place last Tuesday with both Little Current Coyotes teams earning bragging rights for their impressive twin, 4 and 0 road to victories!
In the boys’ event, the L.C.P.S. squad included Liam Stephens, Roen Deschenes, Luis Anaya, Max King, Collin Goodfellow, Asher Manitowabi, Kjell Smith, Nohlan Mathews, Ryan Carter and Coach Jen Casement.
The girls’ team was coached by April Aelick with help from L.C.P.S. after-school alumnus, Niomi Tomaselli and Kayla Lockeyer, who were standout players before graduating to MSS.
The winning roster featured Arabella Otosquaiob, Azalea Anaya, Rose Preston, Hazel Cooper, Emma Beattie-Barnes, Kirsten Bowerman and Myla Edralin.
Off His Rock, Hockey!
As the season winds down, with only the Tournament of Champions in North Bay to go, Mindemoya’s Jack Bridgeman is finishing out his U15 AA year with the Nickel City Sons as the leading goal scorer in the North, and third overall in points. His team had an impressive season that saw them skate to an 18-2-8 first place record, earn a win at the regional Silver Stick to qualify for the International Finals in Port Huron and play Sunday hockey in every tournament they travelled to, including the President’s Day Classic in Buffalo where they were up against American AAA teams. The Sons were consistently ranked in the top 20 of the notoriously southern skewed provincial rankings. Good luck in North Bay, Jack, and bring home that banner!
MLPs to Provincials!
The Manitoulin U-18 Panthers were a team destined to win their berth to the Ontario championships, but only if they trained hard all season. Thankfully their preparation was stellar and brought them to a four-point series against their North Bay rivals.
The girls played tough against the Bay side in the first game, narrowly dropping their first game and then winning their second to set up their path to the Provincials with only a tie needed to advance. Their deciding game was this past Tuesday (March 5th) in front of a packed house in Espanola. In the pre-game prep talk, Captain Emery Watson reminded the team of Coach Scot’s rallying statement, “If we score, we might win. If they don’t score, they are never going to win!”
Fans were on the edge of their seats as the Lady Panthers held North Bay to a 0-0 tie until 1:35 left in the game when North Bay pulled their goalie, as they needed a win and two points! However, after a beauty pass from team Captain Watson, Zahara Dube made a smartly timed shot on the empty net to score the only goal of the game. The team then finished with a very impressive defensive game to hang on to the lead and secure the win.
Congratulations on strong performances from Hope Eshkibok, Gracie Gibson, Shaye Ominika, Tessa Prior, Camryn Ramsay, Paung Trudeau, Izzy Hughson and Ciera Sokolosi between the pipes, the team secured their spot at their first ever Ontario Provincial Championships representing the region, which takes place in North York on the April 11-14th weekend.
Congratulations to team staff: Scot Hughson, Sonya Stencell, Al Laginski, Naomi Wolfe and Marcie Hughson. The Island is well represented and proud of you!
C.M.P.S. Eagles can curl!
Ten students from Central Manitoulin Public School in Mindemoya travelled to Sudbury to play at the Coniston Curling Club Annual Elementary Curling Bonspiel back on Monday, February 26th. 16 teams from all northeastern boards participated in the event, each playing three, four-end games. Matches were based on a point system and were also able to earn points by drawing to the button.
Both teams represented CMPS and Manitoulin Island very well. Team A won all their games and earned the highest points and won the bonspiel and took home the championship trophy. This is the first time the trophy was won by a team from Manitoulin. The team also received a banner to hang at the school. Team B won their final game and had very close games during the bonspiel. Both teams showed sportsmanship on and off the ice.
The teams featured: Team A- Spencer Johnston – Skip, Devon MacKelvie – Vice, Parker Johnston – Second, and Shawn MacKelvie– Lead. Team B was b – Skip, Oliver Symons – Vice, David Cooper – Second, Sammy Watson – Lead and Charlie Orford– Alternate and Alice McIntosh– Alternate.
Both teams were coached by Angela Johnston and Patti Jo Woods (Teacher at CMPS). They would like to acknowledge the support of their local clubs (Mindemoya Curling Club & Providence Bay Curling Club) for allowing them to use their facilities to practice for the event; the volunteer parents who drove students to the event; the coaches for dedicating their time and the Coniston Curling Club.
Beware of Bobcats!
Track North’s Bobcat Program is back again for the 2024 season!
If you have children in Grades 3 to 8 that are interested in learning the fundamentals of track and field in a beautiful outdoor setting at the Laurentian Community Track, then check out the link below. Bobcat Program practices start April 30th and run for 8 weeks until June 20th!
