Manitoulin Minor Hockey accolades
March Break time means two things Little NHL is on and MMHA hockey is done. Here are a few of the highlights.
Kennedy Lanktree has been involved in hockey essentially all her life and at all levels. Still wanting to give back to the game, as a newly minted coach last year she took the Mindemoya Thunder Bantams to the league title. This season, she got to move up with some of the players to Midget and join the grizzled veterans already there. It was an exciting season and it all came down to a Mindemoya – Little Current final for the cup and Coach Lanktree got her ‘two-peat’!
Congratulations to: Abbie Heins, Ava Fields, Braden Phelps, Brodie Pennie, Cash Duchene-Milne, Chase Becks, Garrett Sheppard, Jack Pennie, Jon Mende, Landen Smith, Landon Hare, Liam Lariviere, Noah Thorpe, Rylan Carrick, Sadie Bridgeman, T.J. Green and Xavier Mara. Dealing with this group of, ahem, ‘characters’ would be daunting enough alone but luckily Kennedy had help coaching from Maddy Niven (just 21!), Bryan Phelps and Mel Carrick was the manager.
The Manitowaning Wolves won the A championship in the U13 division. Congratulations to: Ava Hartley, Alexei Pelletier, Joshua McComb, Hudson Roque, Liam Metus, Chloe Moggy, Track Cyr, Walker Hagman, Steven Gulyas and Arabella Otosquaiob.
Deserving of no less congrats, were the able bench and behind the bench staff of: Blair Hagman (head coach), Chris Cyr (assistant coach), Laura Hagman (trainer) and Dawn Roque (manager)!
The Wolves in the U11 class got to hoist the B Trophy with all the deserved gusto. Hats off to: Ada-Lyn Cairns, Miah Hughson, Ella King, Priscilla Case, Cohen Metus, Mason Deacon, Alyeana McDermid, Trapper Cyr, Steven Gulyas, Jaden Huang and Tatiana King
The Bench Staff featured: Chris King, Chris Cyr, Ray Moreau and Christine Gulyas.
Manitoulin boys off to OFSAA!
A very unique situation happened for two hockey players with deep Manitoulin roots. In the NOSSA hockey finals in the Sault, Lucas Green, son of Jeff “Squirt” Green and Tanya Carter, plays for the Saint Mary’s Knights defeated the Superior Heights Steel Hawks that Owen Case plays on. Owen is the son of Matt and Leanne.
Matt and Squirt, incidentally, we’re on the exact same powerhouse line back when the Manitoulin Panthers won the Nickel District League.
Interestingly, because of Saint Mary’s small population they chose to play in the Double-A OFSSA showdown in Saint Catharine’s. Because the “AAA” OFSAA then had no NOSSA representative The Heights will get to represent Northern Ontario in the Triple-A division down in Windsor. Good luck guys!
Off her Rock, hockey!
The provincially ranked No. 9 Sudbury Lady Wolves U18A team and their captain, Mindemoya’s Delaney Bridgeman, were down in Toronto and Barrie for the second round of playoffs this past weekend, facing the No. 4 Barrie Sharks. In Saturday afternoon’s opener at Canlan in Scarborough, the girls got off to a quick start, with a first period snipe by Claudia Castellenos putting the SLW up 1 – 0. The Sharks stormed back in the 2nd, and potted 2 near identical rebound goals within a two minute span and held on through the 3rd for a 2 – 1 win.
Down one game to none in the best of 3, it was up Highway 400 Saturday night to Barrie for the SLW girls, and they came out flying. Despite the holding, hooking, interference and body checks they endured, the girls were up 3 – 1 as time was winding down in the 3rd. After what had seemed to be a case of the referee ‘putting the whistle away’ to allow the game to play as it might, the Sudbury girls were penalized with three minutes to go. Ironic that after several instances of Sudbury players being flattened and sent flying from the front of the net by Barrie defenders throughout the game, suddenly it was Lady Wolves player sent to the penalty box for doing the same.
So with their goalie out, it was a 6 on 4 advantage for Barrie. One of the SLW players made a strong play on a Barrie pass, carried the puck into the attacking zone and made a shot toward the empty net that bounced off a leg, turned into a 5 on 2 break the other way that Barrie capitalized upon, making it 3 – 2. With the penalty over, the full strength SLW side wound down the clock for a 3 – 2 win, evening the series at 1 game apiece and setting up Sunday’s match to decide the series and Central Division champion.
On Sunday in Scarborough the SLW girls came out flying again. With a much more stringent official in charge, the Barrie side was consequenced for some of their aggressive play, and as time wound down Sudbury was up 3 – 0. However, after putting up with the amount of aggression that they had over the past couple of games, a couple of the Lady Wolves took the opportunity to respond in kind and were assessed with a two then a four-minute penalty is quick succession.
With the goalie out, this meant a 6 on 3 advantage for Barrie, but the three Lady Wolves defenders did an admirable job, blocking shots and obstructing passing lanes, and keeper Farrah Farstad was brilliant as they killed off four of the six minutes when the unrelenting pressure from Barrie at 6 on 4 managed a goal with 1 minute to go to break the shutout.
That marker meant Sudbury was back to full strength though, and was inspired to finish it out, winning the game 3 – 1, the series 2 – 1, and were declared the Central Division champions! On March 25 and 26 the girls face the other division winners No. 6 Toronto Leaside Wildcats and No. 21 Mississauga Hurricanes in a 3 team round robin to determine the representative for OWHA Championship Weekend April 1. Good luck girls!
Hockey tidbit
Mike Buchinger, a Wiikwemkoong band member plays for the Guelph Storm has just signed a contract with the Saint Louis Blues!
Dedication pays off!
Dustin Peltier, who once played for the Manitoulin Secondary Mustangs has been working off ice but still with hockey. He has worked up through his coaching certifications and is presently a scout for the QMJHL’s Monkton Wildcats. Now, the Ottawa Senators have just signed him to an apprentice contract in hockey management. In an interview, Dustin credits football legend, Bear Bryant with his philosophy, “if you believe in yourself, have dedication and pride and never quit you will always be a winner.” Awesome attitude, Dustin!
Manitoulin Snipers Win!
The Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps 348 Manitoulin is a youth organization based out of Little Current but with members from all over the Island. They recently won a marksmanship competition in
Congratulations to: Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class Rhys Allison, Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class Lydia Pennings, Master Cadet Elizabeth Hazlitt, Master Cadet Samuel Pennings and to their coach, Denis Blake!
Fierce Fighter
Congratulations to Cole King who is still a rookie in the MMA world but he is turning heads mainly with kicks and punches! He trains in a form of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and in the fall won a bronze medal in a Lutando Series Tournament in Woodbridge. Keep up the hard work, Cole!
A good sport is good for sports
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