Over $900 raised for victims of Humboldt Broncos tragedy
LITTLE CURRENT––A phenomenal 31 teams competed in the second annual 3 on 3 hockey tournament and skills competition held April 12 to 15 at the Northeast Town recreation centre. Teams came from Sudbury, Espanola, Massey and Manitoulin. Mindemoya Thunder of the Manitoulin Minor Hockey Association organized the event.
Spectators of all ages proudly wore their hockey jerseys on Thursday, April 12 as a tribute to the Humboldt Broncos. Hockey players were given stickers for their helmets. A table was set up with a donation jar and a poster for well-wishers to sign. A total of $908.50 was raised in the donation jar for the survivors and families of survivors of the tragic accident that left 16 Humboldt players and staff dead. One father summed up what everyone was feeling when he said, “Something like this hits everybody. Look at how many kids play hockey on the Island. Even if we’re not using buses we’re all spending a lot of time on the road. It was horrible and it could have happened to any of us.”
Tournament organizer Adam Smith thanked all the volunteers who ensured the weekend’s success as well as Orr’s Valu-Mart in Little Current for providing water and fruit for the players. “I have to give a huge shout out to Reid Taylor and the Northeast Town along with George Strain and Central Manitoulin for getting an ice resurfacer floated from Mindemoya in the wee hours of Sunday morning following a mechanical breakdown of the Northeast Town’s ice resurfacer late Saturday night,” said Mr. Smith. “Without their extra efforts we would have had to cancel the final day’s games. It was just an all round amazing effort put forth by both municipalities to ensure that the kids were not let down!”
He also thanked all of the players, coaches, spectators and parents for attending. “The weather was not what we would have expected for mid-April but we managed to persevere and get all of the games played. Congratulations to our tournament winners and we hope to see you all next year!”
The 31 teams played a total of 77 games throughout the weekend. Rules were slightly different than regular hockey play. Each game consisted of two 12 minute periods. Body checking was not allowed in any division although slap shots were. There were no icing calls and the referee would not blow the whistle unless a goal was scored, the goalie froze the puck or there was an offside at the blue line. Penalties were assessed with players taking penalty shots following the end of the game.
The skills competition featured a penalty shot challenge, an agility skate with puck, the fastest skater challenge, a four person relay and a passing accuracy challenge. The competition was designed to encourage participation by all team members with each player allowed to enter only one skills event. Players were ranked at the conclusion of each event. Teams with the lowest score in each division were recognized as the champions for the skills competition.
Winners in each division were as follows:
Novice division winners were the Thunder Chickens, coached by Reid Taylor and Chris King. Players were Chase Taylor, Maximus King, Jonah Balfe, Scarlet Mohr, Owen Smith, Brinley Watson, Anders Watson, Kaci Lariviere, Cori Brown and Adam Spry.
Atom division winners were the Syracuse Bulldogs, coached by Kevin Eshkawkogan and James Panamick. Players were Kohyn Eshkawkogan, Kallan Jones, Jack Bridgeman, Sadie Bridgeman, Alexander Debassige, Nicholas Bates, Kain Corbiere and Sean Toope.
Peewee division winners were the Gongshow, coached by Fawn Bridgeman and Lyndsay Setterington. Players were Delaney Bridgeman, Macie Setterington, Jon Mende, Ethay Dey, Zachary Gibbons, Kal Debassige and Destiny Bebonang.
Bantam division winners were Daisey and the Dukes, coached by Dean Hare and Mason Graham. Players were Dennis Gulyas, Todd Gordon, Gabe Hare, Whittier Gauthier, Hudson Hare, Jared Cortes, Hoah Hare, Cord Hughson, Billy Biederman and Carl Dickson.
Midget division winners were the Blade Runners, coached by Bill Bennett and Kris Heighington. Players were Jake Bennett, Kyle Heighington, Max MacGillivray, Erik Laframboise, Calub Rivers, Derek Deluisa, Owen Coles, Spencer Dickson, Kurtis Ellis and Cameron Mundy.
The skills competition winners were Blue, Blanc et Rouge for Novice division; Skull and Crossbars for Atom division; Island Jr T-Birds for Peewee division; Daisey and the Dukes for Bantam Division; and Blade Runners were skills competition winners in the Midget division.
