by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION (Cobden) — Grandparents were chosen as Fan of the Year award while the Novice team bench staff were presented with the Bench Staff Award for the Muskrat Minor Hockey Executive representative teams.
The award was presented during the banquet Sunday night, March 31 at the Cobden Agricultural Hall.
JoAnne Bydon, president of the association emceed the event.
“This is a new executive this year, so there were lots of bumps along the road,” she said. “There was a pretty steep learning curve.”
She noted that without the executive, there would not be hockey, teams, games or an association.
“I want to recognize them for the tireless amount of hours they spend behind the scenes to make sure all these players get onto the ice and enjoy the sport they love so much,” she said.
Derrick England is vice-president of house league; Katie St. Pierre is secretary; Vera Gould is treasurer; Michelle Gould is IP co-ordinator; Amber Costello is Manager Mentor and Amber and Derrick are also the tournament co-ordinators.
Following a loud round of applause from the many gathered in the hall, coaches from the teams introduced the players.
Brent Gould, coach of the Novice team, noted in the first round of playoffs, they defeated Deep River in two games, followed by defeating Pembroke in the second round.
In the championship game, Petawawa won the first two.
“The kids came out on the short end 2-1in Game 2,” he said.
Coach Gould noted bench staff told the players to have heart, work hard and have fun.
“There were very few games that I left the rink thinking our kids didn’t work their hardest,” he said. “That’s the reason we only lost 10 games all year, and of the 10, five were to Petawawa.”
In tournament action, the Novices had a successful run, Coach Gould said. They won the Pembroke Regional Silverstick in Pembroke defeating Centre Hastings, a team that defeated them in another tournament, he pointed out. They were A champs in Arnprior and ended up making it to the semi-finals at the International Silver Stick B division.
“We beat Penatanguishine in the quarter-finals with a shoot-out, and they had previously beat us as well,” said.
However, the winning team is now playing for the Ontario Minor Hockey Association championship, he pointed out.
It was unfortunate the team lost their home tournament in the A championship, while in Huntsville, it was an interesting tournament format and the Novices were in the B final, which they won in overtime.
“These kids did very well in tournaments,” Coach Gould said, adding, “Our overall record in 55 games, we won 42, lost 10 and tied 3.”
He then introduced each of the players and bench staff, talking about their strengths.
Coach Tim Lynch was a rock for this first-time coach of a team that is under peewee.
“We tried some stuff and the kids learned a lot,” Coach Gould said.
Under the guidance of trainer Kevin Humphries, this Novice team was the only team in novice hockey that didn’t have an injury on the ice, he said.
Smiling, he said, “Kevin said that if I have to go on the ice, you won’t be playing for a couple of weeks,” bringing laughter from the crowd.
He also spoke about a few volunteers who helped throughout the year.
He said first-time manager Carley did a “fantastic job. Hopefully she’ll come back again and do another year.”
The bench staff of the atom team was not able to attend, so the team was just introduced with no mention of how the team did throughout the year.
Peewee coach Derrick England spoke about his team. Throughout the year, various developments of the game were worked on, he said.
“We started off the year picking kids who wanted to learn the game of hockey,” he said.
The first area was working with the goal tending.
“The two goalies listened to what they were told,” Coach England said, adding, “They kept us in 90 percent of the games.”
The four defence players listened to everything that was talked about on the bench, pushed people in front of the net and pushed the forwards to develop their game as well, he said.
“It was rocky at the beginning of the year,” Coach England said.
While the team may not have won every tournament or game, they “played their hearts out. It was the type of team that we learned every game and every game we grew a little bit more, right down to the very last tournament in Huntsville, where our passes were becoming multiple and the game’s effort was through the roof,” he proudly stated.
He thanked the players for listening throughout the season while showing respect to the coaches, parents and referees.
“I hope you guys continue to learn and grow every single year,” Coach England said before introducing the players and bench staff.
Bantam manager Amber Costello said the team had a great game.
“We didn’t win as many games as we wanted to, but in the end, these guys improved and that’s all that matters,” she said.
Coach Chris Moore said the team wasn’t as successful as the novice team, but did quite well.
“Our goal was to be in the games all year,” he said. “At the start of the year, we lost a lopsided 12-2 game to Pembroke.
“In due time, we did get better, and when we played Pembroke, we lost 4-0.”
He told about a text from a Pembroke parent who wrote, ‘You’re the hardest working team.’
“I thought, maybe we do have something going here,” adding, “After that, we never lost a game bad until we played Tweed.”
The Bantams won games, tied the best team in the league and at year’s end, defeated Pembroke, Coach Moore said.
“We can’t ask for much more than that from these guys,” he said. “They played hard, worked hard, and this is our team,” as he began introducing the players and bench staff.
The Midget team was unable to attend the event.
Associate players
Costello introduced those players who come from other associations, noting without them, there may not be some teams. However, the players and their parents aren’t asked until tryouts are over, she added.
“I’d like the Associate team players to come forward to be recognized for their dedication,” she said. “They travelled a little bit further, maybe playing against your classmates, your teammates you played with in home associations.
“We really thank you, because without you, not one of the teams sitting in the room tonight would happen,” Costello ended.
Fan and Bench Staff of the year awards
Brydon said she had a speech to talk about the bench staff that was to be presented with the award – however, the coach did that earlier when he introduced the team.
She then called Coach Gould up with his staff – Tim Lynch, Kevin Humphries and Carly McLaren.
“This is a very well-deserving team,” Brydon said. “They are a young team and did very well.”
Speaking to the Novice players who were sitting nearby and cheering on their coaches, she said, “I’m hoping you novice players sitting over there recognize how hard your coaches worked, how hard your manager works.”
She is hopeful the players will continue to play hockey, a game they love.
Lena Costello and brother Nolan were called onto stage.
Reading from her notes, Brydon said, “Fan of the year is being presented to two people this year.
“These two have been attending Muskrat Minor Hockey games since 1984.”
She noted they both had two boys in minor hockey from novice to midget. They now attend games to cheer on their grandchildren.
“They rarely miss a game and have been known to show up at an out-of-town tournament here and there.
“Their dedication to Muskrat Minor Hockey is also evident through their volunteer work.”
Their volunteerism includes starting the Bingo fundraiser, coaching and being a trainer on various teams for 10-plus years.
Brydon then called Darlene and Dave Costello to the stage to accept the award from their grandchildren.
Closing out the night, Brydon encouraged those in attendance to attend the Annual General Meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, time and place to be finalized.
Afterwards, Brydon noted there were 200 registered players for the rep league this year.
As for the executive, she noted while many do have experience on the board, this could be the first time holding a position.
“We’re very new, so it’s been a year of learning and growing.”
Unlike other hockey associations, Brydon noted the Muskrat Minor Hockey Association struggles to get players, which is why they import players from other associations.
“Our numbers are low because we have a small catchment area,” she said.
As an example, she noted in the IP program, 20 players will come out for this association, while in Pembroke, 200 could come out.
“The midget and bantam, not sure they would have run because the numbers were so low, so we did a lot of recruiting,” Brydon said.
Many players travelled from Deep River and For Coulonge to play.
