by BOB GRYLLS
Whitewater Reporter
WESTMEATH — The Westmeath/Beachburg end of season minor hockey banquet was held at the Westmeath Hall, Sunday, April 9.
The reps for their respective communities, Neil Nicholson for Westmeath and Derek McLaughlin for Beachburg, were the emcees.
Neil opened with, “This is a sign that hockey is over.” Derek said a prayer that was tailored to minor hockey.
Derek had two requests: The kitchen staff be thanked for their great job of preparing the banquet food and that all players turn to their parents and/or grandparents and thank them for their support. The Beachburg referees, Chris, Colin and Greg were shown appreciation, especially for their instructional work with the kids on and off the ice. As the season evolved more parents were drawn into participating. “No ref’s, no games.” These guys take needless criticism and much heat from all quarters and go on just by doing their job.
Neil recognized the three referees from Westmeath; Peter Ethier, Michael Watson and Ronnie Ethier, thanking them for all they contribute to hockey.
Don Moore, coach of the combined Atom team spoke on their season results. Although finishing 12th overall, in the ‘B’ playoffs, they responded to win 11 games, losing only the last one. It was noted that prior to the season’s beginning they had only eight players and no goaltender firmed up.
Mark Lange, coach for the Beachburg Novice team, despite having only three 2nd year players, said his goal was to finish over ‘500’. The team did, finishing 6th overall. Diane Lowe presented the team with a trophy in memory of her husband who had a soft spot for novice teams.
Neil, coach for the Peewee’s, had three players without experience and few 2nd year ones as well. They started the season slowly but were much improved by January. In the payoffs, they beat Eganville in the first round in four games but lost in the next round. They held their own in a tournament in Sudbury.
The Beachburg Bantams, coached by Tommy Lammi, had a great year and lots of fun. They ended up 2nd in the regular season, 15-2-5 and were in three tournaments.
The Westmeath Bantams were coached by Dave Lessard, who said, “We went all the way,” winning regular season and are playoff champs. He gave much credit to his bench staff for its success.
The Midget team, coached by Ricky McDonald, had a phenomenal year, undefeated in both league play and playoffs. They also won 4 of 5 tournaments entered. Ann Bromley presented four jerseys to those retiring from hockey; players Michael Plazek, Cole Drapeau, Malcolm Wren and for his bench support, father Ted Wren (bench support).
There was a nice surprize when Derek presented Neil with a WDRA jacket with the original Warrior logo sewn on the back of it. Derek thanked Neil for his help over seven years, for taking a lead in hockey the last two years and initiating new programs in the community.
Wayne Ready was on hand from the Minor Muskrat Association executive thanking all the kids for taking part in hockey. He named and thanked the other members of the executive for their contribution.
