HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-04-30, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015.
Madill comes up just short at Dinning tournament
New girls hockey partnership
yields playoffs in first year
A strong partnership
The Brussels Crusaders celebrated the 25th anniversary of
their big Western Ontario Athletic Association win in the
1989/1990 season on the weekend at the Brussels, Morris
and Grey Community Centre. Here, Coach Gary Dauphin,
left, and Captain Brian TenPas pose with the team’s trophy.
TenPas says that over the years, he and Dauphin have
formed a special bond and he looks at him like a father
figure. (Photo submitted)
Push!
The F.E. Madill Mustangs rugby squad took on their
competition, the Grey Highlands Secondary School Lions
club in the final of the Matt Dinning Memorial Rugby
Tournament at Madill last week. Unfortunately, the
Mustangs couldn’t capture the first place win and were
edged out by the Lions. Shown is Madill player Craig
Murray being hoisted by his teammates Tyler Murray, left,
and Preston Scott. (Denny Scott photo)
A partnership of local hockey
associations has produced five
provincial qualifiers in its first year
of operation and the organizers
couldn’t be happier.
The partnership, which involves
the Blyth Brussels Minor Hockey,
Seaforth Minor Hockey and
Bayfield-Clinton-Hensall Minor
Hockey Associations, produced nine
girls teams with players from across
Huron County, five of which made
the provincial playoffs held earlier
this month in Toronto.
Of the nine teams, six were
eligible to compete for a spot in the
provincial playoffs and five made it,
while the sixth was only edged out
by a point.
“We were very pleased that five of
the six competitive level teams made
it,” David Burns, a representative for
the partnership said. “That in itself is
a great accomplishment. Each team
has to play against teams in the area
to qualify, so, for us to get five of our
six teams down there, we’re pretty
happy with that and consider that a
huge success.”
The five teams that made it were
the Novice C, Atom C, PeeWee C,
Bantam C and Midget B teams. All
of the teams were made up of girls
from the newly-made partnership.
Of those teams, the Midgets,
PeeWees and Atoms made it to the
quarter finals in their specific
divisions.
This was the first year for the
partnership, Burns said, and the
organization was pleased to end on a
high note.
“We were very happy with our
first year going like this,” he said.
“We didn’t know what to expect
going in, but we exceeded any
expectations by getting that many
teams to qualify. While we had a lot
of success on the ice we are just as
happy with the results off of the ice
as well. The friendships that have
been started and memories that were
created are what will stick with the
girls over time.”
Burns said there were some bumps
along the road, as travel was an issue
for games, however it’s something
he said the organizations are aiming
to make easier next season.
“We’re looking into different
options for leagues for our teams to
play in next year and we hope that
we will be able to mitigate some of
the travel for games,” he said. “We
are also talking to one of the leagues
we’re involved in to try and
determine if there are any options
available to help reduce some of the
travel for our teams to league
games.”
Travelling to practices was also a
concern, according to Burns, given
players both came from and
practiced in many different centres.
“We’re working to try and make
that easier for next year as well,” he
said. “That’s probably the biggest
issue for people... the travelling for
practice. We’ve got players going to
and from areas as far north as
Belgrave, as far South as Hensall,
west to Goderich and as far east as
Seaforth, Walton and Brussels so
we’re covering a big area.”
Burns said he knew travel would
be a concern, but it is something the
partnership has identified as a major
issue and those involved are actively
working on finding ways to help
reduce travel as much as possible.
As far as next year goes, the
partnership may see growth, as
numbers indicate there could be
enough players for at least nine and
as many as 11 teams, according to
Burns.
If anyone is interested in
registering for girls hockey they can
contact Dave Burns at 519-482-8224
or Diane Howson at 519-523-9050.
The eighth annual Dinning Cup
rugby tournament was held on
Thursday, April 23 at F.E. Madill
Secondary School.
This is an annual tournament held
in memory of fallen soldier, and
former F.E. Madill rugby player,
Matthew Dinning.
This year it was a six-team
tournament, and for the first time
ever it was played in the snow.
F.E. Madill kicked off the
tournament with a win against
Sacred Heart of Walkerton.
Then they faced Saugeen District
Secondary School. It was a close
game, but Madill came away with
the win, putting them into the
championship game.
As many fans from the school and
the community watched, Madill
played a tough match against Grey
Highlands Secondary School, and
ended up with a tie at the end of
regulation time. As a tie-breaker, the
game went to sudden-death kicks
through the uprights and Grey
Highlands came away with the
victory.
The tournament was honoured to
have Andy Jones (former coach and
founder of the tournament) present
the consolation trophies, and
Lincoln and Laurie Dinning (parents
of Matthew) present the
championship trophies.
Auburn 519-526-7262
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Saturday, May 2nd
Join us at Auburn’s Annual Yard Sale
Winter
Boots Winter
Clothing
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at the former Chamney Sanitation Building
in beautiful downtown Auburn
8:00 am sharp!
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Pop in and see our beautiful selection of patio furniture,
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• Vacuum Cleaners • Work Boots
and lots of one-of-a-kind items
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