Loading...
The Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-10-08, Page 9Wednesday, October 8, 2014 • Lucknow Sentinel 9 Ripley Wolves Season Preview Dwight Irwin Although the first puck has yet to be dropped, the Ripley Wolves are already creating a buzz in the WOAA Senior A hockey league. The Wolves, who kick off their season on Friday, Oct. 10, in Shallow Lake, have made a huge splash this off- season, signing some of the top talent to graduate from the Western Junior C Hockey League in years, as well as some experienced veterans. Brett Catto, last year's cap- tain of the Kincardine Bull- dogs, was the first to sign with the Wolves. Catto, a Kincardine native, was sec- ond in Bulldogs scoring last year with 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points in 33 games. Catto also racked up 50 penalty minutes while leading the Bulldogs to the playoffs. Cody Britton, the diminu- tive but speedy forward, led the Bulldogs in scoring last year with 22 goals and 45 assists for 67 points in 35 games and will be featured prominently on Ripley's offence. Walkerton resident Drew Davidson will add even more firepower to Ripley's offence, as the five-year Jun- ior C veteran (who also played one year in Junior B) scored 24 goals and added 34 assists for 58 points in only 29 games with last year's Walkerton Hawks. Davidson is no stranger multi -point games, as he hung an incredible 101 points (44 goals, 57 assists) in only 35 games for the 2012/13 Hawks. Another Walkerton native, Jordan Turcotte, enters his first year in the Senior A league after five years in Jun- ior C and one in Junior B. The puck -moving defence - man will add a crisp first pass to the Wolves' back end, and is a threat in the offen- sive zone after scoring eight goals and adding 11 assists for 19 points in 20 games with Walkerton last season. Turcotte plans to be in the line-up full time by Christ- mas once his course in Ottawa ends. The Wolves have added to their defence after the retire- ments of mainstays Chad Colling and Kyle Gallant. Jeff Alcombrack, a Kincardine native and former coach of the Bulldogs, will make his Senior A debut after playing nine years of professional 2014 - 2015 Lucknow Lancers Ean Moffat The WOAA Senior A hockey season is just around the cor- ner and the Lucknow Lancers are gearing up for another exciting year. The Lancers have some new faces to the squad as well as many returning vet- erans. The team added two new coaches for this coming season who are very familiar to Lancer fans; Steve Simpson and Grant Gilchrist Both Steve and Grant played for numer- ous seasons with the Lancers and were very successful play- ers. Dave MacKinnon and Colin Becker are the team managers again this year. The team has added local rookies LET'S ALL DO OUR PART! PLEASE RECYCLE. Tanner Simpson and Jamie Miller who played for the Kin- cardine Bulldogs of the Junior C league. Brett Binning played for the Moncton Wildcats last season and has joined the Lancers. After finishing a suc- cessful Junior C career, Jaden Shrier will be playing net for the Lancers this season. The returning veterans include: Chase Chapman, Scott Miller, Brett Phillips, Evan Riven, Rick Andrew, Brock Gignac, Kenny Stanley, Janis Ireland, Tom Brady, Joel Alton, Taco Baker, Ean Moffat, Evan Ducharme, and Matt McClinchy to name a few. This season for Lucknow will open in Ripley on October 11 at 7:30 pm. The Lancers first home game is October 18 at 8:00 pm. Jonathan Nelson of "Sepoy Catering" will be cook- ing up his delicious wings to be served upstairs throughout the home opener. There will be entertaining Senior A hockey in Lucknow this year as well as planned events during home games. There will be tyke games during the intermis- sion, Jersey night, minor hockey night, Christmas sweater night, Sponsors' night, and a 1989 Alumni game. More details about these fun events and the Lancers will fol- low. Hoping to see lots of fans out this season to cheer on your local Senior Hockey Team. hockey in the Central Hockey League and Sweden. Alcom- brack is another smart, puck - moving defenceman who should make the Wolves powerplay one of the most feared in the league. Tyler McCarthy is the final signing on the Wolves' defence this year. The Oran- geville native, who lives with Britton at school, spent a year with the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League, won a silver medal at the 2010 World Junior 'A' Chal- lenge with Team Canada East and played a year for Ryerson University's varsity team before joining the Wolves. The 6'3" d -man pos- sesses a booming shot and an ability to neutralize the opposition with his size. Adding players of this pedigree to a core that 141M1M1111'i•:I;I1:11 I L COMMUNITY LIVING Winghain 471 District Community Living Wingham and District B oard of Directors sincerely thank all those who supported the Dinner, Dance and Auction. All of you who bought tickets, made donations and participated in the auction by providing auction items showed great generosity. It is greatly appreciated. Thanks again includes veteran snipers Jer- emy McQuillin, Travis Van - gayer and Nick Locking, as well as promising youngsters Paul and Shawn Stewart, Jarred Colling and Ryan Armstrong should make for an exciting season of Senior A hockey in Ripley. A new coaching staff is led by Kin- cardine's Paul Catto, who has assumed the reins from longtime coach and Wolves Wall of Famer Brent Arm- strong. Catto will be joined behind the bench by Dennis Schmidt and former Wolf defencemen Kent Liddle and Mark Smith. As always, the Wolves can be followed online at ripley- wolves.com, on Facebook and on Twitter @Ripley - Wolves. The team would like to thank all the local busi- ness owners and families who have already sponsored the 2014/15 team. If you would like to learn more about sponsorship opportu- nities, contact Wolves Exec- utive member Jason Gibson at 519-395-0803. The team has also joined forces with The Mudmen - a Celtic -rock band that stars at the annual Kincardine Scot- tish Festival - for a Halloween Dance at the Ripley Arena, on Friday, Oct. 31, from 9 p.m. -1 a.m. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Huron -Kin- loss Township office, Ripley Variety and at Wolves home games. Prizes for best dressed will be awarded. The Wolves home opener is Saturday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m. vs our rivals from Luc - know. The full season sched- ule can be found on our website. Canada multiple has one of the highest rates of sclerosis in the world. t44i EitiAbYK. 41111 'Aine I 5%144 1-8CC,L268-7682 °mom rTismaely.ca Fall into Savings Perfect time to plant! Perfect time to save! 40' off 40% Off Perennials Trees & Shrubs Open: Mon -Fri: 8-5pm, Sat: 8-3pm Design Build Landscape Contractors • Superior Quality Nursery Stock • Interlocking Paving Stone Patios, Walkways & Driveways • Precast Retaining Walls • Landscape Design & Consultation Services Various Colours of Armourstone & Natural Stone • Lawn Installation HURON 519-529-7247 Lucknow, ON LANDSCAPING www.huronlandscaping.ca • huronl@hurontel.on.ca Garden Centre will be closing at the end of October for this season.