Among the Cedars

With the end of the regular season now just a few weeks away, the Morrisburg Junior B Lions continue to entertain one of the longest losing streaks in team history.

This past weekend a pair of losses to the Prescott Flyers, 4-1 and the Gananoque Islanders, 4-2 brought their St. Lawrence Division stats to 27 losses in 30 games.

Friday night on home ice, the Lions managed just one goal against the visiting Prescott Flyers.

Drew Veenstra got that one on the Lions power play, with help from Chris Pearson and Michael Paquette, at 13:18 of the first period.

The 1-0 Lions advantage lasted until well into the second period, when the Flyers Patrick Rock evened it at 14:18 and Andrew DeKroom gave them a 2-1 lead at 15:41.

Early in the third, the Flyers went up 4-1 on goals by Ryan Romans and Trevor Kelecher.

Jarerett Pitt was in the Flyers net for the win, and John Gilmer handled the Lions loss. Pitt handled just 23 shots on net while Gilmer gave up four goals on 36 shots.

The Lions sat out seven minor penalties, while the Flyers were assessed  eight and a 10 minute misconduct for checking to the head.

Sunday night in Gananoque, the Islanders were first on the scoreboard with a Matt Tustin goal. 

In the last minute of the first period Liam Morrow, with help from A.J. Jarvis, counted for the Lions to even it.

The Islanders took charge in the second period with two unanswered counters, and went up 4-1 at 9:28 of the third.

Steven Savage scored on the Lions power play at 17:17 of the third to cut the gap to 4-2, but that was it.

Cole Blanchard and Drew Veenstra got the assists on the Savage goal.

Ryan Kaszuba was in net for the Islanders win, and John Gilmer handled the loss. Shots on net were 35 for the Islanders and 31 for the Lions.

The Lions were assessed eight minor penalties, a five minute fighting major and a game misconduct for checking from behind.

The Islanders sat out 12 minors, two five minute fighting majors, and a 10 minute misconduct.

Coming up this Friday night, January 10 the Lions are on the road to Westport. Sunday, January 12 they host the Char-Lan Rebels. 

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The busy schedule that Luke Whitteker has endured over the past year continued on the weekend of January 21-22, as he traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina for the annual Performance PR Plus Driver Advancement Marketing Summit held on the site of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. 

Whitteker arrived in Charlotte on Friday afternoon, and spent the day touring the Charlotte area which is the hub of the Stock Car Racing World with virtually all NASCAR race teams located in close proximity to the Queen City. 

Killing some time during the day had endless possibilities.

Saturday was the first day of the Summit, and Whitteker and other aspiring racers listened to former NASCAR crew chief and current broadcaster Larry McReynolds talk to the group, as well as open wheel racer Townsend Bell, who opened a sponsorship coaching program in 2009 to help drivers, teams and sponsors maximize their sponsorship efforts.  

After hearing stories, and sharing marketing tips from McReynolds and Bell, the group then met up with NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon and retired driver Ricky Craven.

Craven was hosting a press event that would see the unveiling of Gordon’s 20th Anniversary edition Dupont car for the 2012 season. 

“It was a very exciting event to be a part of.  We listened to some old racing stories from a lot of great people, including Richard Petty,” says Whitteker.  “It was nice to meet Jeff Gordon and Ricky Craven, and watch the event from the VIP area of Hendrick Motorsports.”

Kymberley Brantigan of Performance PR Plus hosted the annual event, along with veteran Marketing and PR Consultant and co-founder of the Race 101 Program.  

Performance PR Plus is an organization most known for their handling of Public Relations for Jeff Gordon and Dupont Motorsports for the last 20 years.  

Brantigan, along with Race 101 Marketing and PR consultant Anna-Marie Strawhand, hosted the two-day event.

After a great day with the summit, Whitteker and other racers got together for some go-kart racing at an indoor kart track in Mooresville, North Carolina.  After a fun filled evening, the students returned back to Charlotte for a good rest, before returning for the final day of the summit.

On Sunday, Brantigan and Strawhand instructed the class on marketing, media and social networking.  That was followed by an open discussion amongst the participants of the summit where they were able to make new connections.  

Whitteker arrived back home late Sunday evening.

Performance PR Plus’s Annual Driver Advancement Marketing Summit is designed to provide valuable information and insight from industry professionals on topics that include obtaining sponsorship, driver development programs, stepping-stone racing series and how to use public relations, websites and social media to promote yourself and sponsors. 

Speakers offer valuable information and answer any questions that attendees have about marketing themselves and the many off-track components necessary to have a realistic chance to advance, and what needs to be considered before making life-changing decisions around a career in motorsports.

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  It was a good week for the Morrisburg Junior C Lions as they put two marks in the win column of the National Capital Hockey League’s South Division standings. Last Wednesday, November 4, the […]