Canskaters end season on a big note

Kingston Frontenacs winger Marc Beckstead and the Canadian Tire Store in Morrisburg were the hosts for the day, Saturday, as area youngsters were provided the opportunity to meet Beckstead and three of his Fronts teammates and have a little fun with the Tribeck Inflatables.

Beckstead, 18 of Morrisburg was joined by defenceman Mikko Vainonen, 19, of Finland and centreman Darcy Greenaway, 20, of Wilton, Ontario. The three, who will report to the Fronts training camp at the end of this month, had a great time Saturday, at CT in Morrisburg, visiting with the local youngsters and signing ball caps and posters.

The attendance of the  Ontario Hockey League’s Frontenacs players at the Canadian Tire’s Back to Hockey Event was organized by Marc’s uncle Trevor, owner of Tribeck Inflatables.

“We do a lot of different events in Kingston and the area,” said Greenaway, who is heading into his third season with the Frontenacs. Greenaway says he has spent much of his summer and most weekends doing this type of promotion for the Frontenacs. “It’s fun to talk to people and give away free stuff, and it’s good to come out and do it with the guys.”

Greenaway is five foot, eight inches. He weighs 186 pounds and wears the Frontenacs #22 sweater. He had a 44 point season last year with 24 goals and 20 assists.

 Also on hand was defenceman Mikko Vainonen who has returned to Canada having spent much of his summer back home in Helsinki, Finland. The Finnish defenceman, who will play out his second season with the Frontenacs, recently signed a three year entry level contract with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. He is six foot two inches and weighs 205 pounds.

Locally, the Frontenacs were represented by Marc Beckstead, son of Ernie and Leisa Beckstead of Morrisburg. Beckstead, is looking forward to shedding his rookie status as he heads into his second season with the Frontenacs. Last year, he played in 53 games and posted six goals and eight assists.

He says he has had a great summer and worked hard with his training. “I have been training with Ian Perry, five days per week all summer. I am feeling really good, and I’m excited for camp, really excited. They (the Frontenacs) told me to put on some muscle over the summer, so that is what I have been working to do.”

Beckstead attended his first camp last year with a weight of 173 pounds. He finished the season at 180 pounds, and will be heading to camp at the end of August with a weight of 190 pounds.

In addition to his weight training, Marc has been skating four times per week.

Trevor Beckstead, of Beckstead Inflatables says he was excited to spearhead the Frontenac/Canadian Tire promotion.

 In a recent local event, he noticed a number of kids wearing Fronts caps. “I told them (the Frontenacs) they’d be surprised at the number of Fronts fans in this area. When they said they would bring the truck and the wheel and prizes for the kids, I thought that was awesome. They have never been past Gananoque, so this is great.”

[…]

“We had fun.” That expression by player Jack Cole sums up the Morrisburg Combines performance at the Canada Senior Games in Edmonton from August 27-29. 

Each game was close, but the Combines lost all four. 

The 2014 version of the Canadian Senior Games attracted over 2000 participants setting for itself a new record in attendance. 

The Morrisburg Combines qualified for the Canadian Games by winning a hockey gold medal in the 2013 Ontario Senior Games in the 65-plus age division. 

“This national event itself was a quite a big, well-organized deal with impressive opening and closing events, quality entertainment and darn good food,” says Jake Cole of Ottawa who was enjoying his first time at the games with the Combines.

Accompanied by several of the players’ wives, the Combines made some noise both on and off the ice.”

“It was super encouraging to hear the cheers from our fans when we scored or goalie Les McAllister made a great save,” says Cole. “It was also a fine time of laughing and teasing during the dressing room time before and after each game. In fact, as most old timers players will undoubtedly agree, hockey dressing room banter has basically not changed since we were teenagers, with the same corny jokes and everyone taunting and poking fun at each other mercilessly.”

The Combines arrived in Edmonton as a team that had only played together for four exhibition games back home. 

“We learned that our competition had been playing regularly all summer and also that they had played together for years. Right away, we could tell we were up against some very good hockey teams.”

The Combines first game was against the Rocky Mountain Elks. The Elks scored first, but the Combines recovered to tie it. Alberta went up 3-1 with the Combines getting a late one back and then pulling goaltender Les McAllister only to have their goalie make a terrific save off Fern Gauvreau in the dying seconds to preserve the 3-2 win. 

The second game put the Combines against Calgary’s Jeff Bowles, “a team that seemed to know just how far to bend the rules without getting penalized” says Cole. Bowles got some early goals and the Combines never really got going until near the end, losing 5-2. 

The Combines final two games were close, with leads see-sawing back and forth but they lost both games identical 4-2 scores to the Elks and to Bowles. The Bowles team won the championship with a 5-2 victory over the Elks.

The Combines’ tournament scoring leaders were Lester Holmes and Jack Haines (who scored an outstanding goal on a howitzer-like shot in the Combines last game). 

Special recognition was given to Combines defencemen, Bryan Helmer, Alvin Darling, Wally Ryan, and Ron Alguire, who, along with Les McAllister kept out many potential goals and basically kept the team in every game.

The “Combines”, are now a 65-plus team (with players up to 78 years old) that been competing in the Senior Games, at the provincial and national levels since 2000. 

While never winning gold nationally, the team has won several provincial titles and expects to be back competing again next February in Haliburton, Ontario for another provincial gold.

[…]

The South Dundas “Pizza Hut” Novice B Lions kicked off the 2011/12 hockey season with back-to-back 5-4 and 4-2 wins against the South Stormont Selects.

Here on Thursday night, the Lions opened the season with a 5-4 win over the South Stormont Selects as they held on tightly to their one goal lead late in the third period. With their net emty, the Selects pressed to get the equalizer before the final buzzer but were turned away the Lions defense. 

Lions goaltender Brendan Shaver was tested in the last couple of minutes but stood his ground and kept the puck in front of the goal line.    

The Selects opened the scoring at the 3:30 minute mark of the first period and that score held with saves by goalies Keaton Woodside (Selects) and Brendan Shaver (Lions). 

With 1:04 left in the period, the Lions got on the board when Kayne McCadden grabbed the puck in the offensive zone and made a few moves around the Selects defenders before burying the puck behind Woodside. 

The Selects re-claimed the lead with 10 seconds left in the second when the Lion defence were caught up ice leaving Joshua Broad the lonely Lion to try and stop the Selects charge.     

Throughout the second and third period, the Lions offense carried the play as defenders Emytt Fetterly, Cassidy Bilmer and Spencer Barclay kept the play alive many times at the offensive blue line. 

At 6:26 the Selects took a 3-1 lead when a shot by Chase Duchesne squeaked a puck by Brendan Shaver. 

With the game closing in on only a few minutes left the Lions offense went to work. 

At 9:24 Joshua Broad passed the puck around a Select defender to Ben Lapier who went in on the Selects goalie and beat him glove side. At 11:23 Nolan Henry took a pass form Trent Rae at the Selects blue line and broke in on Woodside to beat him with another great shot. 

On the very next shift Ben Lapier went to work scoring two goals in eight seconds to record the first three goal performance of the year. Owen Fetterly picked up the lone assist on the goals.

In the rematch and resulting 4-2 win, Ben Lapier (from Kolby Latulippe) opened the scoring for the Lions on the power play with 19 seconds left in the first period. 

Early in the second, Lions goalie Brendan Shaver kept the Selects off the board with a huge glove save on a Selects shot from the slot. 

Owen Fetterly gave the Lions a 2-0 lead when he carried the puck down the right wing and wristed a shot just as he approached the slot.

The Selects finally got on the board when Owen Carter banged in his own rebound when he pounced on a loose puck by the Lions net. 

The Lions regained their two goal lead when Kayne McCadden got the puck from Latulippe in the right wing corner and flipped the puck over the goalie to Nolan Henry who was standing all alone in front of the net. 

To his surprise the puck landed flat on the ice, right on his stick. The puck bounced away, but Henry quickly regained control and shot the puck off the Selects goalie’s right pad into the net. 

Kayne McCadden scored with 1:31 left in the second period unassisted.

In the third period, Lions defenseman Spencer Barclay used his head (literally) in taking a scoring chance away from Selects Owen Carter. 

It started when Carter crossed over the Lions blue line, cut into the middle of the ice and let a wrist shot go. The puck hit Barclay on the helmet and deflected out of play. 

The South Dundas “Pizza Hut” Lions open their regular season to-night in Kemptville and travel to Westport on Saturday.

[…]