SOUTH DUNDAS – The 2019-20 minor hockey season ended abruptly with the mandated shutdown on March 12th by Hockey Canada.
On that night, under the wire, the Atom B Lions were crowned the Upper Canada Minor Hockey League champs.
“The world was spinning us towards lock-down,” said South Dundas Minor Hockey Association President Joyce Latulippe. “For those last moments we were just at the rink watching a great game of hockey. Kudos to North and South Dundas Atom B for playing through all that uncertainty.”
Another series that was left up in the air was the Atom C1 Lions. That series was left tied with the Smiths Falls Bears when the remainder of the season and playoffs were cancelled. Latulippe said that both teams were named Co-Champions of the Atom C League for 2019-20.
“Their last game on March 11th was another nail-biter of a playoff hockey game,” she said. “Although they didn’t get to play the tie-breaking game, they are truly champions as well.”
Two months later, with the COVID-19 restrictions just beginning to be relaxed, there is no opportunity for the SDMHA to hold its annual hockey awards banquet this year. Instead, the association released the individual team awards for publication.
Atom B Rep: Noah Lafrance – Best Forward; Halle VanBeilen – Best Defence; Emmett Lemire – Coach’s Award; Reed McCadden – Most Improved; Hudson Banford – Most Dedicated; Grayson Casselman – Most Sportsmanlike.
Atom B House: Simon Martens – Best Forward; Matthew Onstein – Best Defence; Chase Alger – Coach’s Award; Austin Workman and Keegan Saddler – Most Improved; Brody Ortwein – Most Dedicated; Daymon Julien – Most Sportsmanlike.
Atom C1 House: Mason Roderick – Best Forward; Isaiah Edwards – Best Defence; Jeremy Barkley – Coach’s Award; Leila Cassel – Most Improved; Matthew Bazinet – Most Dedicated; Thomas LePage – Most Sportsmanlike.
Peewee B House: Skyler Keeler – Best Offence; Reyen VanBeilen – Best Defence; Bryce Kirkwood – Coach’s Award; Jake Thompson – Most Improved; Henry Martens – Most Dedicated; Jordan Elliott – Most Sportsmanlike.
Bantam B Rep: Wyatt Barkley – Best Forward; Alek Larocque and Wyatt Rivet – Best Defence; Monty Dejong – Coach’s Award; Mason Hummel –Most Improved; Cameron Lynch – Most Dedicated; Nate Thompson – Most Sportsmanlike; Owen Villeneuve and Aiden Hutt – Most Valuable Players.
Bantam C House: Zack Scarbeau – Best Offence; Cameron Stewart – Best Defence; Travis Faulkner – Coach’s Award; Alicia Verbruggen – Most Improved.
Midget B House: Jaeden Shaver – Best Forward; Nathen Verhey ‑ Best Defence; Kolby Latulippe ‑ Coach’s Award; Grayce Janes – Most Improved; Brendan Shaver – Most Dedicated; T. J. Barnhartd – Most Sportsmanlike.
In addition to player awards, the association named Scott Verhey its Coach of the Year.
“Scott has stepped up for numerous season as a team head coach,” said Jamie Smith, SDMHA Head Coach. “This season, Scott has shown great sportsmanship, stepped up to assist the executive at the beginning of the season, and has been a wonderful asset to the SDMHA.”
Smith said that Verhey had said multiple times how enjoyable his last season as a coach was, and what a great team he had.
“They played disciplined (most times), had fun, and played hard when they needed to,” Smith said. “His coaching dedication and love of the game filtered down to his players. Well Done Scotty!”
Latulippe thanked the entire executive for its hard work throughout the season.
“They made my rookie year as president a great experience,” she said. “It is a phenomenal amount of work to organize and run a season, and this group of volunteers makes it seamless.”
Part two of the SDMHA awards will continue in a future issue of The Leader.
