Sports

 

Holiday hockey hasn’t been the best for the South Dundas Novice B Lions who lost a pair of matches in the last week to the Akwesasne Wolves and the Kemptville Panthers.

On Sunday, December 21st, the Lions were at home to the Panthers for a 2-0 loss, and Sunday, December 27 they travelled to the Wolves home barn where they lost, 4-2.

Gareth Robinson was unbeatable in net on Sunday, December 21st, as the Panthers went to work on the 2-0  win.

They led 1-0 after the first period on a Brandon Taylor goal, and in the second period Rhett McLean made it 2-0. 

Saturday, December 27, the Lions fell behind the Wolves 3-0 in the first period and were unable to recover despite a two goal effort from Ben Radley.

Radley counted in the second period with help from Cooper McCooey and Luke Byvelds, and then again in the third period with help from McCooeye.

The Wolves got first period goals from Kinley Rourke, Myles Cook and Wyatt Landry. Otsirakete Benedict scored in the third period for the 4-0 victory.

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The South Dundas Bantam C Lions scored some big results at the 10th Annual Holiday House League tournament played at the Bell Sens Plex on the weekend of December 12-14. In fact, the Lions went all the way to the championship final before they lost out to the Kemptville Panthers, 3-1.

On their way to the final, the high flying Lions scored 19 goals, while goaltender Brett Froats gave up just three goals in four games and collected a pair of shutouts.

The Lions got it rolling on Friday, December 12 with a 4-1 win over the West End Dingoes. Then on Saturday, they put up a 6-0 win over the West End Scorch and a 7-0 win over the South End Moose Head.

Their undefeated record put them in the semi-final game against the Kanata North Stars, and in this game the Lions had their work cut out for them.

After the game ended in a 2-2 tie, two periods of overtime were required before the Lions were able to claim the win, on a goal scored by William Dejong, unassisted, on their power play.

That put them into the championship final against the Kemptville 73s who skated to a 3-1 win.

The Lions got rolling in the tournament against the West End Dingoes. They led 1-0 after the first period and had a 3-1 edge after two.

The scoring was provided by Max Garlough (from Brody Smail and Kendrew Byers), Smail (from Trinity Hanes and Noah Keeler), Kurtis Markell (from Garlough and Hanes) and Hunter Wells (from Byers).

Froats registered his first of two shutouts against the West End Scorch on Saturday, with Brody Smail leading the offence with a three goal performance. Singles came from the sticks of Julenea Barnhartd, William Dejong, Kurtis Markell and Max Garlough in the 7-0 victory.

Providing assists were Dejong, Kendrew Byers, Jacob Byvelds, Thomas Rae and Maddy Hummel.

Shut out number two, 6-0, and the Lions third consecutive victory was over the Southend Mooseheads.

Thomas Rae and Brody Smail had two goals apiece in this one, and Williams Dejong and Kendrew Byers added singles.

Max Garlough provided a pair of assists and Noah Keeler, Trinity Hanes and Smail assisted on one each.

The Lions met head on for some big opposition from the Kanata North Stars in the semi-final.

They went up 1-0 in the first period on a Thomas Rae goal assisted by William Dejong and Trinity Hanes.

After a scoreless second period, the North Stars came charging back with a pair of early third period goals for a 2-1 lead.

Midway into the third period, Julenea Barnhartd (from Dejong) found the spot to even it and that is how it stayed.

There was no scoring in the first overtime period setting the stage for Dejong’s winners, unassisted, while the Lions were on their power play in the second overtime period.

For the championship the Lions met up with the Kemptville Panthers.

They kicked off the scoring 5:50 into the second period with a Hunter Wells goal assisted by Smail and Noah Keeler.

They were able to hold on to their lead until early in the third when Regan Hackett struck for the Panthers to tie it.

Two quick goals from Alexander Rusch gave the Panthers the 3-1 win and the tournament championship.

 

[…]

 

A Josh Maley goal for the hosting Athens Aeros here Sunday night with just 2:24 left in the game, sent the Morrisburg Junior B Lions home with a tough 4-3 loss. 

The Lions who are in last place in the St. Lawrence Division and the Aeros who hold the same spot in their Rideau Division were evenly matched throughout the game. The Lions put up 25 shots against Aeros goaltender Alex Daley and the Aeros produced 31 shots against Lions goaltender John Gilmer.

The Lions held a slight 2-1 edge after the first period, and the game was tied after two.

It was the Maley goal at 17:36 of the third period that was the difference.

Parker Grant opened the Aeros scoring at 4:13 of the first period, but the Lions came charging back with a Justin Lefebvre goal (from Cole Fowler) at 9:10 to even it.

Dallas Blacksmith struck (with help from Landon Veenstra and Eric Evans) at 15:38 of the first period to put the Lions ahead, 2-1, going into the second period.

Play was tight for the first 14 minutes of the second period, and then the Aeros came on strong to first tie it with a Nathan Foster goal at 14:06 and, then, 25 seconds later go ahead, 3-2, with a Ty Hannaford goal.

The Lions evened it on their power play at 16:56, with Evans getting the goal which set up by Dallas Blacksmith and Michael Paquette.

Third period action saw no results in the scoring department until Maley counted what would turn out to be the winner for the Aeros at 17:36.

The Lions sat out 22 minutes in penalties on seven infractions, and the Aeros were assessed five infractions for a total of 10 penalty minutes. The Lions were successful in one of three power-play opportunities while the Aeros did not score on their power play in six opportunities. 

Coming up, the Lions are on the road to play the Char-Lan Rebels on Saturday night, December 20. Then on Sunday, December 21 they will host the Akwesasne Wolves. Game time is 2:30 p.m.

The Wolves are in fourth place in the St. Lawrence Division with 23 points, while Char-Lan is fifth with 17 points. The Lions have 14 points.

The Casselman Vikings have pulled well away from the rest of the St. Lawrence division with 45 points, while the Alexandria Glens are in second spot with 27 points and the Winchester Hawks are right on their heels with 26. 

[…]

 

The South Atom B House Lions got tangled up in some very closely contested games last week, that resulted in a 2-2 tie against the South Stormont Selects on home ice Thursday night, December 11, followed by a 3-2 road win over the Char-Lan Rebels, Saturday. 

The Lions got off to a good start last Thursday against the Selects, but were unable to capitalize on some early scoring chances as Owen Villeneuve made several key saves for the Selects early.

South Stormont opened the scoring 5:42 into the first period when Hunter Latreille (from Aiden Scott) had his shot deflect off a Lions defender past Lions goaltender Mateo Lacroix.

The Lions tied the game at one, just seconds after killing off a Selects power play when Zack Scarbeau fed Stef Kronstal back at the blue line. Kronstal pulled the puck back and let a booming wrist shot go that beat Villeneuve low on the glove side.

The Selects regained their one goal lead with the only goal of the second period. Once again, Scott orchestrated the play and Hunter Latreille got the goal.

The Lions came up empty with two late power plays and trailed 2-1 after two periods.

Early in the third, the Lions tied it up with a Monty Dejong goal. 

It started when Jack McCann made a key stretch pass to fellow defenceman Nate Paulino to exit their zone with ease. Paulino then moved the puck up to Monty Dejong who took it from there to tie the game 2-2.  

The Lions were guilty of some bad decisions without the puck, as they were penalized four times in the third period.  This made it difficult to complete the comeback with a win.  

The Selects took a penalty in the final minute of the game, but the time clock ran out before the game clock, thus the Lions were unable to take advantage on their power play.

Cam Shaver and McCann had a solid game on defence, blocking shots and making several smart first passes to get the Lions out of their zone quickly.

Sean Nicolaassen played every position except goal, as the Lions were short a few players.  Lacroix had another solid game in goal.

Saturday, the Lions travelled to Char-Lan where they skated to a 3-2 win against the Rebels.

Monty Dejong opened the scoring for the Lions 5:01 into the first period after taking a nice pass from Shaver, then beating Michael Chaput.  

The Rebels wasted no time tying it up, actually only taking eight seconds when Jacob Campeau beat Lions tender Quade Mullin.  

Both goaltenders were flawless in the second, and it remained tied 1-1 heading to the third.

The Rebels went up 2-1 in the third period when Braden Flaro scored unassisted.  

Shaver tied it 2-2 after picking up a rebound from a Dejong shot. The other assist went to Spencer Barclay.  

Dryden Buter got the winner late in the game, assisted by Paulino.

The Lions carried the play, but once again had trouble capitalizing on their opportunities.  

The Lions undefeated streak now sits at seven games. They were on the road, last night Tuesday, December 16, versus South Stormont and are at home this Thursday night, December 18 against the West division leading Athens 1 Aeros.

[…]

 

“I always felt if  my son Anthony was involved in something, I should volunteer my time to help,” says Barb Levere of her interest and ongoing love of hockey.

That was 25 years ago, and while her son is long finished playing minor hockey, Barb is still volunteering. 

On Thursday night, November 6,at a Sens hockey game, Barb was recognized for her commitment to minor hockey when she was presented a Hockey Canada Volunteer of the Year Award  by Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder and Denis Dumais, president of the executive council of the Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association (ODMHA).

“It was quite a privilege,” said Levere during a recent interview in her home in Morrisburg. “I think the proudest person that night was Anthony who always understood, whether he liked it or not, when I was busy with paperwork or heading off to a hockey meeting.”

Barb is also extremely proud that, by example, she has instilled the value of volunteering to Anthony who is now a big brother.

For the last 14 years, Levere has been District 1 Chair for the Upper Canada Minor Hockey League which provides hockey for nine minor hockey associations (178 teams). It is a position that keeps her busy, seven days a week.

Looking back on her 25 year involvement in Minor Hockey, Levere says it was former Morrisburg and District (now South Dundas) Minor Hockey president Billy Donaldson who got her started as registrar in the local association.

While on the Morrisburg Minor executive under the late John Lortie, who was then president, Barb gained experience at the District Level. “It was John who let me go to the District meetings. I learned a lot from John. He was a good teacher, and I respected him and his hockey knowledge.”

At the District level, Barb first served as secretary and then moved to first vice president. She was mentored by Harry Jones of Brockville, “who taught me how to be a good District chair. And [the late] Clara Thompson, she was registrar when I became involved and she was a great help to me.”

In addition to handling the duties of District 1 Chair, Levere is currently the president of the Upper Canada Cyclones AAA  Association and president of Zone 1 which is one of five AAA Zones.

“I spend at least 60 hours a week on hockey, some at home and some for travel. I usually take in at least two games per week and sometimes three meetings per week…sometimes more.”

Levere peruses about 75 game sheets daily. In total she receives about 4,200 game sheets every season.  “I think I’m up to three file cabinets now as game sheets have to be kept for at least one year. There is a lot of organization.”

The District 1 chair handles and assists with problems that may come up, and sets down disciplinary action as required. Although this is something she doesn’t like doing, she says it is something that has to be done, and she prides herself in that she treats everyone equally and fairly. 

“I don’t like to hand out the suspensions, but I am consistent. If someone gets suspended for something then the next guy that does the same thing, gets the same suspension.”

“Since AAA came in we don’t stop. We have meetings all summer. It never stops, and I love it. I’m there for the kids and that is what my main focus is.”

Levere says she has a very strong District 1 Executive, which includes, a registrar, secretary, treasurer and coach mentor and the presidents of each of the  nine minor hockey associations, South Dundas among them.

“In District 1, in my opinion, we have a core group of really great referees and our associations are also well run.”

Over the years, Levere has received a number of awards including the prestigious Earl Steinburg Memorial Award for contributions to the community and minor sport, District 1 Volunteer Awards, the Clare Thompson Memorial Award, the ODMHA Volunteer of the Year Award, the HEO (formerly the ODHA) Appreciation Award and the recent Hockey Canada Award.

For the Hockey Canada Award, Barb and her family and friends were guests of the Ottawa Senators at a Sens game. In addition to the award, she was presented a Sens sweater with Levere embroidered on the back.

She says it was an honour to be recognized for her volunteering…to be recognized for something that she loves do…and it’s all for the kids.

[…]

 

The Spikes Volleyball program wrapped up at Seaway District High School on Sunday, with a two-hour Clinic provided by six members of the Ottawa University Women’s Volleyball team.

“The Ottawa U players ran the girls through some challenging drills in all the elements, and we finished the day playing some three on three,” said Spikes program coordinator Andy Lee. “It was nice for our girls to see these girls play against each other on the court.”

This year’s Spikes program was hugely successful with 38 players attending from South and North Dundas, Maitland, Brockville and Kemptville.

“We had the most girls register ever this year, and we had to increase our coaching staff numbers to accommodate them” says Lee of the dedicated group of eight instructors who were on board for the program. “We had numerous skill-based  nights as well as clinics put on by Lindsay Waddell (Seaway’s Senior Spartan coach), Fraser MacIntosh (one of the RMC Kingston Women’s coaches) and of course our yearly Shanna Dawley workout night.”

“It is easy to see the improvements of the girls year after year with the increased court time.”

Lee also concluded that the decision to include grade 7 players was a good decision, and starting up earlier in October means the girls are ready for the start to the high school season.

“Both Seaway High, the UCDSB and Seaway’s custodial staff have been very accommodating, with the use of the gym and the fitness room.”

“We also had a tremendous group of coaches this year. Many of them played high school volleyball and want to give back.”

“It all combined to ensure the continued success of the Spikes program.”

[…]

 

Saturday, December 6, South Dundas Atom B Lions were the talk of the town here when they won the A championship of the Perth/Lanark Atom Tournament with an undefeated record.

It was a seven-team team, one-day tournament which saw the Lions defeat St. Isadore 6-1, Perth Lanark 2, 5-1, and then Kemptville 2, 2-0 in the final.

The Lions opened with a 6-1 victory versus St. Isadore.  

Sam Connors got it rolling, when he hammered home a rebound, and Mateo Lacroix helped the Lions hold on to the lead with a huge glove save at the six minute mark.

Dryden Buter, assisted by Alek Larocque, made it 2-0 with 5:53 left in the second period, and Monty Dejong made it 3-0 just 13 seconds later after taking a beautiful pass from Connors.  

St. Isadore got their only goal of the game late in the second period.

Early in the third period, Cam Shaver, on the Lions power play, took a pass from Stef Kronstal in the neutral zone, and went in on a 2 on 1 break with line mate Connors.  Shaver used Connors as a decoy before firing one to the bottom corner.  

The Lions went up 5-1, when Zack Scarbeau tipped in a Spencer Barclay shot, and James Martens rounded out the scoring with 1:43 left after getting a nice pass from Owen Patterson.  

Sean Nicolaassen was named Hustler of the game.

Game two was a 5-1 win over hometown Perth Lanark 2.  

The Lions used a nice breakout play generated by defenceman Jack McCann and winger Owen Patterson to spring Dryden Buter on a partial breakaway for goal number one.  

Then Spencer Barclay made a nice power move from the corner towards the goal and fired a shot to the back of the net to make it 2-0.  

Perth pulled within one early in the second, but Dejong made it 3-1 Lions with 5:53 left and Martens, from Kronstal made it 4-1 heading into the third.  

Dejong got the lone goal of the third, assisted by Nate Paulino, and his two goal effort helped earn him the Hustler of the game award.

The Lions 2-0 round robin record put them in the A final against Kemptville 2.  

The Lions were “on our heels” for most of the first period, which remained scoreless thanks to some key saves from Lacroix. The second period was even more evenly played, with the Lions goaltending duo of Mateo Lacroix and Quade Mullin sharing the net duties.   

It wasn’t until well into the third period that Dejong finally gave the Lions a 1-0 lead, and that held until Nicolaassen added an insurance marker with a powerful wrist shot with five minutes left in the game.  

Mullin was named Hustler of the game for some key third period saves.  

The Lions team members are goalies Mateo Lacroix and Quade Mullin, Sean Nicolaassen, James Martens, Monty Dejong, Alek Larocque, Cam Shaver, Spencer Barclay, Stefan Kronstal, Jack McCann, Owen Patterson, Nate Paulino, Zack Scarbeau, Dryden Buter and Sam Connors.  Coaching staff includes Brian Shaver, assistant coaches Randy Mullin and  Mike Barclay, trainer John Connors and manager Johanna Kronstal.

In league play, Sunday, December 7, the Lions hosted second place South Grenville, who they trailed in the standings by two points.

The Lions struck on the first shift when Dryden Buter passed to winger Owen Patterson at the Rangers blue line. Patterson took a couple of strides down the boards, then let go a hard wrister that beat South Grenville goaltender, Bryce Kijewski on the short side.  

The Rangers put it past Mullin late in the first period to tie it 1-1.

The Lions got the lone goal of the second when Connors fired a shot on goal, and Dejong banged home the rebound for a 2-1 advantage.

Nicolaassen’s power-play goal, assisted by Scarbeau, made it 3-1 at early in the third. 

The Rangers made it close, but then the Lions got their second power-play goal from Barclay who took a feed from Nicolaassen and fired a laser beam to the bottom left corner of the Rangers goal to make it a 4-2 final.

This was the Lions fifth regular season win in a row, and it put them into a tie for second with South Grenville, with two games in hand.  

Next action is at home versus South Stormont, this Thursday night, December 11 at 7 p.m.

[…]

 

After losing their North Dundas Minor Hockey Association tournament opener to the Osgoode/Rideau Senators, the South Dundas Midget B House Lions got back on the right track here Saturday, December 6, with a 2-1 victory over the Char-Lan Rebels.

The win against the Rebels put the Lions in the B championship final against Ottawa’s WEHL, which ended in a 4-1 Lions victory.

The Lions dominated the play against WEHL in the B championship, going up 1-0 in the first period and leading 4-0 after two.

Goaltender Christian Francis gave up his shut out to E. Dekemp with 3:2- left in the third period.

Ewen Baril scored unassisted less than one minute into the first period to give the Lions the 1-0 advantage.

That was followed by the three, second periods goals scored by Trevor Nicolaassen, (from Ben Byvelds and Francis), Tyler Nelson, unassisted, and Nelson for goal number two, with help from Backes and Francis.).

The Lions opened in the tournament with the 4-1 loss to the Osgoode/Rideau Senators.

The Sens posted two first period goals, and added another two in the third period for a 4-0 lead.

Tyler Nelson scored the lone Lions goal with 2:17 left in the game, with Drew Gillard and Nicolaassen providing the assists.

The loss bounced the Lions to the B side of the tournament where they met and defeated the Char-Lan Rebels in a 2-1, come-from-behind, nail biter.

The Rebels got on the scoreboard against Francis midway into the first period, and their 1-0 advantage held throughout the second period.

Then finally at 1:03 of the third period, Tyler Nelson counted for the Lions to even it, 1-1.

At 5:01, Backes found the back of the Rebels net for the winner with help from Nelson and Baril.

The Lions player of the game awards went to goaltender Christian Francis against the Sens, Matt Backes in game two against the Rebels and Tyler Nelson in the championship final.

[…]

 

The Morrisburg Junior B Lions kept pace with the Athens Aeros, here Friday night, and twice recovered from a one goal deficit to tie the game. But a power-play goal at 12:22 of the third period was the deciding factor in the 5-3 Aeros win.

Parker Grant counted what would be the winner for the Aeros on their power play to break open a 3-3 tie, and the Aeros held on to the 4-3 advantage until the final minute of play, when Nathan Foster put the puck in the empty Lions net for the 5-3 Aeros win.

Ty Hannaford opened the Aeros scoring at 9:08 of the first period, and Cole Blanchard evened it on the Lions power play with help from Ryan Griffin at 10:46.

Nathan Foster allowed the Aeros to carry a 2-1 lead into the second period with his goal at 19:03 of the first period.

Zack Renfrew, (from Michael Paquette) tied the game, 2-2, at 2:06, but again the Aeros came charging back, this time with a Nathan Foster power-play goal at 4:56 of the second period.

The Aeros successfully guarded their 3-2 advantage until 11:01 of the third period when the Lions Jacob Kendrick counted from Dallas Blacksmith to even the game at 3-3.

Just over one minute later Parker Grant counted the winner.

John Gilmer was in net for the Lions loss and Greg Carre saw action for the Aeros. They both faced 33 shots on net.

The Aeros sat out 40 minutes of penalties on 16 infractions, and the Lions were assessed 38 minutes on 15 infractions.

The Aeros counted twice on their power play and the Lions once.

The Lions had just the one game on the weekend and that loss combined with a pair of Char-Lan Rebels wins results in the Lions dropping into the St. Lawrence Division’s bottom position with 12 points.

The Rebels have now pulled ahead into fifth place with 15 points and have one game in hand over the Lions.

At the top of the division, the Casselman Vikings lost their first game of the year to the Winchester Hawks, 8-3. They lead the division with 37 points, followed by the Hawks with 24.

The Alexandria Glens with 23 points and the Akwesasne Wolves with 21 are next up. 

Coming up this weekend, the Lions have two home games.

The will host the Prescott Flyers Saturday night, December 6 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday afternoon, December 7, the Alexandria Glens will be in town for a 2:30 p.m. start.

[…]

 

Last week our senior men swept to the fore, with the Parnell competition starting up again, and a bonspiel in Winchester.

In the “Battle of the St. Lawrence”, Prescott, Cornwall and Lancaster came to Morrisburg, on Friday, for bragging rights in this first renewal. 

Peter Zeran’s group of Sam Locke, Earl Jeacle and Bud Perry were in tough in their first match against the top Cornwall team in the morning match, while Cornwall #2 defeated the first Prescott foursome. Lancaster’s team defeated the other Prescott quartet before the usual delicious luncheon.

In Morrisburg’s second match, our fellows had a much better result against the other Cornwall team, but their one and one record was not enough for them to win the overall Parnell title. 

Lancaster won both of their matches, but Cornwall’s Viau team claimed the Parnell trophy with a better total score. They will defend their title at the next Parnell match up in Cornwall, in January, where we are allowed two teams. It was exciting curling, with some great shots by the six teams involved. 

The Parnell trophy was donated by Jack Parnell in honour of his father, Jack Parnell Sr., Morrisburg curlers both. After years of winners, there’s no more room on the trophy, and a shield is now in use. 

Pete Zeran’s foursome defeated Jack Barkley’s team last Tuesday for the right to be our sole representative for Friday’s Parnell play. The Barkley team included Don McMillan, Jack Barkley, Doug Jarvis and Dave King. Peter’s team curled well and defeated their opposition handily to earn the right to represent Morrisburg, on Friday.

Back in Winchester, Don McMillan, Jack Barkley, Doug Jarvis and Dave King dropped a match to Metcalfe, but defeated a Russell quartet to finish third in their draw. Our other team, Peter Zeran, Mahlon Locke, Maurice Kolff and Larry Ware also won one game, against Cornwall, but lost against the Maxville competition.

Our teams noted that the ice was slower than when our Gamble foursomes competed there recently. It was a fine day, though, with good companionship, good food, and a chance to measure themselves against other eastern Ontario men.

A Grey Cup party and a friendly bonspiel were held at the club on Sunday. All three sheets were in use, and then our curlers settled in for a meal and an exciting Grey Cup game. 

On Tuesday we enjoyed our annual ladies’ invitational bonspiel, and we’ll have those results next time.

December 10 is the date for our delayed Russell mixed invitational, and December 13 will see our Christmas bonspiel and banquet. 

On December 20 and 21, Morrisburg hosts the senior men’s and women’s zone playdowns. For you young seniors (50 and over), why not put a team in? See Mahlon Locke or President Ruth Kelly for details.

We’re glad to see our little rockers doing so well in bonspiels. They’re having a busy year, and a few will be moving to the bantam ranks next year from our huge little rock numbers. Thanks again to the Wilsons, who work so hard with our young curlers.

That’s it for now. Good curling to all!

[…]