Sports

The curling leagues are in full swing again at the Morrisburg Club. 

But first, the results of the last draw for the day men. After some tight matches, the champions were declared: Sid Morrell, Ron Beaupre, Bud Perry and Gerry Thompson won out, followed close behind in the 10-team league by Wally McDonald, Raymond Benoit, Sam Locke and Paul Dobry, and the third place team of John Wilson, Rick MacKenzie, Glenn Cougler and Bob Bechard. The men’s current draw, for the Kincaid Trophy, began on January 3. 

Dec. 30 saw another two-person spiel, coordinated by Susan McIntosh. There was a full slate of 24 teams, and after six hours of curling, the winners were declared and the prize money handed out. 

The champions in the “A” division were Pete Zeran and Bud Perry, who defeated Sam Locke and Darryl McDonnell. In the “B” division, Paul St. Pierre and Ron Beaupre were victorious over Steve and Alice Thompson, while the “C” division winners were Jim and Wendy Casselman, over Keith Robinson and “Bad Bob” Youmelle. 

It was a fine event, as always –pot luck this time, with the proceeds of the day going to a few club launchers for those of us who can no longer get back up after getting into the hack to deliver rocks. The new measuring stick, a previous project, is already on order. Thanks again to Susan, and to those volunteers who made things work in the event.

In the Friday night mixed league, the winners in the first draw were Larry Cooper, Keith Robinson, Anita Cooper and Darryl McDonnell.

Over the holidays, the Best Western Intermediate Men’s Zone playdowns were held at our club. The teams advancing to the regional playdowns at the Ottawa Hunt Club this month are Kevin Baker from Cornwall and Dwayne Lowe from Huntley. The winners there will play in Peterborough in March for the provincial championship. 

By all accounts, the New Year’s Eve bonspiel and the following party went well, and will once again be an annual event. 

The curling “A” winners were Wally Baker, Jim Casselman, Claire Locke and Rachel Eaves, while the “B” winners were Mahlon Locke, Gretta McGann, Gary Beckstead and Dianne Gallinger. With creative rules in the curling and midnight kisses and tempting refreshments afterwards, everyone enjoyed the evening.

In the Cornwall leg of the senior men’s Parnell bonspiel, our two teams did well, but split their games. 

Peter Zeran, Jack Barkley, Earl Jeacle and Bud Perry lost on their last rock to Cornwall in the morning, but defeated Prescott in the afternoon. Our other foursome, Sid Morrell, Raymond Benoit, Neil Williams and George Rutley lost to Cornwall, but defeated Prescott. Congratulations to Lancaster, even though they were the smallest club, for taking the win on the day.

The Broder, the four-club women’s competition, will be held in Russell on January 19th. Good luck to our two teams.

And finally, on Tuesday, January 15, three Scottish men’s teams will be playing here, challenging our club champions. Please feel free to come out and enjoy this international event. The games will be held at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

     Good curling to all!

[…]

 

As they head into the new year, the Morrisburg Junior B Lions will be playing hard for a win in their remaining 11 games.

To date the Lions have just six wins against 24 losses. Their last win was on Sunday, November 16 against the Char-Lan Rebels.

December was an extremely tough month as the Lions were unable to put a mark in the win column and chalked up eight consecutive losses.

The final three were 5-0 to the visiting Westport Rideaus on Sunday, December 23, 6-3 to the Glens in Alexandria on Friday, December 28, and 2-1 to the Akwesasne Wolves on Cornwall Island on Saturday, December 29.

On Sunday afternoon, December 23 in Morrisburg, the Lions held the Rideau Division’s third place Rideaus to a scoreless first period.

The second period was the Lions undoing as the Rideaus nabbed goaltender John Gilmer for four counters which would not be answered.

The Rideaus goals were scored by Peter McGahey, Ryan Ward, Connor Merkley, Collin Tye and Caleb Rice.

The Rideaus had just three minor penalties and a game misconduct, while the Lions sat out seven minors, a five minute fighting major, a misconduct and a game misconduct.

Spencer Emery was in net for the Rideaus win.

On Friday night, December 28  the Lions jumped onto the Alexandria scoreboard with a first period, power-play goal by Sylvester Bzdyl assisted by Steven Savage and Chris Rutley.

They held onto their lead against the St. Lawrence Division’s fifth place Glens until 6:38 of the second period when the Glens got it rolling for three in a row.

At 6:38 the Glens, Bradley Massia tied it and at 13:38 TJ Burns gave them the lead. With just 1:50 left on the clock, and the Lions on their power play, the Glens Ryan Dunbar took possession of the puck to score, with his team short-handed, for a 3-1 lead.

The Lions power play, did recover, however, and just four seconds later Grant Cooper scored unassisted to get one back and keep the Glens to a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.

Just over six minutes into the third period, Steven Savage scored for the Lions unassisted to even the playing field at three.

But the Glens came charging back with two counters for a 5-3 edge which they maintained until the final minute of play when they popped their sixth goal into the empty Lions net.

Brett Ayers was in net for the Glens win, while John Gilmer handled the Lions loss.

With Lions veteran goaltender, Mikael Dion serving a match suspension, Joey Lamarch has been providing the backup on the Lions bench.

The Lions out shot the Glens 44-26 and scored two of their goals on their power play. The Glens were assessed just five minor penalties and the Lions only two.

The Lions played their last game of 2012, on the road where they lost a close one to the Akwesasne Wolves, 2-1.

The Lions were first on the scoreboard with a Sylvester Bzdyl counter in the last minute of the first period. Michael Paquette and Chris Rutley provided the assists.

In the second period, neither Wolves goaltender Corey Garrow, nor the Lions John Gilmer could be beat, and the Lions held on to their one goal lead until well into the third.

At 6:07 of the final frame, the Wolves Oakley Thomas evened it with help from Vance Thompson and Dominick Coyle.

At 15:01, Thomas helped himself to seconds for what turned out to be the winner.

Again the Lions out shot their opponents 41-33. They were unsuccessful in 10 power-play opportunities while the Wolves were unsuccessful during their eight power-plays.

The Wolves were assessed 12 minor penalties and two misconducts while the Lions also sat out 12 minors and one misconduct.

Coming up this Saturday, January 5 is the annual Rideau-St. Lawrence Conference Showcase at the Gananoque Recreation Centre.

The Lions and the Westport Rideaus will open the action at 9:30 a.m. At noon it is Alexandria versus the Athens Aeros and at 2:30 p.m. the Casselman Vikings will take on the Gananoque Islanders. The 5 p.m. game will see Akwesasne and Brockville on the ice, while the Char-Lan Rebels and South Grenville will tangle at 7:30 p.m.

This Sunday, January 6, the Winchester Hawks will play their final game in Morrisburg this season. Game time is 2:30 p.m.

[…]

 

Organizer Andy Lee says he is very happy with the response he has had to the Spikes Volleyball program he runs in the Seaway District High School gymnasium on Thursday nights, and he is even happier with the results he is seeing in the participants.

Twenty-two local girls, from grades 8 to 12, signed up for the eight week Spikes program which started in early November.

Developed by the Ontario Volleyball Association, the Spikes Volleyball program is meant to interest and develop players in the game. Drills and games are designed so that everyone has fun while learning volleyball skills.

Although Lee says he capped the number at 32, he wasn’t sure just how much interest there would be.

“It started fairly slow, but we had more girls join along the way, so that is great. It has been good and the kids are really enjoying it.”

Enjoying and improving so much so that Lee says he is considering extending it into February.

“We have a good mix of girls, in age, experience and skills. They all help each other, so it has worked out really well.”

Also working out well, is his volunteer crew of coaches which include his wife Nancy Jordan, former Seaway District High School volleyball player Ryan Douma, current Seaway senior volleyball player Sarah Dickey (who trained in the Ottawa Mavericks program) and longtime player Jamie Thompson who is a co-organizer of an adult league that plays weekly at Seaway.

Lee says the Spikes program is not a strict regiment, and he and Nancy work out their own practise plans. “Through the Spikes program, we have insurance and we received a three hour coaching clinic. In addition, we received some balls and registration T-shirts.”

“The Spikes people are very accommodating and the program is popping up everywhere. It’s a very active program. I’ve learned a lot and am still learning things.”

“Between the school volleyball program at Seaway and our Spikes program, I am seeing improvement in the girls. We want to take it further, and that is why I am thinking of extending it.”

On Thursday night, December 13, the local program benefitted from a clinic hosted by Patrick Corriveau who is a coach in the Maverick’s Volleyball Club out of Ottawa.

Lee says the clinic was well received. “The Mavericks have some highly skilled coaches in their program, some of whom have been to Seaway in the past. It was good Thursday night and Patrick said he is willing to come again. The next time he said it would be more involved as he now knows his audience.”

“It’s gone really well. I think the girls are having fun with it. Seaway has been very cooperative and the staff at night is great.”

After this week’s session, the Spikes program will break for the holidays and return to the Seaway courts on January 20.

“The plan right now is to extend it into February,” says Lee. “Perhaps we will get more girls involved so that we can expand it.”

[…]

 

He’s made his list and he’s checked it twice…team manager Les McAllister has finalized the Morrisburg based seniors hockey team that will represent District 8 at the Ontario Senior Winter Games coming up in Huntsville, February 26-28, 2013.

Now in their second year in the 65 plus games category, McAllister says the team that doesn’t play together on a regular basis, will probably play a couple of exhibition games in January and February.

He says everyone is looking forward to the games.

“The competition at these games keeps getting better and better,” says McAllister who is the team’s goaltender. “It’s a really good time, and as the word gets out about it, more and more people try out.”

McAllister also credits the games with keeping seniors active. Guys at our age aren’t playing hockey for anything really meaningful except for this. I probably wouldn’t be playing hockey today if it weren’t for these games.”

The local team has nine returning players for the 2013 games. In addition to McAllister they include Ron Alguire of Lunenberg, Steve Casselman of Morrisburg, Doug Casselman of Williamsburg, Fern Gauvreau of Kingston, Jack Haines of Cornwall, Bryan Helmer of Winchester, Lester Holmes of Mountain and John Adams of Morrisburg.

The new kids on the bench are Alan Styrnadka and Harry McIntyre both of Ottawa, and Sonny McLean of Kingston.

The games feature hockey in two age categories, 65 plus for the players listed above, and a 55 plus category.

Representing District 8 in the 55 plus category are the Cornwall Seaway Blades who defeated Long Sault 8-3 and Alexandria 6-1 for the right to advance.

Coached by Pete Clement, the Blades include Paul Seguin, Earl McBean, Dave Alguire (goaltender), Alex Herrington, Brian Reasbeck, Terry Grant, Claude Regnier, Vic Leroux, Gary Lalonde, Claude Bourck, Dave MacDonald, Ben Guindon, Randy Conners and Rick Cameron.

The Ontario Senior Games are a multi-sport championship for athletes 55 years and older. The 2013 games at Huntsville will be attended by some 1,000 athletes, coaches and officials involved in 10 sports including alpine and nordic skiing, badminton, bowling, curling, duplicate bridge, hockey, prediction skating, table tennis and volleyball. 

[…]

With two losses on the weekend, the Morrisburg Lions have now fallen nine points behind the fifth place Alexandria Glens in the St. Lawrence Division of the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

The weekend action started for the Lions on home ice Friday night with a tough overtime (shoot out) loss to the visiting Akwesasne Wolves. The Wolves are holding fourth place in the division standings just two points back of the Char-Lan Rebels.

After trailing the Wolves 3-1 at the end of the first period, the Lions charged back to make a game of it. They scored their final goal on their power-play with just under three minutes left on the clock to go up 5-4.

But with the seconds ticking away, the Wolves got one from Marc-Antoine Kamel which evened it, 5-5, and forced sudden-death overtime.

With no  decision made in the overtime, the game went to a shoot out with Kamel and Justin Rutley both beating Lion goaltender Mikael Dion. The Lions counted just once against Wolves goaltender Cam Turcotte, that coming from the stick of Chris Rutley.

Following the let down from Friday night’s overtime loss, the Lions were on the road Saturday night to the Char-Lan Recreation Centre where they were handed a 7-3 loss by the Rebels.

The Lions opened the scoring just over five minutes into the first period with a power-play goal from Grant Cooper then fell apart as the Rebels came back for three in a road and a 3-1 advantage heading into the second period.

They added another three goals (two short-handed and one on their power play) in the second period, before the Lions were able to step in with a goal from Zach Sequin with just 27 second left in the frame.

Single goals were traded in the third period for the 7-3 Rebels win.

Matthew Burns scored the Lions lone first period goal Friday night against the Wolves, with help from Brandon Chaffe and Ty Hodgson.

Then in the second Grant Cooper got it rolling with an unassisted counted at 8:09 to cut the gap to 3-2.

Two minutes later Michel Lefebvre scored to tie the game 3-3 with Chris Rutley and Sylvester Bzdyl supplying the assists.

With 3:16 left in the frame the Wolves went up 4-3 on a Michael Poapst goal which allowed them to carry the advantage into the third period.

Throughout the first 15 minutes of the third, the Wolves held onto their one goal lead.

It was at 14:53 that Michael Paquette got one past Wolves goaltender Cam Turcotte to even the game 4-4. Dylan Casselman and Taylor Eamon provided the assists.

Then with 2:50 left on the clock Bzdyl, with help from Taylor Eamon and Lefebvre on the Lions power play, gave the Lions the 5-4 edge.

The Wolves, Kamel tied the game with 34 seconds left on the clock setting the stage for the overtime and the shootout, and the eventual Wolves win.

The Lions sat out just four minor penalties and a 10 minutes misconduct in the game while the Wolves drew nine penalties. Shots on net were fairly even with the Wolves getting 40 shots off and the Lions 38.

In comparison, Saturday night’s game was a much rougher event with the Lions drawing a total of 68 penalty minutes and the Rebels 106. The Rebels out shot the Lions 38-23.

Scoring for the Lions in Saturday night’s 7-3 loss were Grant Cooper (from Brandon Chaffee and Zach Renfrew), Zach Sequin (from Cooper and Curtis Pilon) and Nicholas Pilon (from Renfrew and Cooper).

Coming up this Thursday night, December 20, the Lions are on the road to Casselman for a 7:30 p.m. game. They host the Westport Rideaus this Sunday, December 23 at 2:30 p.m.

They are on the road on December 28 and December 29 for games against the Alexandria Glens and the Akwesasne Wolves.

 

[…]

The Seaway Intermediate Spartan girls volleyball team kicked off a big season  in the first week of December and then wrapped it up on Friday, December 14 when they won the LGESAA Volleyball championship played at Gananoque High School.

This year, for the first time, the Intermediate school teams had the opportunity to compete in two venues, the longtime play that leads to the LGESSA championship and the newly formed Upper Canada Sports Council league that leads to the Upper Canada District School Board championship. 

In the board play, athletes will compete in volleyball, basketball and track and field in six separate regions within the UCDSB. The winners of each division then advances to the championship.

On Friday, December 7, Seaway hosted their Regional and the Spartans walked away the winners.

From there they advanced to the UCDSB championship tournament where they placed third. 

The first-ever UCDSB girls intermediate volleyball championship was won by Montague Public School.

Then last Wednesday, the Spartans competed in a six-school tournament hosted by St. Mary/St. Cecilia School (SMSC) in Morrisburg where the top three finishers advance to the LGESSA championship played in Gananoque on Friday, December 14.

Competing in the Wednesday qualifier in Morrisburg were teams from SMSC, Seaway, North Dundas in Division A and St. Michael, North Grenville and Russell in Division B.

After finishing first in their divisions Seaway and St. Michael played for the North East Regional Championship and the right to advance to LGESSA.

St. Michael’s took first place with 27-25 and 25-22 wins.

Seaway qualified in second and  North Grenville claimed the third qualifying spot with a win against North Dundas.

Friday was Seaway’s day as they went to work to defend their 2011 LGESSA championship title at the 10-team tournament in Gananoque.

After finishing first in their pool, they met and defeated North Grenville in three close sets in the semi-finals.

They claimed the championship over South Grenville in the final.

“Once again we had a great match that went three sets,” said coach Andrew Carson. “The girls rallied for every point, at times diving to save the ball and keep it in play.”

“I am very proud of this team.”

[…]

This Saturday and Sunday the Best Western Intermediate Men’s Zone playdowns are on at the Morrisburg Curling Club. Games begin at 10 a.m. each day and the public is welcome to attend. You’ll see some top curling at the event, so feel free to drop in.

Another two person bonspiel is slated for Sunday, December 30. Both draws are filled, but the public is invited to attend. Games begin at 9 a.m., and profits go to paying for an additional measuring device.

Club president, Mahlon Locke reminds us of the New Year’s Eve bonspiel with a party to follow. A sign-up sheet is in the lounge, and there are still a few openings.

The Broder, the four-club women’s competition, will be held in Russell on January 19th. Members are invited to sign up for one of the two teams that we require. One team has already put their names down. If a playoff is needed, a date for it will be selected shortly.

Our president is looking for guidance from members as to a date for the closing bonspiel. Because Easter falls on the usual weekend for the closing, and to avoid conflict with league playoffs, a date of April 6 has been suggested. Let someone on the executive know your feelings on this soon.

 Some league results are available: In the first draw for the Thursday morning mixed curling league, the Bank of Montreal Trophy is being presented to the champions this week at the closing banquet after the “fun” bonspiel. Ruth, our coordinator, tells us that Sue McIntosh, Sonja and Bill Laurin and Linda Murphy won their games recently, closing the gap with Dave King, Earl Jeacle, Kathy Hardy and Denis Thibault. 

In the final match, she duelled with George Rutley’s team. With wicks and rolls, draws through narrow ports, and clever moves behind guards, as well as scattering pretty little red candies on the ice, George’s foursome played a great game, but Sue prevailed. Dave had to win to earn the trophy and fought hard against Mahlon Locke’s warriors. The game ended in a tie, and the skips each threw a rock towards the glass. Dave was closest to the button, and won the first draw.

In Wednesday night curling, Ruth Kelly, Kathy Johnston, Joanne Baker and Sonja Laurin won the first draw and will no doubt claim the trophy at their party this week. 

Tuesday night men’s league saw Steve Boucher, Rick MacKenzie, Barry Zeran and Bill Laurin win the Calvert Trophy. 

Teams in the Thursday night mixed competitive league will carry on until the end of the season, but at this point Larry Cooper, Chris and Nancy Barkley and Anita Cooper have a slight lead over John and Ian Wilson, Scott Lane and Mike Staebler. 

Finally, Mahlon tells us that the club has been awarded a Trillium grant to add a washroom for the handicapped on the ground floor, and to construct a ramp to make it easier for some of us to get up to the front door. This is great news for rentals as well. Details will be fleshed out later, and work will begin sometime after the conclusion of our season. There may even be a couple of surprises in the operation. Stay tuned.

     That’s it for now. Good curling!

[…]

 

ATHENS–The Morrisburg Junior B Lions were on the road to Athens on Sunday, December 9 where they were handed a 5-1 loss by the Rideau Division’s first place Aeros.

The two played a scoreless first period. After that it was penalties that did the talking as the Aeros scored twice on their power play in the second period and twice on their power play again in the third.

Brett Costello counted the first power-play goal against Lions goaltender Mikael Dion 1:49 into the second period and Shane Hiley made it 2-0 with 1:19 left on the clock.

Just over three minutes into the third period, Costello counted his second of the game again while the Aeros were on the power play.

They pulled into a 4-0 lead at 12:57 of the third with  Hiley’s second counter and Daniel Lacroix finished it off on the Aeros power play at 15:28.

Sylvester Bzdyl, with help from Brandon Chaffe and Taylor Eamon, counted the lone Lions goal, spoiling Dallas Slack’s shut out with 16 seconds left on the clock.

The Lions were out shot 43-22 and were unsuccessful in two power-play opportunities. The Aeros were successful in four out of 10 power-play opportunities.

This past week’s results between the Rideau and St. Lawrence Jr. B Divisions saw mixed results. The first place Aeros had a pair of wins, the first over Char-Lan 7-5 and the second over the Lions.

From the St. Lawrence Division, the first place Casselman Vikings posted a 6-4 win over Westport and followed it with a 10-3 win against South Grenville.

The Vikings continue to lead the St. Lawrence Division with 35 points and are now nine points up on the second place Winchester Hawks.

Char-Lan is third with 25 points and Akwesasne fourth with 21. The Alexandria Glens are right on their heels with 20 points, and the Lions have 12.

Coming up this weekend, the Lions are at home to the Akwesasne Wolves, Friday night, December 14. Game time is 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, the Lions are on the road to the Char-Lan Recreation Centre to take on the Rebels at 8 p.m.

[…]

 

The Morrisburg Curling Club’s annual women’s invitational bonspiel is history for another year, and Alice Thompson thanks all of those who helped pull it off. The food was great, the volunteers were awesome, and we sent home 48 happy curlers from various clubs in the Ottawa and Seaway Valleys. Also, the profit for the club was the best ever. Special thanks to Linda Murphy who filled in for one of our Prescott invitees. 

The winners in the early draw were the Cornwall team skipped by Luce Lalonde, while the late draw was captured by Virginia Cunningham’s Kemptville foursome. Thanks to our decorating committee for the fine holiday appearance of the clubhouse.

Sid Morrell took a team to a bonspiel at Metcalfe last week. The fellows won their morning match against a Winchester quartet skipped by Malcolm MacGregor, had a fine lunch, and then returned to the ice to face a tough Rideau opponent. It was a very close match, but our local men prevailed and took home top money as the champions. Others on our team were Jack Barkley, Neil Williams and Keith Robinson.

Gretta McGann was in Ottawa at the Navy club for a bonspiel there. Curling with her were Joanne Baker, Alice Thompson and Claire Locke. They won their first game against the R.A. Riverside team, but dropped their afternoon match with Richmond. They finished just out of the prizes, although Alice brought home a $10 prize and a huge basket, with a two-bottle wine theme. After finishing off half of the liquid that evening, Alice generously donated the empty basket to our curling club for future use. All heart, as usual!

Pete Zeran, George Rutley, Karl Duncan and Earl Jeacle competed in another men’s bonspiel, this time in Prescott. They lost their morning game to Gananoque, but they won against Winchester in the afternoon to finish in the money on the day. 

On Saturday the club held a Christmas funspiel. There were a number of guest curlers, including Sheila Bush from Prescott, one of our favourite skips from that club. In the early draw, Jack Barkley, Sonja Laurin, Bud Perry and Paul Gunther won out over Pete Zeran, Arnold Barkley, Bert Smail and Jim Locke. In the second draw, Sam Locke, Wendy Casselman, Andy Patenaude and Bob Youmelle defeated Al Harriman, Carolyn Beckstead, and Paula and Claire Locke for the title. It was a great day, with a delicious meal (pulled pork as the main course, with scrumptious desserts for the participants.)

Future events include two two-person bonspiels which are planned for December, one of which is for this Sunday. The sign-up sheets are in the lounge. Also, the OCA Zone 1 intermediate playdowns are here on Dec. 22-23, and a couple of rentals are booked for over the holidays. 

Invitational bonspiels for senior men and senior mixed curlers are planned for January, while the Alzheimers and Heart and Stroke charity bonspiels are scheduled for Jan. 19 and Feb. 16. For those looking for more detail, the club’s website is www.morrisburg.ovca.com.

That’s it for now. Good curling!

[…]