On a special night in front of a hometown crowd of 829, the Cornwall Colts put all the drama between them and the LNAH’s Cornwall River Kings in the back of their minds and played an exciting game of hockey to open the 2013/2014 season.
Commissioner Kevin Abrams started off the pre game speeches congratulating the Colts on their hard fought win of the Bogart Cup last spring. The championship banner was raised to the rafters of the Ed Lumley Arena in honour of their efforts. From there, it was time to usher in the home opener.
The first brought a solid period of hockey with both teams playing evenly. Cornwall’s Grant Cooper had two brilliant scoring chances early on but was stopped by the glove of Hawkesbury’s Guillaum Therien. Although the teams seemed to match one another, the Hawks were pulling away with better opportunities both offensively and defensively.
Hawkesbury’s Trent Durocher used his size to his advantage to keep the Colts away from the net. Nicholas Vlahos capitalized on the opportunity and put one past Cornwall netminder James Edwardson. The Hawks went into the third with not only the lead but a commanding presence on the ice. At the same time they also went into the third with a 4 minute major.
A few former NHLers will be invading the Best Western in Cornwall, Ontario for a dinner and roast to help support the Children’s Treatment Centre.
The annual dinner and roast benefits the Children’s Treatment Centre in the form of donations and past guests of honor have ranged from prominent Canadian figures to members of parliament. This year will also feature an auction of various hockey items, some donated from Wensink himself.
Of course most of these guys need no introduction. Wensink who is from the Cornwall area, grew up in Maxville, Ontario and spent his junior years with the Cornwall Royals before making the big jump to the show. He also one of the toughest players of his time.
John Wensink, Gerry Cheevers, Terry O’Reilly and Brad Park all took their turns playing with the big bad Boston Bruins of the 1970’s. There will be plenty of reminiscing on hand as this year’s roast will turn to the topic of hockey. Kelly Chase, Rick Middleton and Bob Player are all also slated to attend. Each will be giving a 15 minute speech.
The Children’s Treatment Centre roast will take place next Friday, September 13th.
Coach Bob Desjardins has announced the signing of fan favourite Francis Lessard to a one year deal with the Cornwall River Kings. Lessard, known for his tough fighting ability had 147 penalty minutes in last years inaugural season.
Lessard, a native of Montreal, Quebec was drafted in the 3rd round, 80th overall of the 1997 National Hockey League entry draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He has played in 115 NHL games between the Atlanta Thrashers and Ottawa Senators and racked up a total of 346 penalty minutes.
“I’m very excited to be back for another year in Cornwall. The fans here are passionate and couldn’t be happier playing for them. Hopefully they’ll come out in droves this year and support us.” – Francis Lessard
When asked about the new addition of coach Bob Desjardins, Lessard had this to say, “I haven’t had the opportunity to play for Bob yet but I’m really looking forward to it. Friends of mine who have say he’s a player’s coach and knows how to get things done. He’s well respected in the league”. Along with signing the likes of Ryan Hand and Brett Angel, Lessard is happy that he won’t have all the dirty work put on him. “Signing guys like Hand and Angel are a positive for the team. A step in the right direction.”
Last season Lessard was featured in a viral video that hit the likes of TSN and RDS in which he and Sebatien Laferriere tried to go head to head. Leferriere seemed a little too intimidated and both fighters remained at a stand still.
Just one more positive piece to the puzzle for the Cornwall River Kings as they get ready for training camp. Training camp opens up September 14th and 15th at the Ed Lumley Arena.
Another successful year has come to an end of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. A hard fought battle was fought between the Canterbury Red Devil and Dunedin Thunder with Canterbury coming out with their second straight Birgel Cup.
Defenceman Terry Watt as an integral part of the squad, winning his second championship in 4 years. He was a member of my close to home Akwesasne Warriors who won the Federal Hockey League championship in 2011. After a year with Canterbury, Watt is headed off for another hockey adventure in Paris, France. Could another championship be in the midst? Only time will tell. Watt gives me a look back at one of the best games of his career.
March Hockey: How did the team prepare going into the final? How was the pressure as defending champs?
Terry Watt: You have to give our coaching staff full credit. Anatoli Khorozov and Stacey Rout made sure our team was ready. We studied film on Dunedin and made all of our guys familiar with their tendencies, everything from systems right down to their power play and penalty kill. We knew the Thunders strength was their goalie so our game plan going into the finals were to drive the net hard and make it difficult for their goalie to see shots. I don’t really think our guys felt any pressure being defending champs, we used it as motivation going into the finals. Teams win championships, great teams find a way to win them back to back and that was our goal.
MH: Take me through the final minutes of the game. What was going through your mind?
TW:Well considering the Thunder made a late push we were just trying to calm the younger guys down and get back to playing a simpler game. But as we reached the one minute mark I couldn’t think anything else but how proud I was of the guys on my team. We prepared hard for two weeks leading up to the finals, we had a game plan and we stuck to it. It really shows you how well coached and how deep our team was from our goalie out.
MH: Takumi Ledbetter received MVP of the Grand Final. Who do you think in your mind could receive MVP for Dunedin?
TW: Without question Matt Canaday. Just like how our goalie Michael Colman was the backbone for our team, Canaday carried Dunedin for most of the game.
MH: Where do you want to take your hockey career now?
(Photo credit: Gisela Gudrun)
TW:I just want to keep competing and winning championships, I want to play at the highest level I can before hanging them up. Growing up I was never the biggest or most skilled guy on my teams, in fact I played AA hockey for most of my youth years. It wasn’t until my midget year I finally made my local AAA team (Ajax Pickering Raiders). For some reason it wasn’t until I got to college that I started to grow and get better each year. Personally I still have a lot to prove, and though I have been fortunate enough to play in some competitive leagues I won’t be completely satisfied until I reach all my goals.
MH: You’ve won two league championships in 4 years, the first being the FHL. Going to try for number 3 next?
TW: I’ve been very lucky these past years of playing on some good teams with very talented teammates who deserve more credit for these championships then I. But I’ve learned a lot and have grown as a player over these past years, as for winning more; yes of course I want another one. Championships are addicting, once you’ve tasted one that’s all you’re thinking about going into each new season.
MH: What is it like to be called NZIHL “Defenceman of the Year”?
(Photo: Gudrun Gisela)
TW:There are many good defensemen in this league so it’s an honor to receive this award. I’ve played forward most of my life and only made the switch to Deference four years ago. I owe this award to my coaches and teammates over these past few years that have helped me with this transition and the pointers I’ve gotten along the way. I still have a lot to learn on the back end and only want to get better moving forward.
MH: Any last words for the Canterbury Red Devils, the fans and the NZIHL?
TW:I want to thank the entire Red Devils organizations for giving me this opportunity to come to their beautiful country and giving me a chance to play with some great teammates. This organization is first class from top to bottom. The fans are tremendous and were very supportive throughout the entire season. Playing in the NZIHL was a great experience and I highly recommend it to all Canadians who are willing to look outside of the box and try something new. Thanks for the ever lasting memories and friendships.
March Hockey: All the best Terry, can’t wait to watch your career thrive in Europe!
Matthew Gunstone is the current treasurer of the Bracknell Bees Supporters Club. The Supporters Club is made up of die hard fans who, you guessed it, support the team in various roles. The Bracknell Bees play out of an ice rink called “the Hive” and are a force in the EPIHL.
March Hockey: Where are you located and how did you get into hockey?
Matthew Gunstone:I actually live in the next town over from Bracknell: Wokingham, but I grew up for the first 11 years of my life in Bracknell. When I was in primary school we had a visit from Chris Brant and the whole class was given free tickets, but it kind of passed me by at that time. Then during my tenure at university Channel 5 in this country showed the NHL realllllly late at night and someone persuaded me to check it out; this was pre-HD and I found the action hard to follow so I missed out again. Finally, 4-5 years ago a Canadian friend introduced me to fantasy hockey (and in turn I conned him into participating in fantasy football/soccer), this led me to researching the game and eventually watching the NHL online – this triggered a long buried memory that we had a local hockey team and the rest is history.
MH: What makes you a passionate fan of the Bracknell Bees?
MG:I love hockey, it’s the most insanely dynamic sport imaginable. The next logical step is loving your local team; akin to loving local produce. The Bees are the scrappy underdog on the ice and there’s a family atmosphere around the franchise – the players are approachable, the coach is a fantastic guy, management are friendly, the fans are united. Also, the rink is actually warm whilst spectating (not so good for the ice, maybe, but saves wearing a coat in winter). I’m passionate about the Bees because they’re simply fun to watch, the current incarnation of the team can agitate, score, throw a check, throw a punch, dazzle with skill. It’s the complete package and balance between on and off ice shenanigans.
MH: What does the supporters club consist of? Are the Bees the only team to have this?
MG: The Supporters Club is an external organization symbiotically linked to the team, the essence of our existence is to help out with financial contributions by various methods of fundraising: social events, merchandise sales, raffles, that sort of thing. As far as I am aware every team in the league has such a Supporters Club – they’re pretty vital to the EPIHL because they’re exclusively run by unpaid volunteers and can provide thousands of pounds to their respective teams, such extra money is often very necessary.Continue reading “Fan Voice: Matthew Gunstone and the Bracknell Bees Supporters Club”
What does this mean for the EIHL fighting mix? Teams need tough guys but they need to be able to do something more than be an out and out fighter. Just as an example I will use the Coventry Blaze from 04/05 then 05/06. In 04/05 they won everything, and had a lot of fights with Payette, Wade Belak etc. year after they employed Graham Belak who like his brother was a big fighter with a lot of AHL experience that never quite made the NHL and Dave Kaczowka. Both had NHL contracts at some point in their career. Kaczowka was quickly cut and although Belak carried on, he injured his back and didn’t look as imposing as his brother despite this fight with one of the toughest ever players Mel Angelstad:
Jeff Hutchins (now coach of the Dundee Stars) made his EIHL debut for the Blaze that year and had 16 scraps. Now looking at it from my point of view, Graham Belak who played D despite chalking up most of his career as a Forward was an experiment that didn’t work. Although he could clear the crease, it was clear he didn’t have the defensive talents of his brother. Kaczwoka couldn’t do much else but fight and even then the only win he chalked up in the EIHL was vs Shawn Maltby of Sheffield, not known for his pugilistic talents. He lasted all of 3 regular season games and both Kaczowka and Belak would have commanded quite a wage bill. Although Kaczowka was replaced by pacey winger Dan Welch it seemed too many cooks spoilt the broth. Did the Blaze need to spend that much on Belak? Later the Blaze would sign Jason Robinson who split that year between London and Sheffield, if they hadn’t had signed Kaczowka, hypothetically got the cheaper Robinson for Belak they could have had enough money to sign another scorer who could’ve made a difference while Hutchins and Robinson carried the fighting load.
Players that come to the EIHL can generally get a new lease of life as a player, enforcer or not. Brian McMillin comes to the Blaze this year following a career where he was pigeonholed to be a checking 3rdliner. Last season he led the Allen Americans to the playoff championship, and won playoff MVP with 12 goals in 19 games. This year the Blaze want him to carry offensive responsibility. Also Hull Stingrays star forward Jereme Tendler came into the league after a 30pts in 60games season with the Corpus Christie Ice Rayz and he scored the most goals in the EIHL last year (43). In regards to tough guys there is no better case in point is Brad Voth, who was one of the most talked about players in his time with the Cardiff Devils. Every other team wanted to sign him year after year but he stuck with Cardiff. He came to the UK in 05/06 for his skills with gloves off and despite this racked up 220pts in 322 games. Not bad for a guy signed as an out and out fighter. A conclusion for me is that if a team in the EIHL are singing a tough guy, he needs to be able to do something else other that fight. Continue reading “Fighting in the Elite Ice Hockey League: Part Two”
I was having a nice chat with Ashley about fighting in hockey the other day and I thought it would be good to explore the role of enforcers and tough guys in the EIHL. I love fighting in hockey and although it is something not everyone condones and with recent legislation in the NHL about protecting players from concussions and other injuries related to fights it’s a bit of a hot topic.
Fighting in the UK is something that is widely anticipated and there is a lot of discussion when tough-guys/enforcers are signed. Some of what is said is positive. For example Kevin Harvey who signed for the Coventry Blaze earlier in the summer is coming off the back of a season where he posted a pro-career points high with 31pts in 53 games for the Elmira Jackals in the ECHL while racking up 191pims and 10 fighting majors including this slugfest vs Mathieu Gagnon:
Some of the talk is negative. Tim Spencer who recently signed for the Sheffield Steelers, has only amassed 35 points in his pro career. His signing is aimed at taking away some of the pugilistic load off star defenseman, and returnee Drew Fata. The Steelers fell short of silverware last year that ultimately cost their coach Ryan Finnerty his job. Finnerty built a team that epitomises a notion that is popular in UK hockey as a roster with “team toughness ” and boasted fighters like Fata, Chris Frank, Simon Ferguson, Shawn Limpright and Tylor Michel.
For a few seasons now teams have tried to err away from having an out and out fighter and focus on team toughness however this seems to be a redundant exercise as even with team toughness clubs have to sign someone to carry the load. Looking briefly at the champions rosters most have a guy signed to carry the weight: Continue reading “Fighting In The Elite Ice Hockey League Part One”
At one point growing up in Cornwall, it was the cool thing to do to gather up your 13 and 14 year old friends and head to the Si Miller arena on a Thursday night for a game of Cornwall Colts hockey. Most of my friends were there to socialize where I on the other hand actually paid attention to the game. Names like Derek Wagar, Tim Vokey, Ross McCain, Andrew Schembri and Matt Verdone are still enriched in my mind. Of course, Hugo Boisvert was no exception.
Boisvert stated his his junior career in Cornwall in the mid 90’s. From there he went on to star with the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team that is giving him the Hall of Fame honour. He lead the team in scoring in his last two seasons and earned himself a list of awards while being named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team in 1997, the All-CCHA First Team and the First Team All-American in 1998 and the All-CCHA First Team and Second Team All-American, making him the only two-time All-American in Ohio State history. Not bad for a kid from Quebec.
After turning pro with the Orlando Solar Bears of the then IHL, he turned over to the AHL and starred with the Grand Rapids Griffins for 3 years. Looking for a change Boisvert headed across the pond where he has since called Germany home. He suited up for the Kassel Huskies of the German Elite League for a few season before the team folded due to financial difficulties.
Boisvert now is a part of the Dresden Ice Lions and is still a dominating presence on the ice. Also apart of that same league is another former Colt, Andrew Schembri who is suited up for the Deggendorf Fire.
As a young kid from Quebec who started his hockey career in Cornwall and is now continuing his professional career, this is an astonishing recognition. Congratulations Hugo and all the best with Dresden this year!
Michael Black runs Coast to Coast which is an independent blog that is solely dedicated to the United Kingdom’s National Ice Hockey League. The NIHL is seen as a third tier stepping stone to the EPIHL and EIHL. It’s also features stars from years past on the tail end of their careers. Here’s an interesting look at the state of hockey in the NIHL and a look at the Blackburn Hawks.
March Hockey: Where are you located and how did you get into hockey?
Michael Black: I’m based in Blackburn – around 30 miles north of Manchester. I’d always been a fan of the NHL and when Blackburn Arena opened in 1991 I started watching the Hawks. There was a steady stream of quality imports back then – Fred Perlini, Oleg Sinkov, Steve Chartrand to name a few. It was impossible not to get hooked.
MH: What makes you cover a league like the NIHL instead of the pro leagues?
MB:I initially started Coast to Coast as a blog covering just the Hawks. Interest in the site from around NIHL quickly grew, so I took the decision to expand the coverage across the whole league. During the season the site also includes content from the Elite League and EPL, but the main focus is NIHL North with some NIHL South too. In just over two years the site has grown from nothing to around 10,000 hits per month. While there were plenty of people covering the bigger leagues, coverage of NIHL wasn’t great. I’d like to think Coast to Coast has gone some way to filling that gap in the market and help increase exposure of the sport at a lower level.Continue reading “Fan Voice with Coast to Coast: The U.K.’s #1 blog for NIHL action”
As the Ontario Hockey League training camps get underway this week, it’s a good time to make a list of five important games in the first half of the season to check out. It’s going to be a strong and competitive year this season with most teams icing a high calibre of young talent.
1. Friday, October 11th. Peterborough Petes at North Bay Battalion
In a historic night for North Bay, the Battalion make there first home appearance after being moved from Brampton. Their home arena is currently being renovated and won’t be ready until puck drop on October 11th. This keeps them on the road from September 20th to October 6th. It will be their first meet up with the Petes.
2. Sunday, October 13th. Guelph Storm at Kingston Frontenacs
Arguably two of the strongest teams in the Ontario Hockey League this year, this game will be a barn burner. Guelph has 11 players who have attended NHL training camps and that experience will definitely play a part this year. Kingston on the other hand have 3 skills Team Canada veterans (amazing to say their Team Canada veterans already at this age) and have had plenty of international hockey experience to add to their roster. Look out for both of these teams through out the season.
3. Friday, November 8th. Barrie Colts at London Knights
In there first meeting since last year’s J. Ross Robertson Cup final, the Barrie Colts will be looking for some retaliation on the London Knights. Redemption won’t come easy however as the Knights will be looking for a three-peat this year as champions. In 2012 they made it all the way to the Memorial Cup finals but lost to the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes.
4. Sunday December 29th. Belleville Bulls at Kingston Frontenacs
The 3rd installment of this years Battle of Highway 401 continues. I’ve already mentioned the key players on the Frontenacs but both teams will have plenty of fire power. Looking at the talent that is just showing up for the Bulls training camp, Belleville is going to be coming out of the gates firing this year.
5. Sunday, December 29th. Ottawa 67’s at Oshawa Generals
Can’t write a list of must watch games without mentioning both the Ottawa 67’s and Oshawa Generals. Although Ottawa is in a bit of rebuilding mode, they are not a team to be taken lightly and neither are the Generals. Both training camp rosters are stacked with young talent, some of the best in years. No doubt this is a match watch game as we close out the first half of the OHL season.
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