It's time to put away the skates for another season! Kipling Minor Hockey held their Awards Night on Thursday, April 6th at the Kipling Community Centre showcasing all the players of each team.
Emcee for the evening was the President of the Kipling Minor Hockey Karla Roppel. Hats off to the parents for getting the kids to the rink for practices and games, to Rink Management, the officials and coaches.
And now for the spotlight on each and every player.
James Gallagher's Initiation team had 24 enrolled. ìSome players may have started out playing like Bambi on ice to playing full games by the end of the season,î states Gallagher. Gallagher thanked Duncan Guilloux for assisting with the coaching of his team who had 17 wins and 1 loss. Each player was introduced on stage (although only one third of the team was present) and presented with a hockey stick, puck and a duffle bag for participating.
Gord White's Kipling Midget Pee Wee's were brought up on stage next. Their team was proud to have won the provincial banner this year especially winning in front of hometown fans. "We had a very good year this year," says White and adds "these kids took the skills they learned in practice to the games. This team did not have a one-man show...and we had strong defence." White went on to thank the parents and the team for their commitment as well as his assistant coaches Keith Barath and Troy Johanson.
Awards were presented as follows: Most Dedicated Players ñ Danielle White and Lane Batters, Most Improved Player ñ Dixie Corscadden, Most Sportsmanlike Player ñ Aiden Johanson.
Jeremy Balogh's Novice team took the stage with assistant coaches Steve Meszaros and Bruce Dash. ìWe have a very enthusiastic group.î Balogh went on to say ìwe didn't win a lot of games but the kids stayed positive! We had good games and everybody had fun!î Cayden Hoffmann received the award for Most Improved player. Each player was presented with a package of hockey cards.
Kurtis Kish' Atom team took the stage next. ìIt was a great pleasure coaching these kids this year,î says Kish. He and Chris Roppel presented each player with an individual award as follows: Cooper Kish - Most Versatile, Dawson DeClercq - Top Scorer, Gabe Farnden - Highway Robbery, Ethan Draper - Heart and Hustle, Mia Box - Most Improved, Alex Reid - Most Sportsmanlike, Talon Swallow - Old-fashioned Wooden Stick, Kaiden Bagu - Best Digger, Tyson Roppel - Law Enforcer, Brooke Allan - Most Dedicated and Kalub Hoblyak - Love of the Game.
Rob Barath gathered his Midget team up on stage next. ìWe didn't have a lot of numbers,î says Barath. ìIt didn't matter who scored the goals though...we played quite well as a team. They wore the green and gold all their career and now they're leaving...they're done!î There were no individual awards handed out.
And the final team to take centre stage was Mike Currie's Bantam team. ìWe had a good commitment from players and parents ñ thank you!î says Currie. ìWe may have had a bad start but the players had great dedication. This was a great bunch of kids to coach whether we win or lose!î Currie also made reference to having the best refs around. Again this group was not presented with individual awards.
Kipling Minor Hockey presented Rob Barath with an award for all his years with Minor Hockey - a token of appreciation for all his hard work and dedication.
"Robbie has been a part of the Minor Hockey Association for many years in many forms. He has been coach, manager, president and treasurer. He has put countless hours into this rink," explains Roppel.
"A huge thank you to the officials," says Roppel "Our officials do a bang up job! And a big thank you to the executive who make the association run smooth."
"That's it for our 2017 Awards Night. Have a good summer," Roppel says as the evening comes to a close.
