CANORA - The Canora Minor Hockey Recognition Social marked the end of the Canora minor hockey season on April 2 at Rainbow Hall.
President Stacy Vangen looked back on a strong season.
“2022/23 was a success for Canora Minor Hockey,” said Vangen. “We are very proud of our players, teams, and volunteers and all of their accomplishments.
“This year we took a little bit of a different approach, and opted for a Sunday afternoon award celebration followed by the supper and ice cream sundaes. With the increasing costs all around us, our executive members decided to prepare and serve the meal to wrap up our season. We hosted about 150 people as we celebrated our players, team staff, and volunteers.”
Due to the large enrollment of young players, there were two local U7 teams during the past year. The U7 Red Cobras, the younger players, were led by Head Coach Dayne Babchyshyn.
“Team Red was focused on the basics, learning to skate and an introduction to hockey,” said Vangen. “The U7s hosted a jamboree in January and had approximately 65 players in attendance. These youngsters progressed by leaps and bounds throughout the season and provided some great entertainment on the ice.”
Just like the other age groups, deserving players on the U7 Red Cobras received awards: Axel Nordin (sportsmanship), Reba Monich (most dedicated), Jay Menton (Jerry Mydonick award) and Lachlan Baillie (most improved).
Kelly McTavish was the head coach of Team Black, the older U7 team, made up of U7 and U9 players. This team was focused on the basics as well but also entered a number of tournaments to learn the game of hockey. This group hosted a tournament in February, which brought seven visiting teams to Canora. McTavish reported that the players grew in their skills, knowledge of the game, and developed a competitive streak through their tournament play.
The award winners for the U7 Black Cobras were: Aliannah Herriges (sportsmanship), Carmen Mydonick (Jerry Mydonick award), Mae McTavish (most dedicated) and Tyler Menton (most improved).
Unfortunately Canora Minor Hockey was unable to ice teams in the U9 and U11 age groups during the past season.
“However we are so proud of our players that went to Yorkton and Preeceville to play at these levels,” said Vangen. “These players celebrated successes with other teams this year, however we want them all to know we are honored to see them representing Canora and we hope to have them back in Cobras jerseys soon.”
The U13 Cobras team was a relatively large team this season, with 10 male and six female players, and hosted a two-day, eight-team tournament in the fall. Head Coach Terry Demchuk had nothing but good things to say to his players.
“You went from a team that was previously at the bottom of the standings to challenging the top teams. You left the lower teams behind, it was really good work on your part.”
For his efforts this season and in past seasons, Demchuk won the Jerry Mydonick volunteer award. As Stacy Vangen put it when introducing him, “Terry Demchuk has volunteered for many years. He loves his family, friends and Canora Minor Hockey. I should have made notes, because this guy has done so much for this community.”
Also winning awards from the U13 Cobras were: Ashton Strelioff (sportsmanship), Kasen Heshka (most improved), Cassidy Wolkowski (Jerry Mydonick award), and Rowyn Johnson (most dedicated).
The end of the season marked the end of an era for these boys and girls playing coed hockey. Going into next season, the U15 girls will be working toward having a female team in town, and the male players will be looking at joining up with surrounding communities as the Highway 9 Predators.
This past season, the U15 Highway 9 Predators played out of Canora. This year’s team had players from Canora, Sturgis, Norquay, Kamsack and Keeseekoose First Nation. They also hosted a tournament to kick off the season in the end of October.
Head Coach Jeff Sznerch praised the players for coming together as a team.
“We grew as a group, from the start of the season right to the end,” said Sznerch. “We worked very hard and played some good hockey. I’m very proud of our team.”
Members of the Preds recognized with awards were: Bracyn Konkel (Jerry Mydonick award), Avyn Seerey (most improved), Wyatt Wolkowski (most dedicated) and Darian Serdachny (sportsmanship).
A number of U18 players from Canora travelled to Preeceville and Yorkton to play hockey this season, “and celebrated many successes throughout the season,” according to Vangen. “We are proud that they started playing minor hockey in Canora. Locals had a chance to see the U18 Preeceville Pats in action at the Civic Center for a couple of regular season games.”
For the upcoming season, the focus will be on building programs at all age levels.
“Canora Minor Hockey strives to provide an opportunity for all kids to play minor hockey locally from U7 to U18,” said Vangen. “We also would like to support the growth of the female hockey program. Whether it be from local teams, or teams combined with other communities, we hope to have U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 and U18 teams as well as U15 female and U18 female teams. We are working with surrounding communities and our main priority is for long-term growth and maintenance of teams in as many age levels as possible. In small towns especially, every player matters so that we can continue to have viable teams. We encourage all players that want to try hockey to sign up. It’s never too late to join this great sport.”
In addition to Vangen, members of the Canora Minor Hockey executive for the past season were: Parker Rice, vice-president; Lizemari Menton, secretary; Crystal Reine, treasurer; Sherri Roebuck, registrar, and Candace Doogan, webmaster.
Prior to the meal at Rainbow Hall, U15 Highway 9 Predators Captain Wyatt Wolkowski led in saying grace.
“Dear Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for watching over all our players, coaches and parents during this hockey season. We thank you for allowing us to play this amazing sport. Thank you for times like this when we can gather and celebrate our season. Thank you for all the lessons you have taught us on and off the ice.
“Please bless this food we are about to receive and bless the hands who have prepared it for us today. May this food nourish us and keep us strong for our next hockey season. Amen.”
The menu included: buns, pulled pork, coleslaw, Caesar salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, and pickles. Ice cream sundaes with a variety of toppings were very popular for dessert.
“We are so thankful for all the fan support we had throughout the season for all of our teams,” concluded Vangen. “We look forward to the 2023/2024 season and all the hockey it will bring!”
