NOVICE DEVILS WIN TOURNAMENT
Julia Caranci, Alberni Valley Times
Published: Friday, March 30, 2012
Port Alberni’s Devils novice hockey team was in rare form last weekend, as they swept four games in a Sooke tournament. Coach Wade Nicklin said 16 members of the team travelled south last weekend and blew everyone away. His team is made up of seven to nine-year-old players, some of whom have been playing together for two or more years.
In their games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the Devils scored four wins and no losses in a novice tournament against some 20 other teams from Comox, Cowichan Valley and Victoria.
As the coach explained, the tournament was more about being active and teamwork than winning, although the boys did receive medals of achievement at the end of the tournament. “The first rule is to have fun,” he said, adding the boys are also learning physical skills and improving their discipline.
In their final game against the host team, the Sooke Hawks, the Devils had a resounding 5-2 victory. “The kids just really gelled,” Nicklin said. “A few have been playing together for a long time.” That teamwork is really starting to show. Those who continue playing beyond the novice level graduate into the atom division next season, Nicklin said.
Brian Vallee and Tim May also coach the young team.
JCaranci@avtimes.net
Proud Sponsors of the Novice Red Devils Team
Ferry Costs to Blame as Teams Stay Away From Hockey Tournament
AVMHA President, Al McCulloch
There will be no body checks thrown or goal-scoring celebrations during the Christmas holidays for bantam and midget B players following the cancellation of two local tournaments.
“We can blame a tight economy and B.C. Ferries,” said Alberni Valley Minor Hockey Association president Al McCulloch. “Teams just won’t come to Vancouver Island if they do not have to because there are so many other tournaments on the mainland where they can go and play.”
The three-day bantam tournament that was to open on Dec. 27 was cancelled last week after several teams initially planning to attend pulled out. Tournament organizers had been working on the tournament well in advance, but the logistics of travel costs were a factor in teams pulling the plug.
“Our tournament rates are a lot cheaper, by about $200,” McCulloch said. “B.C. Ferries is part of our highway system [on water], so this is counterproductive trying to bring teams over to play in the Alberni Valley against our teams. We ended up having to cancel because teams told us it was too expensive for travel to the Island.”
McCulloch said teams can use a B.C. Ferries promotion to save money if they are travelling here or off Vancouver Island, but often forget there’s a two-month window to make arrangements before travelling.
“We have to travel off Island, so we get competition, we do not see in our regular season on the Island,” he said. “Our midget A team just got back from Cranbrook, where they won silver.
So, we travel, but what do you do when teams do not want to come here?” There’s plenty to do in the Alberni Valley for teams that do visit for tournaments, according to McCulloch. Hotel accommodations are also affordable.
“It’s sad to see when teams cancel,” said Hospitality Inn man-ager Jonathan Cross. “For a team coming here we offer very affordable prices to stay in our hotels, so when they don’t come it will definitely impact us.”
Cross added, “Sports tourism is very important here, and often at quieter times of the year for hotels, not having these tournaments because they are cancelled will impact our operation.”
With ice allocated for tournament games no longer being used at the Alberni Valley Multiplex, Port Alberni’s manager of recreation services Ron Doetzel said that ice is available if residents want to use it. “We’re around to sell ice,” he said. “Our youth rate is $84 per hour (plus tax) and $174 for adults.”
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Rec Hockey Flourishes Without Body Checking
by Shayne Morrow, Alberni Valley Times – Published: Thursday, November 24, 2011
Take that, Don Cherry! You can take the body checking out of recreational hockey and the players will still love the game. Back in August, the Vancouver Island Minor Hockey Association issued a ban on body checking at the recreational level, while retaining it at the elite level. According to Jan Lavertu, who oversees discipline for minor hockey in the mid-Island district, many hockey fans of the Rock’em Sock’em variety predicted interest in their sport would plummet.
“A lot of people thought we were doing hockey an injustice. There were people who thought kids wouldn’t participate. But the opposite happened,” Lavertu said. “The players who were only there for the hitting and causing havoc on the ice, did drop off, but we’re seeing an increase in registration overall, including a lot of players who had dropped out after bantam.”
Previously, the Alberni Valley Minor Hockey Association had a tough time recruiting one full squad of midget recreational players to show up on game day. Now, AVMHA can ice two full “rooster midget” teams, the Canucks and the Flyers, and they all show up for the opening face-off, Lavertu said.
“We have seen that, by the simple removal of body checking, it’s no longer about goon hockey. It’s about going out, having fun and getting some exercise,” he said.
Not only that, with players no longer living in fear of being stapled to the boards, they are able to focus on the skills and the moves that make the game so enjoyable. Of the 40 midget rec players, seven are female.
Body checking has never been allowed in girls’ hockey, so they mix in well with the boys, and already know the style, Lavertu said, adding that some of those early doubters have now become converts to the new game.
“It’s faster, with fewer infractions and penalties,” he said. “This season so far, in five minor hockey associations, I’ve only handed out three suspensions. At the same time last year, we had 40.”
Based on the success of this year’s midget rec program, and with a big crop of bantams that will graduate this year, Lavertu said AVMHA may be able to ice three midget squads.
SMorrow@avtimes.net
Chevrolet Canada hands out free helmets
Shayne Morrow, Alberni Valley Times - Published: Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Recipients must be five years old and entering their first year of hockey
Parents with children five years of age who are entering their first year of hockey are invited to pick up a free Bauer protective helmet, courtesy of Chevrolet Canada.
The program is available for all children born in 2006 who register with Hockey Canada for the 2011/12 season, according to Hart Drew, of Dennis Jonsson Motor Products.
“All you have to do is go online at www.chevrolethockey.ca and register, then come up to Dennis Jonsson and pick up a package,” Drew said. “You don’t have to have a General Motors car to take part.”
“Chevrolet has been a big supporter of hockey in Canada for years, and, as parents will see in the package, the emphasis is on ‘respect and responsibility,’” Drew said.
Last season, 23,000 five-year-old players registered with Hockey Canada.
SMorrow@avtimes.net
