More than 100 players, parents and community members attended the Chase Minor Hockey Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, March 11.
Master of ceremonies Greg Gartrell welcomed everyone and congratulated all the teams on another successful season. It was noted that registration is staying fairly even from past years with a lot of interest in the younger divisions.
This bodes well for the organization as many rural areas are struggling to put even a few teams on the ice.
Chase Minor Hockey iced initiation, novice atom, peewee female, peewee rep, bantam rep, midget female and midget rep this year. The parents and community members who support Chase Minor Hockey are appreciated.
Many thanks were given to the community members and businesses of Chase.
All teams were introduced, with the coaches giving a quick synopsis of their season and then presenting awards to their teams.
Chase Heat coach Brad Fox spoke to the families and players about “keeping the fun” in minor hockey and it being important at a development age that the players are playing because they enjoy it.
The guest speaker of the night was Geoff Smith. Smith spent 10 years in the NHL and his son Dawson is a member of the Chase Atom team. Geoff spoke admirably about Chase Minor Hockey. He said he was amazed at the “hockey spirit” in Chase; praising the coaches in minor hockey and the facility, and pointing out that there is great ice time in Chase, all things that make for a great hockey experience for the kids.
Chase Minor Hockey awards handed out included: • Volunteer of the Year – Greg and Renae Gartrell for their tireless efforts coaching and positions on the executive, and always lending a helping hand for CMH.
• Coach of the Year – Bernadette Dennis for an awesome job with the Female Midget team whose improvement and skill improved immensely, culminating with them knocking out the first-place team in playoffs.
• Goalie of the Year – Female Midget goalie Tess Jablonski. She played every game of the season for a team with a very short bench. Great dedication and hard work. She will receive a week of goalie school this summer.
• Referee Award – Chase Minor Hockey sends a promising up- and-coming referee to referee school each summer and the winner of this award was Cody Jones.
He is a CMH Bantam player who also refereed many games and shows promise for our organization.
Congratulations to all the winners and all the others who also dedicated themselves to Chase Minor Hockey again this year.
Several door prizes were won. Winner of free registration next season was Taro Ona (Chase Atoms). Winner of a one-night stay for six in a caboose was Milla Andrew, and winner of a Chase Heat toque and lanyard was Wendell Soulle.
