January
The newly formed Tri-Port peewee girls hockey club won the first tournament it entered by sweeping five games in the Oceanside Girls Tournament in Parksville. Goalie Sarah Case of Port Hardy claimed four shutouts in her five games in net. … The annual Port McNeill Downpour women’s hockey tournament was cancelled for the first time after 15 years of play when it failed to draw enough teams to fill the bracket. … Doug McCorquodale outdueled fellow Port Hardy skip John Maday to win the annual Fort Rupert Curling Club mixed open curling bonspiel. … Kathy Mitchell skipped longtime partner Debbie Balcke’s rink to the A title in the Broughton Curling Club ladies open bonspiel in Port McNeill. It was the first ladies bonspiel not attended by Mitchell’s father, club co-founder and longtime booster Bill Gurney, who died in 2011. “This one’s for my dad,” said Mitchell. … Alert Bay “hockey grandpa” James Speck created and donated full sets of customized hoody sweatshirts to the Port McNeill Minor Hockey atom and peewee hockey teams. The association saw a large influx of new players from Cormorant Island last season.
February
The North Island Eagles atom development team reached the championship final of the Campbell River tournament before falling 2-1 in a shootout to take second place. … Alyssa Busch of Port Hardy and Lexie Murgatroyd, Natasha Grafton and Saiya Gachter of Port McNeill each earned top finished for the Port McNeill Figure Skating Club in the annual Lynn Hetherington Memorial competition in Nanaimo. … The Port McNeill Ice Devils renewed an old-timers hockey rivalry with counterparts from Gold River, sweeping the visitors 4-2 and 8-2 in a weekend doubleheader at Chilton Regional Arena. … Port McNeill’s Matthew Merritt downed Port Hardy’s Mike McCulley in the A final, giving the host club the title in the annual Broughton Curling Club mixed open bonspiel. … The North Island Eagles bantam rep hockey team, which went 0-10 in league play in the regular season, rolled into the Vancouver Island Tier 3 championship round with its second straight playoff series victory, an 8-6 playoff win at Kerry Park. … The Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Regulators won the men’s title and Harvey Memorial won the women’s crown in the Harvey Walkus Memorial floor hockey tournament.
March
Ray Mitchell of Campbell River topped Port McNeill’s Rob Conley in the A final of the Hugh Fraser Memorial men’s open at Fort Rupert Curling Club in Port Hardy. … The Port McNeill Mustangs rolled past Moose Knuckles 9-2 to win the A title in the 33rd annual Oscar Hickes Memorial Hockey Tournament in Port Alice. The Port Hardy Warriors edged the Gold River Warriors 3-2 in the B final and Port Alice Relativity won the C final, 4-3 over the Flyers. … The Port McNeill Figure Skating Club won the team trophy in the 36th and final Barbara Rasmussen Memorial competition in Courtenay. Alison Gurney, Kierra Shambrook, Karlie Shambrook and Lexie Murgatroyd of Port McNeill and Alyssa Busch of Port Hardy each won gold medals in their respective classes. … North Island Lanes hosted the Vancouver Island 5-pin Bowling Championships for the first time in the event’s 26-year history. The host club placed fourth in the mixed team standings. … Steve Janusz of Port Hardy guided his foursome/rink to victory in the annual Fort Rupert Curling Club Daffodilly, which combines a nine-hole round of golf with mini-ends of curling. … Alyssa Busch of Port Hardy and Whitney Murgatroyd of Port McNeill helped lift the Vancouver Island Region figure skating team to the overall title in the BC/Yukon StarSkate finals. Busch and Darian Murgatroyd each won silver medals and sisters Kierra and Karlie Shambrook claimed bronze.
April
Connor Scott was awarded Player of the Year at the Port McNeill Minor Hockey Association awards night. … Clayton Bono (atoms), Nycholas Ruel (peewee), Riley Mathieson (bantam) and Mitchell Walker (midget) won team MVP honours during the North Island Eagles hockey awards banquet. … Sarrah Moore’s tiebreaking goal in the 59th minute gave the NISS girls a 2-1 soccer win over Port Hardy Secondary. … Tim Demoe of Port Hardy won the low-gross title and seven players shared low-net honours in the Seven Hills Golf and Country Club AGM tournament, which used the Callaway Handicap scoring system. … Sarah Case won the Hugh Fraser Memorial referee of the year award and Robbie Heavenor won the Brian Burns Memorial mentor of the year award at the Port Hardy Minor Hockey Association year-end banquet. … The Port Hardy Wild women’s hockey team won the intermediate division title in the Delta Spring Hockey tournament, its first off-island tournament appearance.
May
The Port Hardy Blue Sox won the A final and pocketed $400 in the Umpire’s Icebreaker Slo-pitch tournament, held in a “skins” format that awarded cash prizes for each inning won. … Port McNeill Mud Bowl soccer tournament titles went to the U12 boys and girls teams from Port Hardy, Port McNeill’s U15 girls, Port Hardy’s U15 boys and Port McNeill’s U18 mixed team. The Hyde Creek Hillbillys won the annual Sointula Invitational Baseball Tournament with a 9-8 victory over Paul’s Balls of Comox. … Jennifer Detoro of Port Hardy became just the third woman in B.C. to earn her fifth-degree black belt in karate testing during the Karate Canada National Championships in Vancouver. … Chelsea Colcol of Alert Bay helped the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group to second place in the team shooting competition at the National Marksmanship Championships in Victoria. … Scott Harris of Port Hardy won the men’s gold medal and Kaleigh Harris, Emma Jensen and Steven Williamson combined to win the mixed youth relay in the Comox Valley Tri-K triathlon.
June
Local rider Tynan Klein-Beekman won the kids’ beginner division in the cross country race as Port Alice welcomed dozens of mountain bikers to the North Island for the annual Rumblefest cross country and downhill bike races. … The quartet of Scott Mitchell, Tim Chester, Paul Bastarache and Ron Downey tied the fivesome of Andrew Laming, Vic Klassen and Jack, Rudy and Todd Servatius for the low-gross title in the Loggers Open golf tournament at Seven Hills. … Port Hardy’s Master Batters won the A title in the Father’s Day Classic slo-pitch tournament, topping the Woodchuckers of Port McNeill. … Stephanie Lacasse won the MVP and Avalon Adventist Junior Academy won the school title in the 30th annual Charlie Cup checkers championship. … Colin Shaw of Port Hardy won the sportsman class final in Rumble on the Runway drag racing action in Port McNeill. … The Port Hardy Soccer Association claimed titles in the U12 girls and boys and the U15 girls and boys divisions in its own youth soccer tourney. Gold River beat Sointula for the U12 mixed title and Port McNeill won in U18 mixed play.
July
Brian Anderson won the men’s race and Alert Bay’s Anne Dalton was the women’s winner in the inaugural Alert Bay Dog Run mountain bike race. … Port McNeill’s Clayton Stoner, a defenseman with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, returned for his second Clayton Stoner Hockey Camp at Chilton Regional Arena. … Dave MacLeod won the men’s title and Brenda Pouchnik topped the ladies in the third annual Logger Sports Competition in Port McNeill. … Terry Mackay of Port McNeill won the Super Pro class final in round three of the Rumble on the Runway drag-racing series in Port McNeill. … The Hyde Creek Hillbillys claimed the North Vancouver Island Baseball League championship with a 6-3 win over the Port Hardy Cubs in Hyde Creek. … Seven Hills Golf Club manager and club pro Kevin Black qualified for one of four spots on the Team B.C. squad at the 2012 PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada. … The Bushcats topped the Blue Sox 6-1 in a matchup of Port Hardy clubs in the A final of the Filomi Days Wood Bay slo-pitch tournament at Beaver Harbour Park.
August
Liam Aoki of Port McNeill placed second in the boys 12-13 age group in the Fraser Valley Triathlon. … The Dustmen won a potential elimination game in extra innings, then topped the defending champion Woodchuckers 12-8 to claim the Port McNeill Slo-pitch Playoff title. … One week after their league playoff loss, the Woodchuckers claimed the OrcaFest Slo-pitch tournament title by beating three-time champion Adrenaline Rush of Campbell River 17-14 on a walk-off grand slam by Curtis Carmen. … Tim Walton of Port McNeill claimed the $1,500 top prize and the title in the Vancouver Island Bracket Finals in Port McNeill. One day earlier, Bill McDonald of Port McNeill claimed the Super Pro crown in drag-racing action at the airport. … Port McNeill distance runner Ken Richardson, 68, won two gold medals and one silver in the B.C. Senior Games.
September
Port Hardy’s Load ’em Up won the A title in the Fred Donaldson Memorial Labour Day slo-pitch tournament in Port Alice. … Doug Petrie, who grew up in Port McNeill before taking over the club pro job at Comox Valley Golf Club, won the title in the Seven Hills Golf & Country Club men’s open. Shawn Zealand, a Victoria resident formerly from Port Hardy, won the low-gross title and Dale Dorward of Port Hardy claimed low-net honours. … Debbie Mitchell won low gross and Maria Farrell was first low-net in the Port Alice Golf and Country Club Ladies’ Open. The Cubs topped the Master Batters 15-13 in the orthodox men’s slo-pitch tournament final, while No Glove, No Love downed Rainbow Brite for the ladies slo-pitch title at Beaver Harbour Ballpark. Lawrence O’Connor of Port Hardy claimed the feature main title in a USRA Modified series event at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. … John Maday, Meagan Cadwallader and Mike and Naomi Stead teamed to win the Fort Rupert Curling Club’s Fall Funkin’, which combines golf and curling.
October
The Regulators won the men’s title and Gil’s Girls claimed the ladies final in a ball hockey tournament to commemorate Gil Walkus Jr. and Tom Walkus. … Terry Mackay, Chris Sharpe, Tim Walton and Bill McDonald of Port McNeill and Chris Beatty of Port Hardy each earned top 10 overall prizes in the North Island Timing Association’s 2012 awards banquet. … Glen Day of Port Hardy clinched his second straight track title in stock car racing at Triport Speedway after winning the season-ending feature main event. … Port McNeill’s Ken Richardson placed second in the men’s 65-69 age group in the annual Victoria Marathon. … Port Hardy’s Lawrence O’Connor won his second straight feature main in USRA Modified racing at Grays Harbor. … Scared Hitless won the A title and the Gwasie Posse won the B in the second annual Tuck Memorial Volleyball Tournament at the Quatsino Hall. … Winners in the annual Districtwide Elementary School cross country run in Port McNeill included Madyson and Kaleigh Harris of Fort Rupert Elementary, Jaylon Grenier of Eagle View, Joey Grant and Rhys Dutcyvich of Sunset Elementary and Faith Gage of Avalon Adventist.
November
The Courtenay Whalers won the annual Port Hardy Wild Women’s Hockey tournament, edging the Port Hardy Juiceheads in a shootout. … The Port McNeill Snipers went unbeaten the Port McNeill Minor Hockey novice tournament, while Tyler Roper of Port Alice scored 27 goals in three games. … Three months after bringing the Stanley Cup to Chilton Regional Arena, local hero Willie Mitchell returned to donate 33 M-11 anti-concussion helmets to the Port McNeill Minor Hockey Association. Mitchell skated with local youth players and posed for team photos before joining the youngsters for pizza and autographs afterward. … Port Alice Arena’s new Zamboni was unveiled during the second annual Bob Bailey Memorial hockey game. … Lawrence O’Connor wrapped up his 2012 season by winning the Modified Legends final in the IMCA Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas. … Alert Bay’s James Speck made his second contribution of the year to Port McNeill Minor Hockey, commissioning a Stanley Cup replica trophy for the association’s bantam tournament. The local bantams reached the final of their tourney, but settled for second place as Oceanside claimed the title. … Albert Charlie’s sudden-death goal gave the Regulators a 10-9 win over the Fort Rupert Roaches and the title in the GNN Ladies Memorial Floor Hockey tournament on Tsuquate Reserve. GN Memorial beat the Unknowns for the ladies title. … The first Movember hockey fundraiser game raised more than $2,000 for men’s health in Port Hardy. The Warriors downed the Bulls 3-0 in the men’s game.
December
The North Island Eagles midgets and alumni squared off in the second annual Alumni Hamper game in Port McNeill, with the old guys sneaking out a 7-6 win over the midgets. The game raised $444 and boxes of food and toys for the Gazette’s annual hamper drive. … Mike Balcke won a back-and-forth A final against Keith Balcke in a father-son matchup to close out Broughton Curling Club’s men’s open bonspiel in Port McNeill. … Led by the double-figure scoring of foward Aidan Horgan and Ecuadoran exchange student Juan Camacho, the NISS boys basketball team swept Port Hardy in a pair of exhibition games to kick off the 2012-13 season. … Bal’s Spikers topped Quatsino for the title in the inaugural Spikers Volleyball Tournament at Port Hardy Secondary School.
