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Award winners announced
The Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council has announced its top Aboriginal athletes and coaches for 2013.
Christie Lavallee, who won her share of medals at archery events, was chosen as the top female athlete. Braeden Boschman, a talented volleyball and hockey player, was selected as the top male athlete.
Also, Trisha Wilson and Farron Cochrane were named as the top female and male coaches, respectively.
Lavallee, who is from St. Ambroise, had her share of impressive results this past year and was also named Manitoba Archer of the Year. Her highlights included winning a gold medal at the national indoor championships and a silver medal at the outdoor nationals. She also captured gold medals at Manitoba’s indoor and outdoor championships and racked up 11 gold medals at regional competitions.
As for Boschman, he was a member of the men’s volleyball squad at Alberta’s Olds College. Later in the year the Brandon native cracked the roster of the Lundar Falcons, a Junior B squad that competes in the Keystone Junior Hockey League.
Boschman was one of the team’s scoring leaders and competed in the league’s all-star game.
As for Wilson, who lives in Winnipeg, a highlight in her coaching career occurred this past year as she was a wrestling coach at the Canada Summer Games held in Sherbrooke, Que. Wilson took part in the Games as she was part of the Aboriginal Apprentice Coach Program. In 2013 she was also named as the grassroots co-ordinator for the Manitoba Amateur Wrestling Association.
Cochrane coached his hometown team, the Peguis Juniors, to a Keystone Junior Hockey League championship during the 2012-13 season.
The Peguis side finished atop the regular season standings of its nine-team league after winning 33 out of its 36 matches. The club then won all 11 of its playoff contests en route to capturing the league title. Cochrane has coached the Peguis Juniors since 1994.
Kahnawake hosts nationals again
The Quebec Mohawk community of Kahnawake will once again host the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC). The 13th annual NAHC will begin on April 27 and continue until March 3.
Kahnawake also hosted last year’s tournament as well as the 2006 championships. As was the case a year ago, the 2014 event will feature 16 participating clubs, eight in the female division and eight in the male category.
The tournament primarily features bantam- and midget-aged players. But teams in the female division are allowed to carry some overagers as well. The host Quebec squads are called Eastern Door and the North (EDN).
Also taking part this year will be female and male teams representing the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
And there will also be clubs representing Team Atlantic, from the Maritime provinces, and Team North, representing the country’s territories. The host EDN female squad will be seeking its third consecutive national title at this year’s tournament.
And the British Columbia entry will be hoping to defend its crown in the boys’ category.
Police investigate youth game
Winnipeg police were called in to investigate following some ugly incidents at a recent Aboriginal youth hockey game. The match, held at the Southdale Community Centre on Feb. 16, featured teams from the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation and Sagkeeng First Nation competing in the annual Southeast Aboriginal Tournament.
Following a skirmish on the ice, a 12-year-old player incurred various injuries, including a broken wrist, when a referee apparently slipped and fell on top of the youngster while attempting to break up a fight.
A video of the ensuing melee, which was uploaded to YouTube and had received more than 130,000 views in less than a week, showed a coach running onto the ice and attacking the referee who fell on top of the youth.
The video also shows a handful of other adults from both benches coming onto the ice and pushing s and shoving near the ref who was attacked. A player also whacks the ref from behind with his stick. No charges were laid immediately following the game but police were continuing their investigation.
Bear stars for T-Birds
Despite being one of the team’s youngest players, Ethan Bear has been more than holding his own in his rookie Western Hockey League season. Bear, a 16-year-old defenceman from Saskatchewan’s Ochapowace First Nation, is a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Bear was third among blueliners in team scoring, having collected 18 points in his first 46 contests with the T-Birds. He was also third in scoring among rookies for the Seattle club in addition to being the top-producing first-year defenceman.
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