Staff
The Muskie boys’ hockey team capped off its season with the annual awards banquet Tuesday night at the Adventure Inn.
Family, friends, and representatives from the Blueline Club gathered to honour a season that started with an opening loss to Dryden and ended with a round-robin exit at the all-Ontarios in North Bay last month.
Assistant coach and emcee Ken Christiansen entertained everyone on hand with a good-natured roasting of the players and fellow coaches, including a separate list of winners he dubbed the “Kenno Awards.”
Muskie head coach Shawn Jourdain addressed the crowd with a spirited speech, commending the players on a good season and making his winter an enjoyable one.
“I think the reason Ken and Brad [Hill] do this is because it brings you back to your youth,” Jourdain said of his fellow coaches.
“You guys have made me feel young, and I enjoyed every minute of it, and I’ll continue doing it as long my wife wants me out of the home.”
Joanne Roach presented the Randy Roach Memorial “Unsung Hero” award to forward Ryan Shortreed, whose positive attitude and tireless work ethic made the departing senior well-liked among his teammates.
Meanwhile, veteran defenceman Josh Scott won the A.R. “Al” Freeman Memorial as the most gentlemanly Muskie.
The Mrs. Bert Egan Memorial Trophy for outstanding contribution to Muskie hockey went to returning senior Taylor Jorgenson while Donovan Cousineau took home the Billy Woods Award as rookie of the year.
Matt DePiero nabbed the Rod Cain Memorial Award for contributing the most to the development of good sportsmanship, morale, and teamwork.
Zach McCool was honoured with the Danny Johnson Memorial Award for the player who best displayed his love for the game while Muskie forward Kyle Herr took home the Barney Maher Award as the team’s most valuable player.
The Muskies, who were short $4,000 in the team’s coffers prior to leaving for the all-Ontarios, received a big boost when they were presented a cheque for just shy of $11,000 from Couchiching Chief Chuck McPherson.
The money stemmed from proceeds collected at a recent bingo organized in the Muskies’ honour.
