HNO reps all should hold their heads high

A long week-and-a-half of hockey has come to an end for me.
A good experience, I believe, for all was had at the HNO U-16 POE tournament. It saw six teams from the Ontario branches that fall under Hockey Canada bring their top 1995-born players to showcase them for the selection of the Team Ontario U-16 team.
Fort Frances was well-represented with four players on the team—Scott Parsons, Judd Gardiman, Jordan Larson, and Colton Spicer—and they all should be holding their heads high as they performed great down in Kitchener.
I will remember this hockey experience for a lifetime as it was great to be a part of, learn, and see the different levels of talent throughout the province. I thank the local boys and the team for this opportunity.
With a short rest and time to adjust to being home, I now will focus on preparing for the Fort Frances Lakers’ main training camp that begins next Wednesday (Aug. 25) at noon with registration and off-ice training.
That will be followed by the first on-ice game at 8 p.m.
Next Thursday (Aug. 26) will see off-ice testing at 11 a.m., with the second on-ice game set for 8 p.m.
A pair of games are slated for Friday (Aug. 27) at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., with the camp wrapping up next Saturday (Aug. 28) with the final on-ice game at 9 a.m.
We then will have meetings with the players. Those moving forward with the team will have Sunday off, with Monday morning (Aug. 30) being the first practice for the 2010-11 Lakers’.
We will have just two days to prepare for our first exhibition game versus the Ice Dogs up in Dryden.
Our complete schedule will be released to the public very soon.
It has been pretty quiet on the player front for the last week or so.
At this point, we are making sure all invitees to main camp are attending, and that our vets are coming in hungry and ready to work hard to keep their position with the team.
We are hoping to have 35-40 players in camp and ready to play some intense hockey in order for our season to start off with success.
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In related news, the Lakers are looking for a trainer for this season.
For more information, contact me at 275-7798 or via e-mail me at wayne@fortfranceslakers.com
As well, we still are in need of billet families for the upcoming season.
If you are interested in being a billet for one of the Lakers’ players, contact Mary Cooper (274-6608 or 486-1320) or Mary Polz (274-7264) for more details.
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Golfers, be sure to mark Sept. 11 on your calendar as the Lakers will host a golf tournament at Kitchen Creek.
More information will come out this week.