| |
|
| |
Saturday, November 7
More Goalies
(Left pic) Jon Pilatzke, a goalie with the Blind River Midgets, was called up to assist the Beavers on Saturday night for the game against the Manitoulin Islanders. Jon spent the last part of the third period in net and helped the team win 10-3.
(Right pic) Normally you expect to see posters for the forwards but imagine our surprise when the poster we spot the most often in the stands is for our goalie, Chandler Long. Chandler doesn't seemed the least bit put off by having a fan club!
Thursday, November 5
Young pup vs Old Master
With Tyler Lucente sick, practise was going to be extra tough Thursday evening for Chandler Long (left) until Goalie Coach Brian Baley (right) suited up and took to the ice. The Zen Master of puck stopping still had a few tricks up his sleeve after having not worn the pads for a few years.
Saturday, October 31
It was a dark and stormy night!
Here are a few pics of some of the people that showed up in costume for our Halloween game against the Soo Eagles.
Photo by Reg Clark
Photo by Reg Clark
Thursday, October 8
Tuesday, October 6
It's a Long way from Cleveland, Ohio
 |  | | Chandler Long #30, Goalie | |
By:Randy Russon
Saulthisweek.com
Up until about a month ago, Chandler Long had never even heard of Blind River.
Little wonder, as Long is from the big American city of Cleveland, Ohio.
But not only is Long now living in Blind River, he's playing for the Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. And loving every minute of it.
"It's a nice, friendly little place and you can't go anywhere without people wanting to talk about the Beavers," the 18-year old goalie said of Blind River, a town of about 3,600 which is located 90 miles east of Sault Ste. Marie.
Long, who played with the Cleveland Lumberjacks in the Central States Jr. Hockey League last season, first heard of Blind River and the Beavers last month while attending a tryout camp with the Kingston Voyageurs of the Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
"Everything that I had heard about Blind River as a place to play hockey was good," said the friendly, outgoing Long, who played well enough at the Beavers late August main camp to be the first goalie signed by coach/general manager Jim Capy.
Long said the calibre of play in the NOJHL "is a lot better than I thought it would be" and that Capy and his coaching staff "really know their stuff. I am very happy to have landed in Blind River."
One of seven Americans on the Blind River roster, Long likes the competitive squad that Capy has put together.
"It's a good group of players and a good group of guys," said Long.
Despite being an American from Cleveland, Long has always been a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League.
"I don't know why, I've just always liked Montreal," said Long, who sports a Canadiens ball cap as part of his off-ice attire.
Tuesday, October 6
Participants Place Prized Priority on Provenzano Cup
By: RandyRusson
Saultthisweek.com
Many of those who have a close association with the Soo Thunderbirds and Blind River Beavers hold a special place in their hearts for the Carmen Provenzano Memorial Cup series between the two Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League rivals.
"Every year during training camp we mention winning the Provenzano Cup as one of our goals," said Thunderbirds coach Patrick Carricato.
Founded in 2005 following the sudden passing of former local Member of Parliament Carmen Provenzano, who was a big supporter of junior hockey in the North, this marks the fifth installment of the Provenzano Cup series.
"Before this season started one of the first things I talked about with our players was the Provenzano Cup," said Jim Capy, the Blind River coach who is a Soo resident. "Not only does it add to our rivalry with the Thunderbirds, it's a nice way to remember a good man like Carmen Provenzano."
This '09-10 Blind River squad is the youngest in the NOJHL and while winning the Provenzano Cup series against the more-experienced Soo squad may be a lot to ask, it doesn't mean the Beavers won't be competing hard against the Thunderbirds, said Capy.
"We've got a lot of Soo kids on our team and maybe they didn't know Mr. Provenzano personally but their parents probably did," Capy noted. "Mr. Provenzano was a special person who did a lot of good things over the years for the people of the North. Hockey-wise, competing for the Provenzano Cup gives our kids that much more incentive when playing the Thunderbirds."
Now in his second tour of duty in Blind River, Capy was with the Beavers during the first year of existence of the Provenzano Cup back in '05. And Capy was quick to get on board with those responsible for initiating the Provenzano Cup format.
To be sure, the regular-season series between the Soo and Blind River that ends with the presentation of the Provenzano Cup to the victor has touched many of the participants.
From Capy to Carricato to Thunderbirds general manager Al Jones to former coach/current advisor Toots Kovacs to so many of the players on both teams, the Provenzano Cup has become a hotly-contested item.
Even Thunderbird president Pat Egan, who has been known to act as though he's feeling the effects of a perpetual case of jock itch, was the one who fronted the purchase of the actual Provenzano Cup trophy.
This season, the Thunderbirds have taken an early two games to none lead over Blind River in their quest to retain possession of the Provenzano Cup.
After winning the Provenzano Cup opener 6-5 in Blind River on Sept. 17, the Thunderbirds bested the Beavers 5-2 last Friday to increase their series lead.
"It's something that the players have talked about since I've been here," third-year Thunderbird winger Jerry Petingalo said of the Provenzano Cup. "As our coach, Pat puts a lot of emphasis on winning it."
Petingalo sparked the Birds to last week's 5-2 win over Blind River with a goal and an assist.
"Besides wanting to win every game we play, we want to win our series with Blind River because we want to hold on to the Provenzano Cup," Petingalo added. "It's special to our team."
Soo product David McCaig, a second-year winger who plays for Blind River, said it's extra incentive to compete for the Provenzano Cup.
"We've got 10 players in Blind River who played midget or high school hockey in the Soo and this makes us want to beat the Thunderbirds even more," said McCaig. "It's a good, clean rivalry."
The T'Birds curenntly hold a 2 to 1 lead in the race for the cup.
Thunderbirds Fall To The Beavers 4-3
By:Ritchie Donaghue
Sault Thunderbirds
Coming off a solid effort against the North Bay Tappers the TBirds traveled to Blind River, to continue the hunt for the Carmen Provenzano Cup against the young and fast Beavers. In a game that saw 65 minutes in penalties awarded, the TBirds would lose their first game to the feisty Beavers.
The Beavers came out skating hard and jumped on the play early. They caught the Tbirds off guard and worked the puck to the outside. At the 30 second mark Beaver Drew MacMillan wired a one-timer off the cross bar. A minute later Matt Dozois worked the outside lanes and fed a pass through the seam to Justin Erhart, who snapped it behind TBird goalie Ryan McDonald, for the opening goal. The Beavers Dereck Hurley would score again at 19:20, assisted by Corey Jackson. The TBirds had a penalty that also expired at 19:20, so the goal was not scored as a power play goal. The first period ended 2-0.
The second period was very choppy as both teams were penalized for the majority of the period.
The Beavers would score two power play goals to open the scoring in the third period. Newcomer Chad Richards scored at 04:58, assisted by Drew MacMillan and Brett Findlay. Drew MacMillan scored the second goal at 06:24 assisted by Kelly Barrett and Brett Findlay, giving the Beavers a 4-0 lea
Rookie TBird Justin Thomas showed some great moves and scored a sweet short handed goal at 09:50, assisted by Nicholas Romano. The TBirds would then catch a break at 13:30, when Bronson Kovacs lifted a high dump into the Beavers end, the puck did an awkward bounce and slipped behind Beaver goalie Chandler Long. With the score 4-2, rookie defenseman James Delayer showed some nice grit and fought though the Beaver defense to score at 15:49, assisted by Michael Schug. With the score 4-3 Beavers, the TBirds pressed very hard for the last 4 minutes of the game, and were on the power play for the last two minutes.
Coach Pat Carricato pulled his goalie at the 18:53 mark, to give the TBirds a two man advantage. The TBirds had some good chances but Beaver goalie Chandler Long stood tall and the Beavers won a hard earned two points, with a 4-3 victory.
Sunday, September 20
BEAVERS HELP ATOM MINOR HOCKEY
Two members of the Blind River Beavers were helping and encouraging players from the Blind River Atom Minor Hockey Team. Jeff Lobman #8 (back left) and Cody Edwards #21 (back right) assisted the kids with skills development.
Do you have photos or stories of The Beavers in the community and would like to share them? Email them to blindriverbeavers@gmail.com and we’ll try to include them on the website.
Photo by Kerry Joncas
Check out Kerry’s facebook page for the Beavers!
 | | Jeff Lobman and Cody Edwards with Atom Minor Hockey players |
Thursday, September 17
NEW SCOREBOARD CHRISTENED
It didn’t take long for Blind River’s new scoreboard to get initiated during a Blind River Beavers home game. During an exchange with the Soo Thunderbirds in the third period, a puck using the Oliver Stone “magic bullet” technique, managed to make it through the protective mesh and break a plastic cover over one of the displays. Staff, scrambling to avoid being struck by the puck, were unable to find any hole in the mesh surrounding the ice surface and therefore unable to explain how the puck hit the scoreboard. Nor were they able to find the puck.
A Parks and Recreation spokesperson issued a statement shortly after saying “Geez… we just bought the thing. You couldn’t give it a year or two before busting something? This sort of thing isn’t covered by a warranty you know.”
Jim Capy, Beavers coach and general manager, when pressed on how the Beavers will handle the situation replied “Hey, we were in net. The Thunderbirds were shooting. You do the math!”
It is unknown how long it will take to repair the scoreboard.
|
|
|
|
