Monthly Archives: November 2013

Sports

Cyclones blow past Red Lions in wide open pre-season win

The Davidson Cyclones senior men’s hockey team beat their former leading scorer Josh Sim and his defending SWHL (Sask West Hockey League) champion Kindersley Red Lions 5-2 on home ice Oct. 26 beginning another season of hockey in town and another key change in personnel on the roster.

“For the first game of the season we played really good,” said Cyclones goaltender Mark Zoerb, who gave up two goals on 22 shots through 30:26 of playing time before being replaced by Brady Willner for the second half of the game. “There are a lot of new guys this year and everybody seemed to play good together.”

Although the roster is still taking shape, new faces on the club that made their debut against the Red Lions include locals Bryce Prpick, Garret Dieno and Orrin Gryba and imports Cody Danberg and Kyle Bortis. Conspicuously missing from the Cyclones roster for its first pre-season game was two-time LLHL (Long Lake Hockey League) MVP Steve DaSilva who now calls the Beechy Bombers home.

“It (won’t be) easy to be able to replace him,” said Zoerb. “That’s a big spot to fill, but we brought in three young local players and we brought in two new imports that bring a lot of skill so I think we’ll be fine.”

Jason Shaw, head coach of the Cyclones, said Bortis, who scored the second and fourth goals against Kindersley, and Danberg, the first and fifth plus an assist on Kevin Johnson’s second period marker, are both gifted offensive players who have put up big numbers wherever they have played. He said the goal is to have the two new scorers playing on different lines this season, which should keep the club a dangerous offensive threat at all times.

“They both played some good hockey (against Kindersley),” said Shaw. “I don’t know if they’ll play together much (as) you want to try and spread the scoring out. Derek Allan has a sore knee right now, so we’re waiting on him to see how things go. Carter Smith is a pretty good offensive player too, so we’ll probably run two lines to try to spread out the scoring all year. You don’t want to just rely on one line.”

Shaw said with the new recruits the Cyclones should be able to play the same free skating high scoring hockey they enjoyed with DaSilva and Sim before him. He said their style that saw the club once again lead the league in regular season scoring last year won’t be changing this season and their goal of winning a fifth straight provincial title won’t as well.

To read more please see the November 4 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Sports

Sabers one win away from provincial final

The Hanley Sabers senior boys football team is one win away from advancing to its second straight 6-man provincial championship final.

Standing in their way is the relatively unknown North Valley High Eagles who are seeing their first provincials’ competition in their short five-year history.

Mark Anderson, coach of the Sabers, said their Nov. 2 semifinal game at Lemberg against the Eagles may be the first time they have seen the club, but opposition coaches have given the Hanley staff a few pointers to help them prepare. He said North Valley High has a strong quarterback and plays a good all-round game, so his club will have to play their best to advance.

“They sound like a very strong team,” said Anderson. “From here on in there are no easy games. We’re in tough here. We lost a lot of kids from last year, so it’ll be a tough game for us. They are a very athletic team, so it’ll be interesting to see what they have for us.”

Eagles coach Bob Mayo said his team (6-1 in conference play this year) is “pretty quick” and uses that speed to their advantage. He said they’re not overly big, but play to their strengths which they must keep on doing if they hope to beat Hanley.

“The main thing is we’ve got to stay relaxed and not get too up,” said Mayo, whose team advanced to the semifinal game with a 52-28 quarterfinals win Oct. 26 over the Carrot River Wildcats. “We’ve never hosted a provincial game here and there has been a lot of buzz in our town, so keep our kids focused and as long as they do their jobs we’ll be in the game. If we get running around or trying to cover for people or do things that we’re not supposed to then we’re going to get in trouble.”

The Sabers advanced to the semifinal after trouncing the Elrose Eagles 74-16 at home in their Oct. 26 quarterfinal match. The team was led on defence once again by the strong play of safety Mike Lohrey who pulled in four interceptions and led the team in tackles.

Offensive ends Jesse Presnell and Kody Rowlet scored three touchdowns apiece for the Sabers to lead the team, while quarterback Joel Peters had an outstanding game throwing for over 200 yards.

Anderson said the team’s playoff experience really came into play against Elrose and the fact their conference is a bit better in competition level helped as well. He said the Eagles have good athletes and some big kids, but the Sabers were able to take advantage of some uncertainty on the Elrose defence propelling Hanley to an quick 22-0 lead after the first quarter and a 66-8 lead after three.

To read more please see the November 4 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Davidson

Speaker to discuss armed conflict

“What is the right fight?”
This is a question Claude Weil will discuss at Davidson’s Remembrance Day Service next Monday.
Weil, who served three years in an Israeli combat unit in the 1970s, knows about conflict.
He was born in the French colony of Algeria (North Africa) in 1954 and grew up in the village of Mézériat near Lyon in France.
He remembers, as a schoolboy, how the entire school would march with First and Second Word War veterans to the cenotaph in Mézériat for Remembrance Day services.
While driving to Regina a couple years ago, he stopped in Davidson and visited the cenotaph on main street and was appalled by the number of casualties Davidson suffered on the Western Front. He told his childhood friend, Etienne Robin, who is now Mézériat’s mayor. Robin wrote the Town of Davidson a letter to let them know that these sacrifices are remembered. In the letter Robin wrote: “This letter is a modest homage from us to the long lost soldiers of Davidson who fought for the freedom of so many French people they did not even know and would never know. Be assured that the sons your village left in our soil are well loved and their graves well cared for. Their families are dear to our hearts. They did not sacrifice in vain.”
The letter was featured in The Davidson Leader last November and the story interested Gord McRae, president of Davidson’s branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, so he asked Weil to speak at this year’s Nov. 11 service.
“I thought the letter the mayor (from Mézériat, France) sent was intriguing and it encouraged me a lot to try something different,” McRae said of why he invited Weil to speak at Davidson’s Remembrance Day service.
For years McRae has worked organizing Davidson’s Remembrance Day Service. He wants to keep it relevant so as to ensure new generations participate in the act of remembering Canada’s war casualties. Partnerships with DICA and Davidson School have helped to keep the Remembrance Day Service going in light of the fact Davidson’s Legion branch isn’t very active due to declining membership.
“I thought (having Claude Weil speak) would be something different to try and get the public coming back to the service,” McRae said.
He hopes people attend the Remembrance Day service, but worries people may treat the statutory day off like a holiday because it falls on a Monday, giving people a long weekend.
To read more please see the November 4 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

Obituary

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Goodsman, George Edward
October 18, 1917 – October 26, 2013

George Edward Goodsman was born at home on his father’s homestead on October 18, 1917. He took his schooling at Bermuda School and completed grade eight before leaving school to assist his father on the farm. He remained a farmer all of his life. He grew up in the age of horses and always loved them. He owned and enjoyed horses throughout his lifetime. He chose to serve his Lord and Master in 1933 at the age of 16 and was faithful to this choice to the end of his days. He married Jean when he was 35 years old and was married for almost 61 years. He died peacefully in the Davidson Health Centre on October 26, 2013 at the age of 96. In his younger days, George loved to have fun and was known to be a tease. He had a wonderful memory for numbers, names and events until his final illness. We have lost a link with the history of this community as well as the history related to friends and family. In the last stage of his life his caregivers remarked on how thankful he was.

He is dearly loved and fondly remembered by his wife Jean of Stalwart; three sons; Gordon of Thailand (Brenda); Gary (Bonny) and Glenn of Stalwart ; and his daughter Gayla of Lethbridge, Alta., as well as grandchildren Devin, Tanna and Jeric and step-grandchildren Sheena, Chelsea (Tyler, Kale) and Sean. He is survived by one brother, Frank (Helen) of Lumsden and brother-in-law Albert (Olive) of Viking, Alta.; sisters-in-law Edna of Saskatoon, Marie of Stalwart, Ellen of Regina, Marg of Maple Ridge, B.C., Ella of Calgary, Alta., Audrey of Kelowna, B.C. and Phyllis of Viking, Alta. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and friends.
 

The funeral service was held in Imperial Community Centre, Imperial, Sask. on Friday, November 1 at 2 p.m. conducted by Jim Atcheson. A private family interment preceded in Imperial Cemetery. For those so wishing donations to Long Lake Valley Foundation or Davidson Health Centre would be appreciated. For online condolences, tributes or to make a donation please visit http://www.fotheringham-mcdougall.com