Ice Chips to Canoe Quips
New milestone for Carter George
The new experiences keep mounting for Carter George, having been named to Team Canada for the IIHF World Championships! After his Owen Sound Attack were swept from the first round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, George was reassigned to the Ontario Reign, American Hockey League affiliate of the L.A. Kings. He made two starts for the Reign, winning both games with a 0.50 goals-against average and .984 save percentage, including a shutout.
Then, the Kings called George up to serve as the team’s third goalie for their playoff run, which the Edmonton Oilers ended in six games. After the Kings bowed out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Team Canada added George to its preliminary roster, and he participated in pre-tournament games and practices. Last Thursday, Team Canada announced on social media that George will remain with the club for the World Championship and participate in team activities.
He’ll join legendary and soon-to-be Hall of Fame goaltender, Marc-André Fleury, Four Nations Face-Off gold-medal winning goaltender (and former Owen Sound Attack) Jordan Binnington, and New York Rangers prospect Dylan Garand as part of Team Canada’s crease contingent.
Carter’s Dad Mike, a former Manitoulin Panther, said, “Carter is soaking it all in and learning as much as he can from Fleury and Binnington.”
Of course this year, the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is shaping up to be one of the more important world championship tournaments in recent history as hockey nations prepare for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Have a blast and keep on sponging, Carter!
Local to compete in global strength championships
Aundeck Omni Kaning’s Dawna Chartrand has been invited to the invite-only Static Monsters World Championships in Ireland this August! The Static Monsters format is widely considered to be the largest strength program in the world. It is a simplified system of only two events featuring the standardized Log Lift and Axle Deadlift combined lift scoring. The event was designed to be accessible to anyone in the world, with the least amount of specialized equipment and referees!
Dawna was currently ranked 16th in the world after her results at her Static Monsters qualifier. She knows she can improve and hopes to bump up her log-lift personal best to the level of her astonishing dead-lift accomplishments! Good luck in all of your training to come, Dawna!
Youth Pickleball Program!
There will be a Pickleball Youth program this summer through the NEMI Recreation Department! The program will be geared for Youth 12 to 17 years of age. Although there are still no official pickleball courts on Manitoulin, play will be held on the NEMI tennis courts with the use of portable nets and court lines that are already painted on either side of the tennis nets. Cost of the program will be just $20. Registration forms are being developed and will be available through NEMI.
The program will start June 4 and run through to September. The action will be two days a week on Wednesday and Friday evenings from 6 to 8 pm. During any rain events, play will move indoors to the five Manitoulin Pickleball Club courts at the NEMI curling rink.
Bud Hebner from Little Current will be conducting the program so any inquiries can be directed to him at budhebner@gmail.com. This summer pickleball program will nicely compliment pickleball played in the schools throughout the school year.
A big thank you goes out to the Manitoulin Pickleball Club for use of some of their pickleball equipment to get the youth program started. An also amazing thing is what happens when people also give their time to benefit even more lives!
Stay tuned for Pickleball Northshore League play for next week. Local league play is up and running now with 10 events in five communities, scheduled over the summer!
Everyone out of the Pool!
The Spring Bay Pool League finished another great season on May 10 with a barbecue and their playoffs. The A League winner was Phil Harper of Silver Water while Nancy McDermid of Providence Bay took the B League honours. Pool will resume once more in November and then run until May. For more information on the League, call Ray Digout at 249-997-0020.
