GORE BAY—The annual Porter Clark Purvis Thibault hockey tournament was once again a huge success with great hockey and a packed Gore Bay arena for all the action.
“We had a great weekend, and this tournament is something that has been going for 41 years,” stated Nick Lane, president of the Western Manitoulin Minor Hockey Association (WMMHA) at the awards ceremony for the Sportsmen A division championship. He pointed out that all the proceeds raised from the annual tournament goes back into the minor hockey association to keep player registration fees down to help local families and keep minor hockey going.
“I would like to thank all the teams and players for taking part in the tournament, and all the referees and timekeepers, without them we would not be able to have this tournament,” said Mr. Lane.
In the Sportsmen A division championship, Average Joes defeated the Little Current Bandits by a close 6-4 score. Average Joes was up 4-2 going into the final period.
Winning the Godfrey Porter Memorial Trophy for their efforts, the Average Joes team included Andrew Trowbridge, Mike Stolar, Chris Hrabec, Luke Sinclair, Brendan Briggs, Riley Bennett, Mason Hare, Matt Orford, Justin Sweeney, Ron Stolar, Sean Persechini, Brett Stolar. Members of the Porter family were on hand for the trophy award presentations.
Stacey Rayner and his family presented the Rick Rayner Memorial most valuable player award to Average Joe’s goalie Chris Hrabec.
In the Sportsmen B division final, the Manitou Monsters defeated Bud Knights by a 6-3 score. Manitou was up 3-0 at one point in the opening period, but the Knights scored two goals before the end of the period to make it close entering the second stanza.
Members of the Clark family presented the Hiram Clark Memorial trophy to the winning team. The Manitou Monsters roster included Jake Pita, Rob James, Justin Lanktree, Lucas Abotossoway, Jordan Trudeau, Greg Trudeau, Brandon Orford, Dawson Campbell, Jarrid Debasige, Noah Hare, Chase Nelson, Parker Dickinson, Hunter Smith, Curt Porti, Ryan Lanktree and Dakota Hare.
Probably the best game of all the final matches in the two divisions was the 3-2 overtime win by M’Chigeeng over Team Orford in the 40 and over championship game. Team Orford had a 2-0 lead in the game until the third period when M’Chigeeng tied it to send the game to overtime, notching the tying goal with 37 seconds left in the third period.
After a scoreless five-minute period of 5 on 5 hockey, M’Chigeeng won it with 9.8 seconds left in the second overtime, a three-on-three format.
“You can’t get much more exciting than that,” stated Mr. Lane,
The Purvis Platt memorial trophy was presented to the M’Chigeeng team and includes Brian Corbiere, Mitch Varey, Arron Assinewai, Dan Clark, Greg Mishibinijima, Chuck Peltier, Hawke Eshkawkogan, James McComber, John Ense, Travis Corbiere, Sundance Hare, Rob Martin, Andrew Corbiere and Curtis Bulloch.
In the 40 and over B division, Team Blodgett shutout the Gore Bay Fossils 7-0 to win the Randy Thibault Memorial Trophy. Members of the Thibault family presented the championship trophy.
“One person who is missing this year is Ken Blodgett, who passed away in 2024,” said Mr. Lane.
The Blodgett team included goalie Chad Chevrette who posted the shutout, Tom Lockeyer, Roger Hayden, Curtis Flanagan, Darren Brown, Stephane Madore, Chris Deschenes, Kurtis Noble, Kyle Noble, Joel Lock, Norm Jones and coaches Don Wright and Mark Sanchez.
There was a total of eight teams in the Sportsmen division, with four teams in the 40 plus division.
