Biggest hits: Sports top 10
Examiner sports director Mike Davies offers his top 10 local sports stories
Every year Peterborough sports enthusiasts are treated to plenty of exciting action on and off the field of play. 2017 was a particularly busy and notable year in many sports.
Here’s a look at the top 10 local sports stories of the past 12 months.
1. The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers
There was no shortage of news on and off the floor for the 2017 Lakers.
When GM Paul Day and head coach Mike Hasen took over the management and coaching of the Lakers three years ago their mandate was to transform an aging team into a younger, faster team without falling off competitively. After falling just short in the 2015 Mann Cup and 2016 MSL final the pieces all came together in 2017. It started with the return of Curtis Dickson and the continued influx of youngsters who dominated the MSL from the first game of the season to their surprisingly short five-game MSL final win over the Six Nations Chiefs. They capped it all off by winning the club’s first Mann Cup since 2012 in New Westminster, B.C.
Off the floor, the Lakers got good news with a revised contract with the city which gives them some financial benefits. There was also some potentially devastating news with the city deciding to renovate the Memorial Centre floor in 2019 creating concern about where or if the Lakers will play that season.
2. The Peterborough Petes
Much like the Lakers the Pets made news on and off the ice.
They went public with concerns over the team’s financial future which led to a new contract with the city allowing the team to keep, on average of $350,000 more annually of the revenue they generate for the Memorial Centre.
That financial security coincided with the club’s best season in 11 years. The Petes finished first in the OHL’s Eastern Conference in the regular season and reached the conference final for the first time since 2005-06. The 2017-18 season started great with an 8-2 run but the Petes stumbled into the Christmas break on a 7-15-1-1 stretch. Off the ice, the club has improved its attendance by 34 per cent.
3. Special Needs Hockey
2016 ended with the devastating news of the collapse of the Peterborough Huskies special needs hockey team after its founders were charged with fraud.
The community rallied to resurrect the program under the new name of the Electric City Maroon and White. The community involvement extended to saving and running a successful Special Hockey International Tournament featuring teams from Canada and Europe. The highlight was the first ever game between Electric City and the city’s original special needs team, the Kawartha Komets, healing a rift in the special needs hockey community.
4. The Homecoming
Professional boxing returned to Peterborough for the first time in 36 years when hometown boy Cody Crowley headlined two shows at the Memorial Centre. Both events were big successes with 3,500 turning out for the first card in May and 3,000 in September with Crowley winning both bouts to stay undefeated.
5. Referee shortage threatens local hockey.
Few local sports stories generated as much reaction as the news broken by The Examiner of a looming crisis in minor hockey. The number of local hockey referees has been declining at an alarming rate of 25-30 per year for the past five years leading to cancellation of some minor hockey games this season due to a lack of referees. Supervisors are worried about the future if the trend continues and are trying to formulate a plan to recruit and retain officials.
6. On the world stage
Canada’s national women’s field lacrosse team had its best finish ever with a silver medal performance at the world championships. Three Peterborough women were a part of the team. Erica Evans led Canada in scoring and along with goalie Katie Donohoe was named tournament all-stars. Allison Daley also represented Canada as Donohoe’s back-up.
7. Peterborough soccer unites
The local soccer landscape is undergoing a significant change. The 45-year-old Peterborough Youth Soccer Club, home to 1,200 house league players, and 37-yearold Peterborough City Soccer Association, with its 525 rep players, voted to amalgamate. The two groups hope to finalize the merger for the 2018 season.
8. Rowing continues to make a mark
Two major developments highlighted the local rowing scene in 2017. On the water, the city produced a homegrown world champion as Trevor Jones won the single men’s sculls world under-23 championship. The Peterborough Rowing Club and Trent University were also selected by Rowing Canada to be one of its three Eastern Canada hubs under a revamped national team development model. The news came after the Row to Podium program was scrapped raising fears Trent would lose its status as a talent development centre, a designation it received in 2011.
9. Touchdown!
Since its inception in 2011 the Peterborough Wolverines football program has proven itself to be a first class operation on and off the field. This led to the organization being chosen for the first time as hosts of the Ontario Football Conference’s Champs Day on Aug. 5.
They placed two teams among the three championship finals and capped it off with the junior varsity Wolverines winning the organization its first OFC championship.
10. The end of an era
No Peterborough rugby player has represented Canada internationally more often than Barb Mervin. The 35-year-old product of the Peterborough Pagans program represented Canada at the Rugby World Cup for a third time in 2017 in what is expected to be her final campaign with the national team.
Mervin has been the oldest member of the team at the past two World Cups and has been competing for Canada for 15 years.