No place like home for hockey
Christian Girhiny opts to continue career at Brock University
A Thorold native who came back to Niagara to play out his junior eligibility is staying home to start the next phase of his hockey career.
Christian Girhiny has committed to studying sports management at Brock University and playing for a Badgers men’s hockey team that went 19-5-4-0 last season setting a school record for wins.
“The main reason Brock played a part in my decision was that it was close to home,” the 20-year-old said. “I’ve been away from home since I was 16, and I felt Brock had a great hockey team and school program I couldn’t pass on.”
In 2018-19, the left-shooting forward had played 11 games of his fourth season in the Ontario Hockey League with the Erie Otters as an over-ager when he decided to finish his
‘‘ I’ve been away from home since I was 16, and I felt Brock had a great hockey team and school program I couldn’t pass on.
CHRISTIAN GIRHINY Brock University 2019-20 men’s hockey recruit
junior career with a St. Catharines Falcons team coached by his father Frank and uncle Rick.
“My goal was to try to win a championship, but we just fell short this year,” said Girhiny.
He would go on to play high school hockey at Ridley College after graduating from the Southern Admirals triple-A minor midget program.
He scored 36 goals and added 46 points for 82 points in 32 regularseason games with the Falcons. In the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs, he added 16 goals and collected 16 points for 32 points in 17 games before the Niagara Falls Canucks eliminated St. Catharines in Game 7 of a thrilling Golden Horseshoe Conference final.
“It was a lot of fun being able to have the season I did and do it with a great group of guys,” Girhiny said. “It’s a year I’ll never forget.”
Girhiny could be described as a hockey lifer.
He was only three when he started playing at the house league level in his native Thorold.
“I have no idea where my life would be without hockey. Since I was three, hockey has been what I eat, sleep and breathe,” he said. “I couldn’t picture my life without the sport.
“When you’re playing the game for so long you forget what it would (be) like without it.”
Girhiny, who has joined the Oakville Blades for their quest for a Jr. A championship after the Falcons were eliminated from the playoffs, will make a “great addition” to the Brock lineup.
“We’re excited. He’s a high-IQ playmaker with great hands and a thinker,” Badgers head coach Marty Williamson said. “He can score but prefers to pass.”
Despite losing several players to graduation, Brock advanced to the second round of the playoffs after competing in the national championships the year before.
“The hockey program is doing real well,” Williamson said. “It’s an exciting time at our school.”
Assistant promoted
Brock University graduate Matt Ragogna is returning for a third season coaching men’s volleyball at his alma mater, this time as the team’s interim head coach.
An Academic All-Canadian and Badgers captain in 2015, Ragogna succeeds Doug Hanes who is leaving the program after three years as the team’s bench boss.
Despite his youth, the 25-yearold native of Schomberg, Ont., southwest of Barrie, has plenty of coaching experience.
In addition to five seasons coaching at the club level with the Niagara Rapids, he spent three years as an assistant on the Brock women’s team before joining Hanes’ staff.
“Matt has an exceptional level of experience this early in his career. He has ingrained himself in the local and provincial volleyball community and, as a former assistant coach of our team, we’re really excited to see what he can do with the program,” Brock Sports associate director Emily Allan said. “Matt knows our players and knows our program.
“He will provide a seamless transition for the men, and we believe he is a great fit.”
Ragogna, who studied sports management at Brock and went on to complete a master's degree in coaching in youth sport, regards Niagara as home.
“Since beginning university, volleyball has been the No. 1 passion and drive that keeps me busy day in and day out,” he said. “The opportunity to represent Brock as a player and now as a head coach has come full circle of what volleyball has done for me in my life both on and off the court.”
Ragogna, who right now is the youngest head coach in the Ontario University Athletics conference, is looking forward to building on the 5-12 season a young Badgers program had last year.
“We have a good core of young and experienced athletes as well as some high-level recruits joining our squad this season,” he said.
“This is a team that was competing with top teams in the OUA consistently throughout the season and can expect on contending across the OUA.”
Ragogna’s involvement at the club level has seen him work with high-performance teams and running positional clinics since being promoted to the Niagara Rapids’ technical director two years ago.