Page 12 - Sports Energey News - Issue No 99, Cornwall, Mike Piquette

12 Issue #99 March 2021 www.sportsenergynews.com

Continued from page 11 ahead and give your report.”

and he wanted to talk with me. You In addition to league play, there
can imagine the concerned look on were numerous tournaments with Dan
Whistle Stops the faces of my manager and assistant mentioning that at one time, Cornwall
Whistle Stops
manager when the VP wanted to talk Minor Hockey put on one of the best
The “Team” has just completed Issue # 99, with the trainee! It turned out that his Bantam tournaments around. Teams

and as always, I would like to thank Lynn (Graphic son, Bobby Murray was playing for like Chicago Compuware and Little
Design), Carrie (Editor), Bernadette (Website), our the Royals and noticing on my resume Caesar’s had fantastic teams, and
that I was a linesman in the league, he those were just two of many strong
writers, Molly, Victoria, Thom, Casey, Jim, Melanie, just called to see how I thought the teams which traveled to Cornwall for
and Christine. Thanks to our editorial columnists, team was looking for the upcoming the tournament.

Jim, Jorge, Dave, Peter, Justin, Perry, Nikolai, Janeen, season.” Dan, who began playing competitive
Alex, and Roxee. Cheers to The Sports Panel: Peter, Following his time with Associate badminton and tennis in his youth, was
Jake, and Jim. Appreciation goes out to our neighborly Finance, Dan moved on to Nortel part of an eight-person team that won
and then to Bell Canada in 1972, a Bronze medal at the Ontario Games.
advice columnists Brian, Mike, and Max, as well as our working thirty-one years until his “There were seven lefties, and I was
distribution manager, Rene, our ad salesmen, Gord and retirement. Dan has many memories the only right-handed player on our
Robert, our distribution locations, our advertisers, and from his years as an official, but a few team. That threw the other teams off.”
stand out. “Aime LeBlanc was a very
of course the people who are featured in our stories. I Sheila, Dan’s wife, was also a team
well-respected referee in the Quebec member who had been a nationally
hope you enjoy # 99. league, and one night he forgot to ranked badminton player and had

remove his skate guards and fell as been a Female Athlete of the Year at
I like the Canadiens’ move to bring in Eric Staal. soon as he stepped on the ice. I was St. Lawrence College/Ottawa U.
Hopefully he has enough left in his legs to help them laughing so hard I had to go back
in the playoffs. to the dressing room for a minute. Dan competed in tennis doubles
Another time, we left Cornwall at with partner Bob Gamelin, playing
So we are into our 3rd lockdown. I personally 2PM, heading to Pembrooke where tournaments in Ottawa and Kingston,
and was a C Champion in squash at
don’t think this helps. Shutting off the little guys but the Cornwall team was playing the Maximum Fitness Club courts.
Smiths Falls in the seventh game of
not the big guys is not the long-term answer. Neither the finals. We drove the whole way Dan also had some success on the
is shutting down youth sports but allowing them to in a snowstorm, arriving at 9PM and golf course. When his brother, Robert

attend schools together. Enough from me on this. the Smiths Falls team still was not and his family returned to the area,
there yet. They arrived shortly after Dan joined him at the Morrisburg Golf
I see JC Godard has purchased the former King we did, and the game was underway Club where he won the C Class one
George property at the corner of Pitt & Second Street. by 9:30PM. By the time the game year and B Class another. Earlier on,
was finished, the storm had passed,
I think we will finally see development there now. the roads were plowed, and the drive Dan also won match play at Summer
home was fine. Another time, we were Heights.
Pancake lovers don’t despair! The annual Rotary in Rockland for a game and there was For the past 40 years, Dan has been
Pancake breakfast is still a go – they just changed the a brawl - we had a police escort out of involved with local theatre, first with

date to May 29th, 2021. It is a drive thru format to be the arena and through town until we the Aultsville Theatre and presently
were on the highway.”
held in the parking lot of St. Lawrence College due to with the Vagabond Theatre group. “It
COVID restrictions. As an official for more than 30 years, all started with Mitzou. I was there to
there were plenty of fights to break up watch, but they were short one follow
The Leafs are sitting in 1st place in the North with Dan mentioning he even had a spot operator. All that I had to do was
few of John Wensink’s scraps. “John follow her with the light and keep her
Division, in the mix with the Lightning, Avalanche,
was an easy guy to separate - as soon lit.”
Panthers, and Capitals as this year’s heavyweights. It as we stepped in, he would back away
Later, in The Sound of Music, the
will be interesting to see how they match up against and skate to the penalty box. John cast was short one male dancer for
the US teams in the playoffs. didn’t lose fights and he was a real a waltz. Dan and Sheila had taken
gentleman both on and off the ice.”
dance lessons, so he filled in. “Once
Are there any Buffalo Sabres fans still out there? On one occasion, Dan even got to we finished dancing, I was backstage
What a sad story. give between-periods and end-of- again as a tech.”
game reports at a Royals game in
Dan stays busy during his retirement,
Congratulations to all the players selected in the Sherbrooke, which he wasn’t even sitting on the Board of Directors for
CCHL Bantam Protected Draft which was held March working at. “George Heath, the seven different organizations. He
manager at CJSS asked me if I would
16th and 17th. sums up by saying, “If I did not keep
attend the game, and seeing as I knew
all of the players, call into the station busy, I could see myself spending
Sorry, not much to talk about on the local sports most evenings on the couch junking
and the DJ would ask me questions
scene. about the game. There was a bench out. The support of my wife and
clearing brawl, the Royals goalie family makes it fun to participate in
Winners Never Quit, and Quitters Never Win, got tossed, and I had a lot to report. these groups.”

‘Signing out until next month,’ I called into the station and started to Sheila and Dan married in 1979 and
Mike Piquette, Publisher tell the DJ and he said, “I’m not going have a son (Adam) and a daughter
to ask any questions, - you just go (Shannon).