Saugeen Shores Storm Peewee Avery Martindale faced off against Chatsworth Rebels' Claire Torrie as Rona Cobean of the Caitlyn Cobean's Community Crusaders drops the puck at the opening ceremonies of the Caitlyn Cobean Memorial International Silver Stick Tournament January 31 at the Plex in Port Elgin. Photo submitted.

Hub Staff

This weekend saw 28 teams from Canada and the US converge in Port Elgin and Southampton for the annual Caitlyn Cobean Memorial International Girls Silver Stick Tournament.

Caitlyn Cobean began her hockey career in 2001 when she joined the Saugeen Shores Storm Girls’ Atom team. In 2008 she lost her battle with brain cancer but left behind a legacy that the Saugeen Shores girls hockey community continues to uphold today. Caitlyn’s friendly, caring attitude towards the game plays a strong role in Saugeen Shores girls minor hockey and is especially evident at the annual tournament.

Saugeen District Senior School's Lauren Gilbert kicked off the opening ceremonies at the Plex in Port Elgin on Friday with a stellar performance of the Canadian and American national anthems. The three day event played host to 28 teams, consisting of approximately 450 athletes spanning four divisions of girls minor hockey. The tournament was sponsored by the Society of United Professionals and the Bruce Power Local Community Foundations Fund.

Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb broke the ice as he welcomed all the teams from across Ontario and the United States to the Saugeen Shores tournament. Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson followed Lobb in congratulating the participating teams and extended her gratitude to parents and volunteers who make it possible for the young athletes to play.

Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau echoed the gratitude toward parents, volunteers and the Saugeen Shores Minor Hockey Association, with a special acknowledgement for his wife, Tournament Director Alison Charbonneau. “It wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous volunteers and great people in our community that make this event happen," said Charbonneau.

The International Silver Stick Director Dale West described how the spotlight shifts to the girls as the Silver Stick season winds down and girls hockey continues to expand.

“It’s nice to see the NHL is catching up to us in having support for girls hockey,” quipped West. “The International Silver Stick, a long time ago, saw that the girls had a chance to take part in the international citizenship and goodwill on the ice,” said West.

Rona Cobean was joined by her family on the ice to speak on behalf of the Caitlyn Cobean’s Community Crusaders. She recalled how, to her daughter, hockey signified friends and fun, not goals and penalties.

“She was a leader in the fact that the game was really about having fun and the winning or losing was sort of an aside thing,” explained Cobean. “It’s a great thing for us to be able to carry her tradition on,” she said.

The ceremonial puck drop between Saugeen Shores Storm's Avery Martindale and Chatsworth Rebels' Claire Torrie concluded the opening ceremonies and gave way to a friendly skills competition sponsored by Bruce Power.

Over three days teams completed a round robin in their division before finals and semi-finals were played on Sunday. The girls gave their fans a dramatic finish with several games going into overtime and one ending in a five round shootout.

The Kincardine Kinucks won the Atom division, the Chatsworth Rebels took the Peewee title, Tillsonburg Lightning finished first in the Bantam division and the Lucan Irish landed gold in the Midget division.

The Saugeen Shores Storm Peewee C Girls Wismer House Whalers finished third place in their division at the Caitlyn Cobean Memorial International Girls Silver Stick Tournament held in Saugeen Shores January 31 to February 2.

The Cobean family attended the opening ceremonies of the annual tournament which saw approximately 450 girls from 28 teams take to the ice at the Plex in Port Elgin and the Southampton Coliseum this weekend. From left, Dylan Cobean, Rona Cobean, Jim Cobean and Bryanna Cobean.

Abby Clarke tests her shooting accuracy during the Bruce Power Skills Competition that proceeded the opening ceremonies of the Caitlyn Cobean Memorial International Silver Stick Tournament in Saugeen Shores January 31 to February 2.

Saugeen Shores Storm Goalie Camryn Stauffer defends her net against the persistent Lambton Attack at the annual memorial tournament in Saugeen Shores.