The Dryden Observer » Sports & Recreation

Schneider takes first in Saskatchewan dogsled race

Ally Dunham — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:00:35 +0000

Local vet, Dr. Clayton Schneider, visits with a few of his many dogs, in the starting chute constructed on his property for training, before loading to head out to a race. Photo by Ally Dunham

By Ally Dunham

Growing up in Oxdrift on his parents’ farm, Dr. Clayton Schneider has had a passion for dog sledding since he was a youth. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Schneider started his dog sled training with the farm dogs as a kid.

“We always had dogs, but more recently I have become competitive,” said the local veterinarian.

Schneider has just returned from Prince Albert, SK. where he placed second place on day one and first place on day two of the 12 mile, ten-dog race.

“That was a different sort of race out there. Most races out there, they add day one and day two and the total is the winning time, but the Saturday and Sunday were a different race out,” said Schneider.

“This race is 23 miles coming up on Saturday and Sunday, so I ran my 10 dogs 25 miles on Monday, and 21 miles yesterday and then they’ll get two days of break,” said Schneider. “Then in their head, they’ll know this weekend they are going to run about 22 miles, plus my lead dog ran it last year, so she’ll remember the trail.”

Schneider and all 40 dogs are now heading across the map to compete in six races over six weeks.

Schneider has taken on a new vet at the Dryden Veterinary Clinic, allowing him to take the extended time off to run his dogs.

“I’ve hired a very nice young fella to help me, my associate, Dr. Greg Springett from near Toronto. He just arrived today with his family and my staff, clients and I are all very happy to have him,” said Schneider.

He began the six weeks with the Musher’s Rendevous in Preeceville, SK on Feb. 3-5 where he placed second and third, followed by a training session in Flin Flon.

“We’re taking about 45 dogs up to Flin Flon, to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and we’re going to train. The guy has trails made, a 10-mile, a six-mile, a 20-mile. All we do is train our dogs for the whole week,” said Schneider. “Then we will come back and race in Thompson, then come home to the Dryden race, and we have four six-dog teams entered in the Ely, MN. I’ve won that race three years in a row, and last year I set a record.”

“Then back to Cross Lake, which is up in the mouth of the Nelson River in Manitoba, and then I’m going to the 50th Anniversary of the Canadian Open in Fort Nelson, BC.,” said Schneider.

Learning the key to training the dogs was a snowmachine, Schneider now hooks up to 16 dogs in front of his snowmobile and runs the miles of property surrounding his home.

“With no snow, if I hook up 12 dogs and go through the bush, I could kill myself, so this way is safer. When I get on the sled, I just have to hang on,” said Schneider.

Schneider breeds a hound/pointer cross, and has a current inventory of 40 dogs. Most of the females are spayed, with the exception of the valuable ones.

“Twenty years ago, I had malamutes and huskies, but I had a very hard time with their behaviour. They are very aggressive toward each other, but these dogs here won’t fight,” said Schneider.

By time of print, the WolfTrack Classic in Ely, MN had been cancelled due to a lack of snow, warmer than average temperatures and the loss of snow pack. The combination of these elements has resulted in poor trail conditions and temperatures that prove both unhealthy and dangerous to both the dogs and the drivers.

Skating races returning to Dryden

Ally Dunham — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:57:38 +0000

By Ally Dunham

The Dryden Lions Club held skating races in the community for 25 years, with the last race taking place in 1990. Caley Ecker and Bill Salonen are working together to bring the activity back to the community.

Being held in conjunction with WinterFest, the skating races will be held at the Dryden Arena on Friday, February 17, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and will be open to all schools in the area.

“The goal of this is to have everyone feel in unity, especially over Family Day weekend. It’s a good way for us, as a school, to celebrate us as a community. Not just Dryden, but as all kids together in one place, being supported by their community and family,” said Ecker. “The best part about it is watching all the kids coming in and feeling the excitement of it together, and then everybody has some common ground again. Even if you’re not participating on the ice that day, you’re still here cheering on your school, or maybe a friend in another school, or your brother or sister.”

The individual race age categories will be divided up by boy and girl, starting at age five and ending at age 14. There will also be one relay team per school for boys, and one for girls entered as well as an endurance race by one male and one female.

In the individual age categories, the student can move up to the next age group by winning the race, and keep competing against the older kids.

“When I retired, I should have really talked someone into following up with it, but I didn’t. Now Caley wants to start it up again, and I think it’s a good fit for the winter festival, and this event gets a lot of kids involved. Any kid can skate in their age limit,” said Salonen.

The students can sign up in their individual schools, and all students are invited to attend and cheer on their friends. The smaller schools will be combined for the relay races.

“It’s the French School, the Full Gospel School, Migisi, and Lillian Berg, all as one, and they are Team United. They will compete and all their points will join together, and they will compete in the relay together,” said Ecker.

After the school day is complete, there will be an elementary versus teachers hockey game at 4:30. The Grade 7 and 8 classes will go up against the staff of the various schools to have a fun game.

The event was helped out by sponsorships from the City of Dryden and the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

Eagles girls’ hockey team take silver

Ally Dunham — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:06:31 +0000

The Dryden Eagles girls’ hockey team captured silver in the Pembina Ladies Tigers hockey tournament in Pilot Mound on January 27-28.

The Eagles finished first in their pool with wins of 6 – 0 over St. Norbert, 5 – 0 over Pembina, and 5 – 1 over the Thomas Aquinas Saints.

The Eagles defeated Red Lake 7 – 1 in the semi-finals setting up a gold game rematch from the Portage tournament with the Beaver Brae Broncos.

The Broncos led 1 – 0 after period one and scored again in the third to go up 2 – 0. Dryden fought back and saw Alexis Reid score late in the third to bring the Eagles to within one but were unable to net the equalizer falling 2 – 1 to the Broncos.

It was the Eagles first loss of the season. The girls were carrying a perfect 17 – 0 record (league and tournament play) heading into the gold game and sit in first place in NorWOSSA league standings.

Bree Brown was solid in goal for the Eagles in the gold game. Brown and CJ Ecker split the goaltending duties in alternating games.

Named to the tournament all-star team from the Dryden Eagles were Morgan Church and Alexis Reid. The girls will look to continue their winning ways in Kenora against the Broncos on January 31 and against the Muskies in Fort Frances on February 3.

Air Cadets take double gold at provincial biathlon

Ally Dunham — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:05:03 +0000

First place male team from 906 Machin RCACS. From left: Nathan Mallyon, River Hall, Nevin Mallyon and presenting Brigadier-General Martin Galvin (Commanding Officer 2 Canadian Air Division).

First place female team from 906 Machin RCACS. From left: Danielle Glowa, Kennedy Ponton, Britney Mol and presenting Brigadier-General Martin Galvin (Commanding Officer 2 Canadian Air Division).

The 906 Machin Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron took double gold at the provincial biathlon competition in Falcon Lake, Manitoba this past weekend.

The male team consisting of Nathan Mallyon, Nevin Mallyon and River Hall and the female team consisting of Danielle Glowa, Kennedy Ponton, and Britney Mol both finished in first place in the team categories.

All six athletes along with their coach Ted Mitchell will be heading off to Martock, Nova Scotia the week of March 3 to 10 for the National Cadet Biathlon Competition.

In the six kilometre individual biathlon race on Sat., Jan. 28, the cadets achieved the following individual results:

River Hall – second place in junior boys category with a time of 42 mins, 13 sec with a total of 6 misses

Britney Mol – second place in junior girls category with a time of 52 mins, 36 sec with a total of 9 misses

Danielle Glowa – third place in senior girls category with a time of 50 mins, 30 sec with a total of 9 misses

Kennedy Ponton – fourth place in senior girls category with a time of 53 mins, 36 sec with a total of 8 misses

Nathan Mallyon – second place in senior boys category with a time of 34 mins, 22 sec with a total of 6 misses

Nevin Mallyon – fourth place in senior boys category with a time of 43 mins, 16 sec with a total of 5 misses

IIya Perkins – seventh place in senior boys category with a time of 47 mins, 52 sec with a total of 9

misses

Biathlon is a sport that combines precision shooting with cross country

skiing.

Ice Dogs secure third place in standings

Ally Dunham — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:28:18 +0000

Above: Thomas Greene takes control of the puck and races the Lakers to the opposing net.

By Ally Dunham

The Ice Dogs were on a winning streak recently, achieving a solid third place in the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) standings with 47 points and a winning percentage of .573.

Starting out the week with a loss against the Sioux Lookout Flyers on Jan. 17, the Dogs played a good game with a final score of 4-3.

Bryce Maggrah saw a pair of tallies 24 seconds apart in the opening period, with Ian Schachte bringing the tally to three.

Dean Shepherdson faced 31 shots in the loss.

January 18 brought a matchup with the Fort Frances Lakers, and a special game dedication in honour of Tristen Wise, a local teen who was struck and killed on Highway 17 recently.

The Ice Dogs took the lead in the first stanza with a tally each from Daniel Morin and Tom Kuhn.

Tyson Holder added a pair of goals, bringing the score to 4-2 for the Ice Dogs, with Diego Breckenridge bringing in the win with a pair seeing the back of the net.

Shepherdson picked up the 6-4 win with 26 saves.

The Ice Dogs moved on to Duluth this past weekend to compete in the SIJHL Showcase tournament.

Opening the Showcase saw a matchup between the Dryden Ice Dogs and the Iron Range Ironheads.

Ice Dogs’ Chris Belhumeur was the star in this one as Dryden’s forward notched a hat-trick by the 5:25 mark of the second period.

Tyler Newsome, Thomas Greene and Ryan Lobreau each chipped in with a goal and assist while Jesse Linner notched a pair of markers of his own for the Ice Dogs.

Kim Wildhaber got the 8-3 win, kicking out 27 of 30 for the Ice Dogs, while the Iron Range’s Chris Stokke was saddled for the loss, giving up four on 24 shots in 31 minutes of relief.

Goal starter David Sargent played the first period, allowing three goals before returning later in the contest and giving up one more.

He stopped 11 of 15 attempts in total in just less than 29 minutes of playing time.

The Dogs then moved on to their second and final game, losing to the Wisconsin Wilderness, number one in the league.

The 4-1 win for Wisconsin saw their 19th consecutive win according to the SIJHL.

All scoring in the contest came in the second period, with Newsome being the only one to see the back of the net.

Shepherdson faced 40 attempts in a losing cause for the Dryden Ice Dogs.

Next regular season game for the Dogs will be on January 25, facing off against the Thunder Bay Stars at Fort William Gardens. Puck drop will be at 7:30 p.m.

The Ice Dogs will see their next home game on January 26 to make up for the game originally scheduled against Duluth for January 6.

The game was delayed due to travel issues with the Clydesdales.

The Dogs will face off against the Wisconsin Wilderness again on Saturday, January 28 at the Dryden Memorial Arena.

Puck drop for both home games will be at 7:30 p.m.

Kenora hosts Ontario Scotties this week

chrismarchand — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:20:56 +0000

The Kenora Curling Club is playing host to some high-level curling this week as it hosts the Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Jan 23-29.

The event will feature ten of the best women’s curling teams from across Ontario, competing for the opportunity to represent Ontario at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Feb. 18-26 in Red Deer, AB.

Six teams from the Ontario Curling Association (OCA) and four teams from the Northern Ontario Curling Association (NOCA) have completed to earn their berth at the Ontario Scotties — a round-robin event with two draws daily.

The event will end with a page playoff this weekend that will be televised by Shaw.

For more information and results through the weekend, visit curlnoca.ca/content/Home/ or www.playdowns.com.

Local football coach receives NOVA award

chrismarchand — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:19:14 +0000

Neil McLeod

By Chris Marchand

Local resident Neil McLeod was recognized for his hard work and dedication in developing the sport of football in Dryden, at a ceremony in Thunder Bay, Jan. 21.

McLeod was one of 20 recipients of the NOVA (Northwestern Ontario Visionary Award) presented for the first time to community members under 40 years of age by Thunder Bay’s Young Professional Network SHIFT, the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce.

“It’s humbling and you feel fantastic just to be nominated,” said McLeod. “The whole minor football thing has been sort of a personal goal and the community has really done a great job getting the money together. For someone to give you the nod for your part in that feels great.”

In recent years, McLeod founded Dryden Minor Football and serves as the defensive coordinator for the Dryden High School Eagle Football team.

chrismarchand — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:42:00 +0000

Dryden Ski Club opens While conditions may be a bit ‘bony’ yet with the lack of snowfall thus far in the season, many young local skiers and snowboarders made a weekend trip nonetheless to the Dryden Ski Club. The Club fired up its tow-ropes for the first time this season over the weekend offering skiing and snowboarding on three runs. Nordic trails have been open to the public since prior to Christmas. Call the Ski Club snow phone for updates and information about rentals at 937-4265. Wednesday night skiing will not commence until more snow has fallen. Photo by Chris Marchand

Seniors win, juniors struggle in Muskies court sport matchup

chrismarchand — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:33:37 +0000

Dryden Eagles’ Kevin Gardam struggles to get a shot past Fort Frances Muskies’ defenders during an entertaining 55-39 win on their home court, Jan 10.

The Eagles Senior Girls Volleyball were also victorious, taking their matchup with their Muskies rivals in four sets. Junior Eagles basketball and volleyball teams recorded losses for the day.

Photos by Chris Marchand

Eagles senior volleyball player Wilma Oombash keeps the ball in play during a four set victory against Fort Frances, Jan 10

Ice Dogs down Flyers, lose to Iron Range in shootout

chrismarchand — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:28:27 +0000

Ice Dogs’ forward Ryan Lobreau digs in the corner of the Sioux Lookout Flyers’ zone for the puck while being pursued by Flyers’ defenceman Matt Grove. Photo by Chris Marchand

By Dryden Observer Staff

The Dryden Ice Dogs grabbed a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes and withstood a third period comeback bid by the Flyers to pull out the one-goal victory, Saturday night at Dryden Memorial Arena.

Dryden’s Ian Schachte scored twice, with additional goals scored by Thomas Greene and Bryce Maggrah.

Sioux Lookout battled back in the third on markers by Hoffman and Anthony Wolfe to pull within one, but could not supply the equalizer.

Dryden moves into a third place tie in the SIJHL standings with Thunder Bay at 43 points apiece while the fifth place Flyers fell to 15-22-1.

Ironheads grab 4-3 shootout win

Iron Range Ironheads’ Eric Covell had the deciding marker in a 4-3 shootout win over the Dryden Ice Dogs at the Hippodrome in Eveleth, Minn, Jan.12

Dryden jumped out to a 2-1 lead after one period of play on goals by Ryan Lobreau and Daniel Morin, which were sandwiched around a Christopher Andre effort midway through the session.

The Ice Dogs’ Lobreau notched his second of the evening early into the stanza setting the stage for extra time.