Paris Panthers Win Boys Hockey Championship!

By Casandra Turnbull

The Paris Panthers Boys' hockey team was unbeatable on the ice this year, rounding out a nearly perfect season as they beat Brantford Collegiate Institute 5-0 in the A A B H N championship game.

PDHS went 9-0-3 in regular season action so they were favoured going into the March 2nd championship game, held at the Brant Sports Complex. Owen Lalonde (2), Trevor Kitchen and Jacob Adams, shorthanded, all scored Paris' goals, while Carson Burr recorded the shutout in net The win comes after a season full of immense growth, said PDHS teacher and coach, Josh Gowing, who started the season on the bench and after a brief hiatus, joined the team for the end of the season

"What I witnessed was a growth in hockey IQ The boys had all the talent at the beginning of the season, that was apparent. Just from watching the first few practices you could tell they were going to be a force to be reckoned with (talentwise)," explained Gowing. "What developed over the course of the season was their ability to not only play as a cohesive unit, but identify the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents and manage their own play accordingly."

Gowing credits this cultivation to parent coaches Gary Gardner and Shane Seibert, as well as student coach Ryan O'Keefe. "They were able to keep this group focused on the main goal of not just winning our division, but having a successful run in C.W.O.S.S.A and potentially O.F.S.S.A.

Gowing also acknowledged the hockey culture in Paris was moulded by newly retired teacher coach Mary Thomas, who was with the team for many years, Jackie Guz, who also coached for many years, and Peter Crosby, who developed the players in his school hockey program and helped out with the team throughout the season

The team will now advance to AA C.W.O.S.S.A next week.