Ice Dawgs score in fight against cancer

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This article was published 14/12/2009 (6149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Arborg Ice Dawgs of the Keystone Junior Hockey League have been hit hard by cancer.

On Saturday, the Dawgs, their family members, sponsors and fans took a swing of their own at the Big C, striking a blow for cancer research and making a positive statement in the fight against the killer.

Their game against Peguis Juniors on Saturday was a fundraiser towards the struggle to find a cure. The fact that Peguis won the game 7-1 was beside the point. The Ice Dawgs raised more than $3,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation, to be used for cancer research.

"It was a pretty good night," said team president and general manager Jerry Maryniuk. "It was a cold night, but the people had warm hearts."

Mickenzie Jones scored the lone Arborg goal, with assists going to Jeff English and Brady Nichol.

"It was awesome," said Jones. "We put on some pink laces, and pink tape. It was an all-round great night, too bad we lost though. We usually have pretty good games with Peguis. They aren’t that far away from us, so we get good crowds whenever we play."

Maryniuk said that it was the players who initiated the idea of a fund-raising game, on behalf of several members of the team who have been stricken or affected by cancer.

"Everyone is affected, including the Ice Dawgs," he said, "while others are cancer survivors. Second-year player Shawn West is a five-year survivor of leukemia. Our timekeeper, Grant Thorsteinson, is a one-year cancer survivor and one of our executives, Boyd Benson, recently lost his father Roger to cancer."

Closer to home, Maryniuk’s son, Steven, who is 27 and still plays hockey, is living with a brain tumour, and his wife Sharon, is a 22-year survivor of cervical cancer."

In addition to the game itself, the club held fundraisers such as a raffle, 50-50 draw and a silent auction featuring donated sports paraphernalia and other merchandise, from various donors, including the Manitoba Moose and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

"Our manager, Jerry (Maryniuk), is an artist and he donated a lot of his art," said Werbicki.

The loss dropped the Ice Dawgs into fifth place in the eight-team standings as Peguis moved a notch above them to fourth.

Originally from Russell, Jones’s goal increased his total this year to 14 goals and 10 assists.

"Jones is a great little player," said coach Jim Werbicki. "He is one of our better players, no doubt about it."

Dwight Sutherland had a pair of goals for Peguis. Singles went to Derrick Sinclair, Clifton Campbell, Clinton Stevenson, Grant Sutherland and Walter Mercredie.

"We had a lot of good players out due to sickness and suspensions," said Werbicki.

"One of our guys was gone moose hunting, which is a family thing with him," added Maryniuk. "But then, this is not the NHL, so you are allowed to miss for different reasons."

Werbicki, who lives in Winnipeg, estimated that there was probably 500 people in the Arborg Arena, which can seat 700. "The Arborg organization has a great bunch of people running the team," said the coach. "I’m fortunate to coach there."

Maryniuk said that the next big showcase weekend for the KJHL is Jan. 2-3 in St. Jean Baptiste.

"All eight teams will get to play two (league) games each," he said, "which is similar to what the Manitoba Junior A Hockey League does.

"A lot of people forget that Junior B hockey fills a void. (Detroit’s) Darren Helm played for the Selkirk Fishermen, and now he’s wearing a Stanley Cup ring. Wayne Gretzky played Junior B hockey and Ryan Dreger (Dauphin Kings), who is leading the MJHL in scoring (35 goals, and 32 assists) played Junior B for Arborg for a while."

Arborg next plays St. Malo Wednesday at the MTS Centre at 7:30 p.m.

allan.besson@freepress.mb.ca