Huntsville, Ontario -- The Rink Rake Grey Beards of Whitby, Ontario, and the Concordia Rinkles of Montreal, Quebec, won their respective championship games in convincing fashion at the first-ever Source For Sports Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships.

The Championships featured 130 teams from Canada, the U.S. and several other countries in an action packed, fun-filled weekend that took Canada’s national game back to its roots. 650 players participated.

Bryan Trottier’s team put on a thrilling show advancing to the final 16 before being knocked out in the first round, while teams led by Steve Larmer and Steve Bauer played impressive games but did not advanced.

In the men’s Championship game, the Rink Rake Grey Beards displayed an exceptional game of speed, agility and passing, doubling the output of the Barrie Theta TTS Bruins by a score of 18 to 9.

The Grey Beards’ squad included three regulars from the Senior A Whitby Dunlops, Joe Van Volson, 30, Mike Van Volson, 28, and Paul Brookes, 29. The other Grey Beards were Justin Cardwell, 32, a former centre with the Canadian National Team, and Neil Cain, 44, the team’s self-described anchor.

The 2nd place Bruins featured players from Oro-Medonte, Walkerton, North Bay and Churchill (all in Ontario). Their performance Sunday at the first-ever national championship for pond hockey builds on a record of accomplishments including a quarter-final finish in the 2005 World Pond Hockey Championships in Plaster Rock.

Top 16 Men’s Teams:
(all were undefeated in opening rounds):

Nutro Ultras - Abbotsford, BC and Burlington, ON
Georgetown Goodtimers 2nd String - Georgetown, ON
Barrie Theta TTS Bruins - Barrie, ON
Pucknuts - Thamesford, ON
Rink Rake Grey Beards - Whitby, ON
The Real Georgetown Goodtimers - Georgetown, ON
Spira Fire Protection Relaxos - Burlington, ON
Team Vandal - Brampton, ON
Governors Four - Huntsville, ON
Air Liquide Marlies - Burlington, ON
Nine-O - St.Catharines, ON
The Green Pylons - Toronto, ON
Colorado College Alumni - Canada wide, and Botswana, Africa
The Steamrollers - Hamilton, ON
The Jokers - Aurora, ON and Plymouth, Michigan
Yamaha Grizzlies - Toronto, ON and Sharon, ON

In the women’s Championship game, the Concordia Rinkles demonstrated an equally exceptional style of pond hockey skills, winning 21 to 5 against the Canadore College Panthers.

The Concordia Rinkles’ Player/Coach, 29-year-old Kathleen O’Reilly, is a high school gym teacher from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. She described her team’s style of play as two-on-two, with plenty of changes on the fly to keep the opposition guessing. Like all the teams that made the journey to Ontario’s North at Deerhurst Resort the Concordia Rinkles main goal was a fun weekend away. Hoisting the Championship Cup was a bonus. O’Reilly’s team mates are Caroline Hill, 19, from Dorval, Jody Foster, 43, from Lachine, Andrea Lynch, 35, from Lachine and Michelle Fauteux, 27, of Pointe Claire.

The women’s runner-ups, the Canadore College Panthers, hail from North Bay and Ottawa, Ontario.

Concordia Rinkles - Montreal, QUE
Team MAC - Hamilton, ON
Canadore College Panthers - North Bay, ON
Alspec Archives - Honeywood, ON
Brock Women’s Hockey - The Rock in Brock - St. Catharines, ON
Ice Angels - Hamilton, ON
Muskoka Gliders - Gravenhurst, ON
Brock Women’s Hockey - We’re Kind of a Big Deal - St. Catharines, ON

Executive Director, Neil Lumsden, said, "Mother nature tried her best to throw us off with record-high temperatures on Saturday, followed by freezing temperatures and thick flurries Sunday, but the volunteers, organizers and players prevailed to put on a fantastic show."

Paul La Vigne, Director of Marketing, Source For Sports, the event’s title sponsor, described his company’s participation as the largest sponsorship initiative ever undertaken for the company. "I’m thrilled that this has so quickly been embraced as one of the premier pond hockey events in Canada, as well as raising $16,000 for Shoot For A Cure," says La Vigne. Shoot for a Cure is a hockey focused organization which raises money and awareness with the goal to cure and prevent spinal cord injuries.

Scott Willoughby, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and owner of Tommy White Source for Sports in St. Thomas, Ontario, also competed with a record of 2 and 2. "Our more than 150 Source For Sports stores are owned and operated by members of the local community. As a hockey-focused retailer our stores are active in hockey at all levels. It’s a commitment that extends to all community sports. You can’t get more grass roots than pond hockey, which is why we have taken such a major position with the sport as title sponsor of this championship," says Willoughby.

The Source for Sports Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships was challenged on 24 rinks on six acres of natural ice through a wide range of weather conditions over the weekend. Hundreds of volunteers from Huntsville and other Ontario towns committed countless hours to make the event a success.