General (202)
There are no words that can justify the cruel world we live in when someone is taken from us too early. Robert Wilfred Mentis was a wonderful person.
Mr. Mentis was the consummate gentlemen both in and outside the sport of ball hockey. The man was a fierce competitor in the game of ball hockey and it didn't matter if it was at the League, Provincials, Nationals or Worlds. He was a winner. He was one of the most accomplished players ever winning numerous individual honors, all star selections and championships, but what was his greatest accomplishment was the time he gave away from the floor enriching the lives of his teammates and opponents.
What he did inside the walls was magical, but what he did off the floor and in the dressing rooms, foyers, parking lots is what we will always cherish, the stories, knowledge and perspective on the sport, but always relating it to life. Work to always be better and plan to achieve your own greatness.
He was a great fan, supporter and player within the game and ball hockey family. He was a pioneer, one of the original building blocks of the Brampton Midnight Express. He along with Terry Griffith and brother James Mentis were the life blood of the team from its inception first National Championship in 1996. He was a great promoter of the game who had a sincere passion and love for the sport. He was a proponent of expansion of the game throughout the province at all levels. He honestly believed it was indeed’ A Game Anyone Can Play” and he lived it.
When Team Canada came calling in 2001, there he was at camp setting the tone for the entire team and winning gold in Toronto that June.
In the summer of 2013, he returned to the National program as an assistant coach to teach, guide and share his knowledge with the next generation, the consummate professional in assisting wherever he was required and showing the leadership and again the team won gold.
For those who had the honor of playing and coaching against him you considered yourself better for it. He played the game fearlessly, but when it was time to chat, there he was in the parking lot, advising his opponents that they were a good team, but just keep working at it. Always respectful and with that infectious smile. You see he wanted to bring out the best in everyone and he always did, the better they were the better he was. He was our sports greatest left winger on the best team of all time and always made time for everyone.
Mr. Mentis was also a wonderful father and near the end of his Tier 1 career began playing on his son’s team where he enjoyed teaching the next generation of players the game and not just what was done within the boards, but off the floor. The ‘family’ of ball hockey players that make our game what it is.
Today, all we can do is think back to the discussions each of us had with him and we all will miss him, but his legacy will always remain with the people his life touched.
As a player, just close your eyes for a moment and you can see racing down the left side of the floor and cutting to the middle and releasing his shot and scoring a goal and then being joined by his teammates and flashing that smile.
Our prayers are with him, his family as he indeed was a wonderful brother, father, special talent, teammate and friend and we were all better for having had him in our lives.
Forever in our hearts #27
Men’s ‘D’ participation in the OBHA has become one of the most popular and enjoyably competitive venues in recent years due in large part to the number, diversity and range in the ages of the players at that level in recent years. In addition, travelling has always been an attractive incentive for the teams involved and this years event was no exception as 24 teams competed in the 2014 ‘D’ Winter Provincial Championship.
Off the heels of their league and provincial qualifying victory they kept the ball rolling to cap off a great season as the team defeated the Paragoons from Mississauga in overtime 4-3.
The tournament was anything but a walk in the park as the majority of the games were tightly contested right up to and including the championship final. The next stop for the Shwas is the National Ball Hockey Association of Canada Tier III Nationals in Moncton the weekend of July 24-27.
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The Masters division of play, home to many former great players who once played at the elite level in the OBHA, has produced some of the most competitive and exciting ball hockey in recent years. The Falco Steelers have a collection of many of those players and are a perennial powerhouse in the sport of ball hockey in Ontario.
They have a strangle hold on the Masters Provincial Championship Trophy both in the winter and summer and have set the standard for the divison.
In the most recent victory, the Steelers outlasted D-12 9-5 to win the gold medal and have now qualified for the National Ball Hockey Association of Canada Tier III event in Moncton the weekend of July 24-27.
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The preliminary games determined that the championship would go through the Norstar as they had emerged as the front runners going undefeated in the round robin portion.
In semi final action, the Chargers defeated Bad Girls 2-0 which set up the final. The team played stellar defense only allowing two goals in the round robin portion en route to a 3-0 victory and champions who have now qualified for the National Ball Hockey Association of Canada Tier II event in Montreal the weekend of July 24-27.
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It was no doubt nothing less than a resounding experience for their opposition as the Toronto Falcons stepped onto the floor in their quest for the Men’s B Winter premier ‘orange ball’prize in Ontario. The boys from the Big Smoke created more than slight electrical impulse as they were a perfect 5-0-0 while scoring 21 goals and allowing only 9 as they won the 2014 Men’s B Winter Provincial Championship in London, Ontario.
In semi-final action, it was the Falcons 2 and Kounty Kings 1, while the Generals defeated the Flames by a score of 4-3. In the tournament final, it was the Falcons which posted an early 2-0 lead en route to a 6-3 victory over the Generals for the title.
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The OBHA has a lot to celebrate as we head into the 40th anniversary
Written by AdministratorStreet Hockey was appropriately described by Toronto Star writer Mitch Potter as, "the recessive gene that makes us Canadian.....the precise point on the genetic double-helix spiral that equates road hockey with spontaneous, innocent fun.....a truly cultural phenomenon that harkens to Canadians on the street and their memories of childhood."
Canada Cup of Ball Hockey – Men’s & Women’s Nationals
Written by Administrator
The 2014 National Ball Hockey Association of Canada Men’s and Women’s Canada Cup of Ball Hockey National Championships will be played in Calgary, Alberta the week of August 13-17, 2014.
Canada Cup of Ball Hockey – Men’s Tier II & Tier III
Written by AdministratorThe 2014 National Ball Hockey Association of Canada Men’s Tier II and Tier III Canada Cup of Ball Hockey National Championships will be played in Moncton, New Brunswick the weekend of July 24-27, 2014.
The Junior Team Canada’s goal is to have a program that not only produces elite ball hockey players but also creates a culture that clearly defines what it means to play for a Team Canada.
The Big Smoke provided the backdrop for this premier event and most prognosticators predicted the competition would be highly contested with very little separating the teams vying for the tournament title.