Monday, February 25, 2013
South West Florida Hockey
In the past two weeks, several
products from the ranks of Quinte hockey programs have enjoyed sunshine in
South West Florida.
Last weekend, the Evansville Icemen
faced off against the Florida Everblades on Friday and Saturday nights, at the
Germaine Arena. Two players from the Icemen are familiar to hockey fans from
the north: Dylan Clarke and Kevin Baker.
Baker, a Kingston native, played for
the Belleville Bulls. Clarke played all of his minor hockey in the Quinte area,
then headed off to Trenton to play his Junior hockey there. Two others were expected
to hit the ice at the Germaine: Nathan Moon and former Dukes’ goalie Paul
Karpowich. Both had been called up and did not skate here.
Nick Walsh and his aunt, Christine Shannon
Last Tuesday, Nick Walsh was in town
as a member of the Gwinnett Gladiators. Following the game, Nick greeted a host
of friendly faces---family and friends from Tweed, Latta, Read, and
metropolitan Marysville. Teams in the East Coast Hockey League have played more
than fifty games, well into the season. Walsh has a dozen games to his credit,
and is earning his ice team gradually.
Early in the third period, he scored
a nifty goal for the Gladiators, and immediately gained the favour of the
coaching staff. Midway through the third period, he knifed through the Blades
defenders, but was thwarted by their goalie.
Walsh told me after the game that he
enjoyed the extra playing time he was getting, also due to the fact that the
team is a little short-handed. He gave credit to his linemates, Doug Jones and
Casey Pierro-Zabotel for their efforts on the goal he scored. “They just told
me to drive to the net and cause a ruckus.”
Walsh played his minor hockey with
Johnny Foley. When the opportunity to move up to junior arrived, they both headed
to Cobourg, and Walsh played four seasons with the Cougars. He moved on to the
ECAC, and played four years for Dartmouth, once making it to the finals in
Atlantic City.
Dylan Clarke
Dylan Clarke also completed his
education in the U. S. at the State University of New York at the Plattsburgh
campus. Prior to that, he spent three full seasons with the Kingston Voyageurs.
Kevin Baker
Kevin Baker spent a season with the
Trenton Sting, then three full seasons with the Belleville Bulls. He was
drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1999, and played a couple of seasons in the
American Hockey League. He then headed east to Acadia University, before
continuing the hockey wars in the States and in Europe. Check “hockey db.com”
to learn the other dozen teams that Kevin has skated with. He played two
seasons with the Everblades, and enjoyed the return visit last weekend.
Coach Rich Kromm was thrilled to pick
up four points for the team’s efforts on the weekend. On Friday night, there
were 20 attempts to score in the shootout before the IceMen triumphed. He
commented on the play of his players from the Quinte area: “We picked up Dylan
a couple of weeks ago, and he was the “Player of the Week” shortly after
arriving. He said that the team traded for Baker from Orlando because “he is a
proven scorer and a real character guy”.
The Gladiators return to the Germaine
Arena this coming weekend. See you there!
James Hurst
Sportslices.blogspot.com
# posted by James Hurst @ 6:13 PM 
