Veteran newsman memorialized in hockey tournament

April 17, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
Caledon house league hockey’s staple tournament was back for its third installment this weekend, but under a new name.
Close to 40 teams from across Southern Ontario converged on Caledon East Arena and Teen Ranch for the Bill Whitbread Memorial Tournament, with the Whitbreads joining Mayor Allan Thompson for the ceremonial puck drop Thursday.
Along with bringing thousands of dollars into the local community and providing more than 100 games over an action-packed weekend, the tournament convenors had a number of other goodies up their sleeves as well. A silent auction was held through Saturday, including a signed stick by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The annual tournament was renamed from the Master’s Tournament to the Whitbread Memorial in October, with Caledon Minor Hockey Association announcing they wished to “do their part to keep Bill’s legacy vital.”
Whitbread got his start with the Caledon Enterprise while he was in high school, earning the title of Sports Editor in 1963.
He passed away at the Enterprise offices a year ago (Monday was the anniversary).
In terms of results, the Caledon Blackhawks rocketed to the novice finals via 9-0 and 5-1 scores Saturday. A hard-fought game Sunday turned into a goalie battle, with the Caledon team on the wrong end of a 2-1 score.
Caledon Ken’s Lawnmower’s only round-robin loss in the bantam division was to the Owen Sound representatives, who they met again Sunday in the final. Unfortunately, Owen Sound had their number again, beating Caledon 7-2.
Caledon Sky Blue had but six pucks find the back of their net in the tournament, on their way to an atom consolation championship. In the novice division, it was an all-Caledon consolation matchup, with the Caledon Bluehawks taking the title over the Caledon Devils.
Registration for the 2015-16 season has already begun, with the full schedule for rep tryouts available at www.caledonminorhockey.ca

Mayor Allan Thompson was on hand as the Whitbread family was presented with a framed hockey jersey Saturday at the Whitbread Memorial Hockey Tournament in Caledon. The tournament was almost one year to the day of Bill Whitbread’s passing.