A trio of Western Junior C players will represent Canada at the Winter Deaflympic Games in Russia this year. Mitchell Hawks goaltender Graeme Lauersen and Goderich Flyers twins Cody and Jesse McIntyre have been named to the team.
In order to play deaf hockey, players have to have 55 decibels or lower of hearing. They are not allowed to to wear a hearing aid on the ice either. Both deaf and regular hockey use the same rules, with strobe lights installed along the boards that light up to replace the referee's whistle.
The McIntyre brothers from Brucefield have represented at other competitions for hockey players with hearing impairments. They were a part of the silver medal Canadian team at the World Deaf Hockey Championships in Finland.
This season in Goderich the pair combined for 6 goals and 19 points as their team is in the beginning of playoffs against the Hanover Barons.
For Mitchell Hawk Graeme Lauersen it will be the first international event of his career. The native of Embro got involved after backstopping Canada West to the title in the Roy Hysen Cup, a tournament for deaf or hearing impaired players in Canada.
Lauersen joined Mitchell midway through the season with 1 win and 2 losses to go with a .875 save percentage.
The Deaflympics are an International Olympic Comittee sanctioned event with deaf or hearing impaired athletes compete at an elite level and is the longest running multi-sport event after the Olympics. The 2015 edition runs from March 28 to April 5 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.