The GOJHL held its Midwest Conference awards banquet in Kitchener Monday night, and the Listowel Cyclones were the recipients of a number of prestigious awards.
The Cyclones were presented with their first ever Herbert G. Parker Memorial trophy for finishing first in the conference. Their players also had banner nights at the podium as well.
First, rookie sensation Brock Baier took home the R. J. Noble Memorial trophy for Rookie of the Year honours for his incredible exploits in the Cyclones crease this season. Baier also shared the Twin City Trophies award with goaltending partner Justin Hergott for best team goaltending. Those two have combined to form the best 1-2 punch in the conference between the pipes.
"I'm feeling good, we had an amazing season in Listowel, we set a franchise record and finished first. As a team, I thought we battled every night, it made my job easier, and playing here is a great opportunity," says Baier, who was also named goalie of the second All Star Team. "As far as playing with Justin, we support each other every night, we sit together in the room and crack jokes, he's a tremendous goalie and we support each other 100%. Playing for Coach Brooks and the staff here, they're elite, and the fans in Listowel are awesome. We aren't done yet, and we want to send off the memorial with a deep championship run."
Continuing the podium call-ups was forward Caleb Warren, who was named a joint winner of the Joe Veroni Memorial trophy for Best Defensive Forward with Kitchener's Austin Gaboury.
"This is humbling for sure, I'm very happy, but this is a product of what Coach Brooks is teaching us in practice," says Warren. "It's also due to my teammates, because I may have gotten the award, but it comes down to being the best defensive team in the league, not just me. Being a first place team for the first time, too, I mean we owe it to the town, and being a local is huge for me. It only starts here though, now it's all about winning a Cherrey Cup, really."
Holdyn Lansink also made his way to the podium to accept an award for being named one of the forwards on this year's first All Star Team.
"The team success we had this year was so huge, and to know that we did this together, that's what makes it so special," he says. "I think every guy cares about each other in our room, and the town has been behind us which has been awesome. We had a plan from day 1 and we stuck to it and so far it's worked out."
Listowel now gears up for a 1st round match-up with Brantford, and Lansink says the team is looking to improve on last year's disappointing exit.
"I think we want to take things one game at a time, we want to get the first win, like we couldn't last year," says Lansink. "It's fresh in our minds of course, but we're a bit more experienced this year, we know teams are going to come after us every night, and I think we're prepared for that."
For a full awards recap, see the list below:
February Player's of the Month: Goalie-Brock Baier, Listowel, Defense-Keaton Willis, Listowel, Forward-Ethan Skinner, Elmira
Frank Santarossa Scholarship Award: Zac Coulter and Rob Kohli, Elmira, Matt Woods, Brantford
Herbert G. Parker Memorial Tropy, 1st Place: Listowel Cyclones
R.J. Noble Memorial Trophy, Rookie of the Year: Brock Baier, goalie, Listowel
Cory Stoyko Memorial Trophy, Best Defenseman: Jordan Oshowy, Cambridge
Standard Life Insurance Trophy, Sportsmanship and Ability: Ethan Skinner, Elmira
Twin City Trophies Award, Best Team Goaltending: Brock Baier and Justin Hergott, Listowel
Joe Veroni Memorial Trophy, Best Defensive Forward: Caleb Warren, Listowel, and Austin Gaboury, Kitchener
Leroy Jamieson Memorial Trophy, Outstanding Contributions to One Team: Adam Kawalec, Kitchener
Unique Embroidery Trophy, Midwest Scoring Champ: Ethan Skinner, Elmira
CKCO TV Trophy, League MVP: Jon Reinhart, Elmira
Kearnsey Memorial Trophy, Coach of the Year: Dan Fitzgerald, Cambridge
First All Star Team: Goalie-John Reinhart, Elmira, Defense-Jordan Oshowy, Cambridge, and Logan Schimdt, Kitchener, Forwards-Ethan Skinner, Elmira, Connor Cole, Kitchener, Holdyn Lansink, Listowel
Second All Star Team: Goalie-Brock Baier, Listowel, Defense-Josh Slegers, Elmira, and Keaton Willis, Listowel, Forwards-Adam Kawalec, Kitchener, Ryan Shaw, Cambridge, Mitch Hoelscher, Elmira
Cyclones goalie Brock Baier, right, accepts the R.J. Noble trophy as Rookie of the Year in the GOJHL Midwest. (Photo by Ryan Drury, February 27th, 2017)
Cyclones goalies Brock Baier, left, and Justin Hergott, far right, accept the Twin Cities Trophies award for Best Team Goaltending in the GOJHL Midwest. (Photo by Ryan Drury, February 27th, 2017)
Cyclones defensman Caleb Warren, far right, alongside Kitchener's Austin Gaboury, left, accepting the Joe Veroni Memorial trophy for Best Defensive Forward in the GOJHL Midwest. (Photo by Ryan Drury, February 27th, 2017)