On a day dedicated to breaking down
the stigma surrounding Mental Health the Sarnia Pacers faced off in 7 games
against the Wallaceburg Griffins. The arena was covered in green posters, green
ribbons and green wrist bands to show support and raise awareness for Mental
Health.
A big thank you goes out to the many volunteers that made this great initiative possible. Every player and spectator was able to move around the arena and read inspiring stories written by Pacers young and old meant to raise awareness about Mental Health and breaking down the stigma’s surrounding it.
Bantam Pacers Nolan Cadieux, Brett Vince and Victor Tang proudly show off their new helmet stickers supporting the "Stick it to Stigma" Mental Health Awareness Initiative.
It is always a positive when the youngest players take the floor and game 1 saw the Paperweight Pacers lose a hard fought battle to Wallaceburg 9-4. Win or lose everyone loves watching the Paperweights!
The next two games were won by the Pacers. With Tyke 1 and Novice 1 getting valuable wins early in their seasons to round out the morning games at Point Edward Arena.
Afternoon games began with the Sarnia Bantam Pacers extending their unbeaten streak to 4 games with a 7-4 win over the Griffins. Another strong game in net from Aiden Foster and a balanced scoring attack that saw 7 different goal scorers for the Pacers. Netting their first goals of the season were Cody Martin and Cole Riddell while Graham Armstrong, Landen Hookey, Nolan Cadieux, Brett Vince and Victor Tang rounded out the scoring.
Next up was a come from behind win for the Peewee 1 Pacers over the Griffins. The Pacers used tenacious defense and timely scoring to erase an early 2 goal deficit.
Following that game, the Sarnia Pacers Tyke 2’s took to the floor and won 7-4 over Wallaceburg in their first of 3 weekend games before heading on the road to post 2 more wins on Sunday in Wingham. Game 1 on Sunday was a win against the North Perth Outlaws 18-6 and the 2nd game was against the Stayner Hitmen. Joey Quinn was stellar in net getting his first win as a goalie against the Hitmen as the Pacers would eventually outlast Stayner 8-6 in a close game.
The last game of the Stick it to Stigma Mental Health Awareness Day was a big win for the Sarnia Pacers Midgets who posted a 12-4 win in their 3rd matchup of the season against Wallaceburg. Pacing the Midget scorers Owen Pascoa netted 3 goals and 1 assist while Liam Phair played excellent in net closing the door in the 3rd period.
A Sunday “Fun” day in Wingham was the first action of the season for the Sarnia Pacers Novice 2 team. In game 1 against the North Perth Outlaws the Pacers won 4-3 on 2 goals scored by Carter Cousins, while Brogan Smith and Jack Stephenson added singles. Brody Young played great in net. Game 2 was a 7-0 loss at the hands of the Stayner Hitmen. The Novice 2’s are back in action next week for their home opener against the London Blue Devils.