Present and former Cornwall Sharks hockey players will be sharpening their skates and taping their sticks as they gear up for the inaugural SLC Alumni Hockey Tournament. The event is expected to attract over 150 hockey players to the two-day event, which takes place at the Benson Centre Friday April 5th and Saturday April 6th.
The event was conceived by Sharks coaching staff Sean Boulerice and Michael Pettinella, who have co-coached for 13 years. It has been supported by SLC Athletics and the SLC Alumni Association.
Invitations will be sent to current and former men's and women's team members by the end of January.
"We have held a golf tournament for the past 7 years which has been very popular, but this is this first time everybody will have a chance to skate together," says Coach Mike Pettinella. "Anybody who has played for the Sharks (or its precursor the Roadrunners) is welcome!"
The tournament will kick off with a meet and greet on Friday, with a full day of hockey on Saturday, followed by a pubnight at the Shark Tank on campus. Each player will receive a souvenir jersey and 'swag bag'. The entire weekend will offer players a chance to socialize and share stories, both at the rink and on campus.
“This is a great opportunity for St. Lawrence College Athletics to enhance the relationship with our alumni student athletes,”says Athletic Director Herb Steacy. “We have held similar small scale events with our rugby and soccer teams, but to see it happening on a large scale at the Cornwall campus is very exciting. Sean and Mike (head coaches) have done a fantastic job with the Sharks hockey program, without their efforts an event like this wouldn’t be possible.”
The tournament will cap a very exciting spring for Cornwall Sharks Hockey. Both the Men's and Women's teams have already qualified for the Provincial College Champtionships. Cornwall will host the inaugural Women's Provincial Championships in March, while the Men's team is looking to add another gold medal to the one they won in 2011.
“I have spoken with many of the alumni from the hockey program about the tournament and there is a lot of buzz out there,” says Sean Boulerice, of the Sharks head coaches. “We keep in constant contact with our former players, and after hearing from them about wanting to come back and be a part of the team, we felt putting together a two day tournament would be the best way to get even more players involved.”
Registration is now open online. To make sure you’re on the guest list and receive the latest updates, update your alumni record at www.slcalumni.com/update or call the Alumni Office at 1-800-228-4664.
-choosecornwall.ca
