Lancers working hard on and off the ice
The (29-5-3) Lambeth Lancers
are making news as the most dominant
hockey team in the Southern
Ontario Junior Hockey League;
they are currently sitting in first
place in the league, setting a new
franchise record in points and
heading into playoffs with home
ice advantage.
What isn't grabbing headlines is their work in the Lambeth community.
When these players are not on the ice, they are giving back to the community that has supported them this season, something Fred Bauer, president of the Lancers, likes to see.
Fanshawe student and Lancers forward Mitch Thomas has registered 21 points in 29 games for the team. He stated that the players care about giving back to their community. To show their appreciation for the team sponsorship by Lambeth Foodland grocery store, the players helped out during the Christmas season by bagging groceries for customers and helping them bring the bags to their cars.
Assistant captain Connor Chilvers also attends Fanshawe College, in addition to volunteering at Lambeth Public School. Spending time with the kids is something Chilvers said is very rewarding. "Freddy (Bauer) likes to keep us close to the community ... it really doesn't feel like work."
Despite their work on and off the ice, the Lancers haven't seen much publicity, unlike other sports organizations in London and area. Chilvers said he doesn't believe the publicity matters in the grand scheme of things; "We're just playing for each other, our (home) games are on school nights, so it would be tough to get young kids out to the games."
The Lancers now head into playoffs, with the opening series against the (2-33-2) North Middlesex Stars. Thomas isn't worried about the upcoming match-up, "It's kind of hard to take them seriously, but we have to."
As a leader for Lambeth, Chilvers is telling the locker room to stay focused. "We have to keep the guys motivated, it's tough to play a team that you have had so much success against all year."
The Lancers acquired forward Matt Schurr from the St. Thomas Stars Jr. B team in early January to help contribute to the team's success. Schurr isn't very familiar with North Middlesex, but knows the Lancers will have to play them tough despite the Stars only registering six points throughout the season, "You can't take anyone lightly, and we just can't look ahead of ourselves."
Schurr's role on his new team is to follow the coaches' directions. "(I'm) just looking to help the team: power-play, penalty-kill... basically anything I can do to help." Schurr added, "The coaches may look to me to play more of a leader role, just from my experience in Jr. B, but just play sound hockey."
This dominance in 2012/13 has been a long time coming for Chilvers, now in his fourth year on the team with zero championships to show. In fact, in his first year on the team the Lancers won only seven games by the end of the year, "I have never played on a team this dominant." Chilvers would only add three more words when asked if he was hungry for a championship after continuous years of failure in the playoffs: "Yeah. Oh, yeah."
The Lancers' best-of-seven series against the North Middlesex Stars began January 25.
What isn't grabbing headlines is their work in the Lambeth community.
When these players are not on the ice, they are giving back to the community that has supported them this season, something Fred Bauer, president of the Lancers, likes to see.
Fanshawe student and Lancers forward Mitch Thomas has registered 21 points in 29 games for the team. He stated that the players care about giving back to their community. To show their appreciation for the team sponsorship by Lambeth Foodland grocery store, the players helped out during the Christmas season by bagging groceries for customers and helping them bring the bags to their cars.
Assistant captain Connor Chilvers also attends Fanshawe College, in addition to volunteering at Lambeth Public School. Spending time with the kids is something Chilvers said is very rewarding. "Freddy (Bauer) likes to keep us close to the community ... it really doesn't feel like work."
Despite their work on and off the ice, the Lancers haven't seen much publicity, unlike other sports organizations in London and area. Chilvers said he doesn't believe the publicity matters in the grand scheme of things; "We're just playing for each other, our (home) games are on school nights, so it would be tough to get young kids out to the games."
The Lancers now head into playoffs, with the opening series against the (2-33-2) North Middlesex Stars. Thomas isn't worried about the upcoming match-up, "It's kind of hard to take them seriously, but we have to."
As a leader for Lambeth, Chilvers is telling the locker room to stay focused. "We have to keep the guys motivated, it's tough to play a team that you have had so much success against all year."
The Lancers acquired forward Matt Schurr from the St. Thomas Stars Jr. B team in early January to help contribute to the team's success. Schurr isn't very familiar with North Middlesex, but knows the Lancers will have to play them tough despite the Stars only registering six points throughout the season, "You can't take anyone lightly, and we just can't look ahead of ourselves."
Schurr's role on his new team is to follow the coaches' directions. "(I'm) just looking to help the team: power-play, penalty-kill... basically anything I can do to help." Schurr added, "The coaches may look to me to play more of a leader role, just from my experience in Jr. B, but just play sound hockey."
This dominance in 2012/13 has been a long time coming for Chilvers, now in his fourth year on the team with zero championships to show. In fact, in his first year on the team the Lancers won only seven games by the end of the year, "I have never played on a team this dominant." Chilvers would only add three more words when asked if he was hungry for a championship after continuous years of failure in the playoffs: "Yeah. Oh, yeah."
The Lancers' best-of-seven series against the North Middlesex Stars began January 25.
