Looking for what's coming up this month within BC Hockey? Look no further as Off the Bench is your monthly clip of upcoming events!

Hockey in BC and the Yukon would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of thousands of volunteers.

This month we are highlighting Carol Worsfold (Langley, BC) for her commitment to the BC Hockey Female Program of Excellence (POE).

Carol started volunteering for the Female POE in the spring of 2011 at the U16 Region Camp in 100 Mile House.  Her daughter, Sarah, was an assistant coach at the camp and needed a team manager, so Carol jumped at the chance.  Since then, Carol has been a fixture at many events over the past seven (7) years. She was presented with the BC Hockey Development Award - Female POE in 2015.

We chatted with Carol on some of her favourite memories and pastimes.

BC Hockey: What are your favourite events?

CW: I like the U16 and U18 camps in Salmon Arm and Lake Cowichan. I enjoy interacting with the athletes and staff, as well as watching great hockey. I have learned lots about the game through watching the skills sessions, and listening to staff during the sessions. I have also enjoyed watching the skill level of athletes increase over the years, and seeing player progress through the program.

BC Hockey: What is your most memorable moment to date?

I have two (2) memorable moments I can think of.

First, I was managing the Fraser Valley Zone Team at the BC Winter Games in 2012 in Vernon. Roy Jukich was head coach and my daughter was assistant coach. We won the gold medal and I enjoyed the excitement being on the bench with the girls. I always enjoy doing things like this with my daughter, so it was special.

Secondly, We were at the U18 BC Cup and the final game went to overtime. Ashley Jukich scored the winning goal with a shot from the point. This was her first camp after her dad, Roy, passed away, and hockey was something they did together. You could sense the emotion of scoring that goal, so it was a great end to another fantastic game and tournament. BC Hockey is a big family, and I always sense that when you arrive at camp and players, coaches and staff are meeting together.

Thank you Carol for all you do for hockey!

BC Hockey is celebrating 100 Years of hockey in BC this year with many events taking place around the province, including the World Junior Championship and culminating with the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

As part of the celebration, we have assembled a series of online flipbooks of stories and moments that have shaped hockey in BC and the Yukon. There are definitely some interesting and funny stories that have been documented over the years! You can read them on the BC Hockey 100 Year Anniversary webpage.

Each month, we will share a fun fact or story. With the Major Midget League (MML) kicking off on September 22, 2018, it seems fitting to share the story of the Cromie Memorial Cup, the trophy for the MML champion.

In the 1937 - 1938 season, Midget playoffs were held for the first time. Don Cromie, vice president of the Vancouver Sun, donated the Cromie Cup in honour of his late father, Robert J. Cromie. The trophy is presented annually to the Midget champions, and later became known as the Cromie Memorial Cup.

The Cromie family ran the Vancouver Sun for much of the 1900's. starting in 1917 when Robert rescued the paper from bankruptcy, running the paper until his death in 1936. His sons Don, Peter and Samuel took over the family business.

Merritt, the 1938 Midget AAA provincial champion was the first team to have their name engraved on the cup.

Today, the Cromie Memorial Cup is awarded to the winner of the MML and has been presented 75 times, including 12 MML champions.

Fun fact: there is one (1) family that has three (3) generations of Cromie Memorial Cup names engraved on the trophy; Ron Hemmerling won in 1949, his son John captured the title in 1982 and Ron Wilkie (grandson of Ron and nephew to John) brought it home in 2015. Cool!

BC's industrial, commercial and institutional builders are stepping up to recognize the hardest working hockey players from BC's Major Midget League (MML) and Female Midget AAA League (FMAAA) teams through a new program that will honour a player from each team every month of the season. The BC Construction Association (BCCA) and BC Hockey have teamed up to launch the Hard Hats and Hockey Sticks program.

Each month, one (1) players from each of the 16 teams in the BC Hockey's MML and FMAAA leagues will be selected by team management to be honoured as the BCCA Player of the Month. These players will be celebrated for demonstrating an outstanding work ethic and commitment to safety.

"Athletes at this level epitomize the ideal candidates for a career in our industry," said Chris Atchinson, BCCA President. "As a coach, I know firsthand these young people are smart, disciplined, hard-working, safety conscious, team oriented and fit. We're proud to recognize their achievements and to introduce them to the enormous potential of our industry."

Construction is booming in our province, yet the industry predicts a shortage of more than 14,000 skilled tradespeople over he next eight (8) years. Only one (1) in 70 BC high school graduates currently enter construction trades programs within one (1) year of graduation. BC needs that to be one (1) in 10 in order to fill the gap created by 57,000 retirements over the next decade.

"Many of our alumni have gone on to excel in the construction industry," notes BC Hockey CEO, Barry Petrachenko. "The Hard Hats and Hockey Sticks program is a great way for our teams to connect with career opportunities in the community, and for BC Hockey to reinforce the importance of hard work and safety."

Hard Hats and Hockey Sticks will launch this month as the MML and FMAAA seasons get started.

On Saturday, September 8, 2018, the Richmond Ravens hosted a We Are Coaches clinic at the Richmond Ice Centre. In total, 17 Ravens and three (3) Delta Hockey Academy Midget and Juvenile aged players took part.

The clinic had two (2) components; in classroom and on the ice. During the on-ice session, Novice Raven players were invited to come on the ice so these girls would get the real life experience. The Novice players said "it was the best practice ever!"

With the support of the Board, the Association planned the event with the goal of encouraging more females to get involved in coaching, with the ultimate goal of having the older girls coach the younger ones, giving them a role model to look up to.

A few years ago, the Richmond Ravens started a buddy program where older teams are partnered with younger teams for practices together. Through this program, they are able to identify certain girls who enjoyed working with  the younger girls and help them continue to help out. Most of the girls had also helped with Try Hockey events or had been on-ice helpers at Novice and Tyke practices in the past. 

Based on the wonderful experiences shared on both sides, the Ravens wanted to find a way to help the older ones stay involved and follow a passion they love. That's where the We Are Coaches workshop came from.

The Richmond Ravens are looking forward to helping and supporting these girls to become the best coaches they can be!

c/o Revelstoke Review

Returning defenceman Mich Andres of Minnesota brought some family with him to the Vernon Vipers training camp. Their names are Wyatt, Gavin and Riley, 17-year-old triplets, and 16-year-old Westin. Meet the five (5) Andres brothers, the largest group of brothers to ever attend a BC Hockey League (BCHL) camp in Vernon.

"It's great," said Viper head coach/GM Mark Ferner, of the brother act. "Obviously, we have different age groups with them. A couple of them came to spring camp and did quite well and the other brothers came out. We might have a line out there somewhere.

With three (3) of the brothers as defencemen, it's tough for a coach to ice all five (5) brothers at once but Brainerd Warriors head coach Dave Aus pulled it off at least once as the Warriors captured their high school conference title in the 2016-17 season. 

"When I coached in (Western Hockey League) Kamloops, Spokane had four (4) or five (5) (Lynch) brothers," added Ferner. "There was a cool picture in the paper."

The four (4) Lynch brothers, Doug, Scott, Jeff an Jason were from Coquitlam and played together in January 2003 when the Chiefs battled the visiting Blazers. They earned the moniker The Lynch Mob. According to the American Hockey League website, the Chiefs sat in their locker room at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena and listened as head coach Al Conroy read the starting lineup. "Tim Krymusa od left wing, Barry Brust in goal, and four (4) Lynches," he said, sparking a roar from the team.

Mitch Andres, who turns 20 in a week, was named Most Improved Player last year with the Vipers, racking up 11 points and blocking a zillion shots and making wide transition passes. He's having a blast with his siblings in town.

"My brothers watched a lot of games online last year so it's pretty cool they're here with me," said Mitch, who was senior captain with Brainerd. "We all get along. We didn't fight growing up but there was lots of chirping back and forth. The triplets have always played on the same team and in my senior year, Westin moved up as a 15-year-old (freshman) so we were all together."

Their parents, Lee and Michelle Andres, not only needed a pie chart to organize meals and rides, but also had to budget big time for sticks. They did manage one (1) family road trip to Disneyland, where it was easy to keep track since all five (5) boys rode the same rides at the same time.

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c/o Special Olympics 50 Movement Makers

Retired BC sports reporter Bernie Pascall has an impressive collection of career highlights. He has covered six (6) Olympic Games - including the 1980 Winter Olympics medal-round hockey game, also known as "Miracle on Ice," when the US defeated Russia in Lake Placid. He covered the first-ever Canada Cup (now the World Cup of Hockey) in 1976, where he witnessed an impressive winning goal by Darryl Sittler. He also covered the first-ever Special Olympics on Chicago's Soldier Field in 1968.

"Attending those game in 1968 would be right up there," Pascall, now 77, said from his home on Vancouver Island. "It was definitely a career highlight."

Pascall has remained involved since that first introduction to Special Olympics 50 years ago; he continued reporting on the games throughout his career, served on a Special Olympics communications committee and MC'd various events.

"Normally as a reporter you go , do the story and don't really get involved with what's happening," he said. "But this had very special meaning - we were (on Soldier Field) the whole day, seeing it all firsthand and being a part of it. It's just something that stayed with me. The (athletes) were really passionate .... and I think that rubbed off."

In 1986, Pascall was a sports reporter at CFTO in Toronto. Harry "Red" Foster, a well-repsected broadcaster and advertising executive who would later incorporate Special Olympics in Canada, invited the CFTO team to Chicago to cover the first Special Olympic Games. Pascall and some colleagues flew on a small jet to Chicago with Foster, Harold Ballard, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and George Armstrong, the NHL's team captain at the time. Pascall can still vividly recall Canada's floor hockey team marching onto the field.

"When you look back on Soldier Field - the great history of that stadium - and to see the young floor hockey players, about a dozen of them from Toronto, marching in - it was eye-popping to see," he said. "It meant a lot to them and I think that just carried over to everyone else there. You got caught up in the emotion and excitement."

Pascall developed an 'insatiable passion' or Special Olympics, which is why he stayed involved when he moved to Vancouver 10 years later. According to Special Olympics BC President and CEO, Dan Howe, Pascall's booming radio voice helped the movement flourish on the west coast.

"For somebody in sports like Bernie, who covered some of the biggest events in the world, to lend his voice and say we should be supportive of Special Olympics, that's great credibility for us," he said. "When you get those people who will stand up and lead the way, it certainly makes it easier. That's one of the great things Bernie did. And today, when ever we ask him to help, he will."

As Pascall proudly proudly reflects on the movement's 50-year growth, now supported by major sponsors and athletes, he encourages reports and media outlets to provide more coverage on the organization and its events.

"If you attend just one (1) Special Olympics event, you'll be back for more," said Pascall. "Once you see the dedication and hard work of these Special Olympic athletes, its just inspiring and you'd want to get out there and cover it more often. I'm glad we did it in 1968."

c/o Williams Lake Tribune

Building on the success of its three (3) past free Esso Girls Fun Days, the Williams Lake Minor Hockey Association (MHA) has once again partnered with Hockey Canada for a six (6)-session Esso Fun Day Camp. And after two (2) completed sessions already, Jennifer Loewen said the camps - aimed at introducing girls to the sport of hockey - have been a resounding success.

"We are full with the exception of anyone wanting to try goalie," she added. "{Normally} the Esso Fun Day is one (1)-day event where girls get to try the sport in an all-female environment without registering with a Minor Hockey Association (MHA). Given the success of the three (3) one (1)-day sessions in the past three (3) years, an application was made to host a six (6) session Esso Fun Day Camp with funding by Esso and Hockey Canada."

Loewen said, typically the camp is hosted over six (6) weeks, however, Williams Lake MHA has condensed the camp with Hockey Canada's approval to be completed prior to the 2018-2019 season. "This gives participants a real taste of what normal hockey practices will look like and gives them time to decide if this sport is something they would like to continue with," she said.

"This is ideal for the participant. It saves a lot of the cost if they decide to not carry on, and it is ideal for the league because having players drop out part way through a season, or not show up, can really damage a team and ruin a lot of work put in by volunteers.

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