April 6,
2025
Your Millbrook Stars played their hearts out this past weekend in
Kingston.
On one level, it was a tough finish to the season. Knowing that beatable
teams like Orillia and Bancroft squared off in the finals (Orillia won, by the
way), makes one ponder the “what ifs” of the weekend. Even with this writer’s
admitted biases, I’m quite certain that many parents here would agree that on
our best days, no team in the tournament could have stopped us.
But this is the beautiful and bitter sport of hockey, where on some days
everything “clicks”, and on some days you’re a little out of sync. Some days
you hit posts, and some days those post shots ricochet into the back of the
net.
It should also be noted that this weekend came on the heels of a very
difficult and stressful week for Millbrook families – many without power, not
to mention three exhibition games cancelled due to the storm. These aren’t meant to be excuses – but they
were challenges.
It wasn’t our weekend, but these boys are champions.
As I reflect on the season, I choose to focus on the positives… and the
positives are indeed spectacular:
1. Our boys are Victoria-Durham league
champions. No one can take that away from them. Their championship banner will
remain in the rafters of the Cavan-Monaghan Community Centre for years to come.
Perhaps they’ll point up to it and show their own kids the banner one day. It’ll still be there. That’s an amazing
thought to me.
2. As noted previously – think about
how far they’ve come from earlier in the season when the wins weren’t there. It
wasn’t always easy, but they worked so hard to achieve their goals this year.
They’ve developed so well over the course of the season. In the end, they were the only team in
Millbrook to make it to the OMHA “Red Hats” Tournament. That’s pretty special.
3. The friendships. This is the part
that, as a parent, I value the most. I’ve had the privilege of being around the
team a lot this year. The dressing room
always seemed like a happy place. A safe place. There was a certain pride
evident, knowing that they were a part of something – together. There was always laughter and excitement in
the air. Sure – there could be bickering at times – but I should point out that
even brothers bicker (and get over it). In the end, they had each other’s
backs, on and off the ice. Speaking for
my own son – I know he cares about his teammates deeply and is very proud to
call them friends.
And so I sign off, thrilled with what the boys have achieved this
year. I hope that, after the acuteness
of the weekend wears off, they can reflect on the season and feel the same way.
They should be proud of themselves.
Go Stars Go.
M. Carney