Thunder Bay – Thunder Bay – Rainy River MP John Rafferty and Thunder Bay – Superior North MP Bruce Hyer heartily congratulated the Thunder Bay Sportop Queens Midget Girls Hockey team on their gold medal win at the ESSO Cup on Saturday in Regina, Saskatchewan. With their 4-3 win over the Notre Dame Hounds, the Queens secured the first National Female Midget Hockey Championship in the clubs history.
“I want to send my congratulations to all the players, the coaches and the volunteers that have made this year and win possible” said Rafferty. “Your hard work and dedication has made our community proud”.
“I could not be more proud of the dedication and excellence of Thunder Bay’s amateur athletes.” said Hyer. “Along with the Thunder Bay Kings, the Midget AA Sportop Queens have demonstrated the champion spirit that exemplifies our Northern potential. It will be very exciting to see how far our winning athletes go in their careers.”
Two Queens players were also honoured by winning awards at this edition of the ESSO Cup. Forward Kaitlyn Tougas was named Most Valuable Player while forward Kaitlyn Quarrell was named Most Sportsmanlike Player. This is the second year the Esso Cup has been awarded to the midget division. With the Queens’ win, they join their counterparts, the Thunder Bay Kings boys program, becoming the first community in Canadian history to win a national midget championship in both the female and male age groups.
Later today, in the Ontario Legislature, MPP Bill Mauro will be making a Member’s Statement to congratulate the winners.