Locals enter coveted hockey hall

No, the Carolina Hurricanes did not have five area athletes on its roster when it defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games to capture the Stanley Cup. The Concordia Rinkles did. Who are the Rinkles? The five-person squad, which included Pointe Claire’s Michelle Fauteux, Dorval’s Caroline Hill, Vaudreuil-Dorion’s Andrea Lynch and Kathleen O’Reilly along with Lachine resident Jody Foster competed in and captured the inaugural 2006 Canadian Source for Sports Pond Hockey Championships, held last winter at Deerhurst Resort in Muskoka, Ont. The two-day tournament attracted players from Canada, the United States and almost every continent across the world.

“It didn’t even seem possible that our names would appear in the Hall of Fame,� said O’Reilly, a former standout for the McGill University varsity Martlets. “Women’s hockey has come a long way, but this is more than we could have ever imagined. My entire team took the day off of work and travelled to Toronto because we couldn’t miss a once in a lifetime chance.�

This year, the event is doubling in size -to 240 teams, and will be spread over two weekends at Deerhurst, with men’s and women’s championships and a women’s recreational tournament taking place January 26-29. A master’ men’s championship takes place Feb. 2-4. If you’d like to enter a team, registration is open until Oct. 15 at www.canadapondhockey.ca.">www.canadapondhockey.ca.">www.canadapondhockey.ca.

Under a lottery system for spots at the championship, winning teams will be drawn on Oct. 31.