Chatham-Kent Sports Year in Review: January
Blenheim’s Brady Campbell Committing to the University of Maine – Contributed Photo
- No High School Sports – High school sports didn’t return in January when students did, as the labour dispute between Ontario teachers and the Provincial government raged on. It was all quiet on the high school sporting front as the new year ticked in.
- A Legend Passes Away – Dave “Grouch” Allin passed away at age 61. A father, coach, and hall of famer, Allin was integral in developing Chatham-Kent basketball programs. Allin was survived by his wife and eight children.
- The NHL Lockout Is Over – Chatham-Kent NHLers Ryan Jones and TJ Brodie got back to business after the NHL lockout came to an end during the first week of January. It would mark the start of a memorable NHL season, with both Brodie’s Calgary Flames and Jones’ Edmonton Oilers missing the NHL playoffs, before Chicago would eventually claim the Stanley Cup.
- Allin Named CIS Player of the Week – Honouring his father, who passed away the week before, Chatham’s Max Allin went out and lit up the court for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks basketball team, being named both the OUA and CIS Player of the Week.
- Campbell Commits to Maine – Becoming the first Chatham-Kent athlete to commit to an NCAA Division I hockey scholarship in half a decade, Blenheim’s Brady Campbell signs his letter of intent to play for the University of Maine Black Bears.
- Kerkhof Scores 1000th NCAA Point – Wallaceburg’s Deanna Kerkhof scored her 1000th NCAA career basketball point for the Northeastern University Huskies in her senior season.
- Wallaceburg Lakers squander playoff hopes – The Wallaceburg Lakers took a large lead on the Kingsville Comets into the final weeks of the Great Lakes Junior C season. As the month of January ended however, the Lakers playoff hopes were out of their hands, and dismal.