Chatham-Kent Sports Year In Review: April 2015

The loss of a legend and new beginnings. It was a month of polar opposites for the Chatham-Kent sports community in April 2015.

Here are the top Chatham-Kent sports news stories from April 2015:

• George Aitken Passes Away: Chatham-Kent sports legend George Aitken passed away at age 84. A Chatham Maroons great, and all around great in our community, Aitken was a man who will be missed by many.
• OHL Draft Sees Locals Selected: Lucas Vanroboys and Kier Cumming were selected in the OHL draft by the Hamilton Bulldogs and Sudbury Wolves respectively. Vanroboys, a Thamesville product was playing with South Kent Prep School, while Cumming, a Chatham product, was the captain of the Chatham-Kent Cyclones Minor Midget team.
• Blayne Oliver OJHL Fan Favourite Runner Up:Serving as an assistant captain for the OJHL’s Trenton Golden Hawks, Blenheim’s Blayne Oliver earned many fans with his play, and finished as the runner up in the league’s fan favourite voting.
• Lakers Call On Marc Swayze: After a season to forget, the Wallaceburg Lakers turned to former Chatham Maroons and Dresden Kings coach Marc Swayze to guide them through another rebuilding year.
• Woods Top Goalie In Canada: Playing for the London Lynx ‘AA’ U16 team at Nationals, Woods, a Chatham goalie, was named the tournament’s top goaltender, and an All-Tournament All-Star.
• Nicholas Named Rugby Canada Young Player of the Year: Nicholas was spectacular for Canada at several major International competitions in 2014-2015, and for that, earned recognition as Canada’s rookie of the year.
• Wallaceburg Thrashers Begin Play: A new era began for Wallaceburg lacrosse, as the community welcomed the Senior B Wallaceburg Thrashers into the family, kicking off their inaugural season with a 10-7 loss to the Six Nations Rivermen