U14 Hockey Team Brings Home Gold and Alumni Connections from Halifax

Mark Burleigh, Faculty and U14 Hockey Coach
The U14 CDS Hockey team travelled to Halifax from Wednesday, November 16 – Saturday, November 19 to participate in the Armbrae Academy U15 Halifax Independent School Hockey Tournament. Coaches Andrea Leacock and Mark Burleigh led the boys on a trip that included a visit to Peggy’s Cove to see the geological landforms, a chance to learn about the lobster fishing and seafaring culture, and sampling some of the North Atlantic’s finest offerings. It was a messy and satisfying affair!
Once the puck dropped at the St. Mary’s University Arena on Thursday, our boys put on an impressive show – defeating the Sacred Heart School of Halifax, Halifax Grammar School, King’s-Edgehill School and the host school, Armbrae Academy, to win the gold medal. It was an impressive display of talent, effort, sportsmanship and team play.

CDS hockey alumni and current students at Dalhousie University, Mitchell Binnie and Connor Cowl, both from the Class of 2014 each attended some games – reliving their participation in the same trip and tournament in 2010! They donned CDS hockey sweaters to be photographed with their brothers: Quinn Binnie and Jake McMillan – current members of the U14 CDS Cyclones. This was a special moment for Coach Burleigh who has had the pleasure of working with all four young men.

Richard Hache ’16, a member of the CDS Senior Boys’ defending CISAA Champion Soccer and Hockey teams, also took time off from studying at Dalhousie to join the team on the bench and help coach the championship final.

The previous night, CDS Alumni who are currently attending Dalhousie University joined the team to watch the Dalhousie Tigers Men’s Basketball team defeat the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. It was great to see so many members from the Class of 2016, including Brittney Nichols, Taylor Dunne, Keegan Poulton, Jake Okazawa and Richard Hache. Many of the Grade 7/8 boys spoke with our Alumni and made connections – learning about university life. It was also special evening for the alum and Mrs. Leacock – as these students were in her first class as a CDS teacher.

After winning the gold medal, the team enjoyed a pizza banquet and watched the Dalhousie Tigers Men’s Hockey team as they lost an exciting and skillful game against Acadia University.

Dr. Ethan Pancer ’03, a tenured Professor in the School of Business at St. Mary’s University, also visited the team to say hello. Mr. Burleigh enjoyed catching up on details of his life – as a university professor and father of a one-year-old son. As has been reported in other CDS stories, Ethan has fond memories of CDS starting with a Grade 7 trip to Ottawa to play U13 soccer at the U13 CISAA tournament in 1997!!

The team enjoyed a jam-packed three-nights and four-days of sightseeing, hockey, university athletics and team building. They also learned about their connections and membership to the greater CDS Alumni community. The tired crew returned home on Saturday afternoon ready for a rest and also ready to embark on a great second term of CDS athletics and academics.

The coaches report that they were exceptional ambassadors for our school. They were Cyclonic.

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Land Acknowledgment

CDS wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. For thousands of years, these have been the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We also recognize the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee peoples who also shared this land.  CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for these lands and waters for future generations.

School Information

13415 Dufferin Street King, Ontario L7B 1K5 
(905) 833-1220 

communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca

Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.