You can expect to see the North Dundas Rockets mini-Zamboni at local events, promoting the team, but also the community that supports then. Tinkess Photo
CHESTERVILLE – The North Dundas Senior Rockets remained undefeated and improved their record to 8-0 on Saturday as they defeated the South Grenville Rangers 7-4. Before the game even got underway though, there was a whole lot of pride on display as the Rockets and their fans recognized the group responsible for the creation of a mini-Zamboni bearing the Rockets logo and colours.
The project took almost a year and a half to complete. It started in May 2023 when the perfect frame for the project, an old electric feed cart no longer in use was located. Hormandale Farms and Jason and Colby Ibbetson donated the feed cart to the Rockets and the project was underway.
The fabrication of the Zamboni was made possible by students at North Dundas District High School (NDDHS) as part of a class project. Once that was completed, D’s Collision Center primed and painted the entire Zamboni, including the inside and the wheels. Dennis and Phil Carkner donated the entire cost of the labour and paint to complete the project. The workmanship speaks for itself.
Prior to the start of the game, many of the people responsible gathered around the Rockets Zamboni along with Rockets captain Derek Froats. Through their applause, the crowd showed their appreciation for the effort.
While not everyone was present at the game, the following is a list of those who participated:
Chris Vanbridger, Stone Thistle Design
Hormandale Farms and Jason and Colby Ibbetson (donated the seed cart)
NDDHS teacher Andrew Whitton, who allowed this to become a student project
NDDHS students Kingsley Raistrick, Trenton Douma, Micah VanGilst, Ashton Scheepers, Samuel Dean, Haley VanGilst, Noah Provost, Nevan Socholotuk, Hayden Munshaw, Travis Casselman, Austin Doornwaard, and Noah Biemond
D’s Collision and Dennis and Phil Carkner and Dave Warren and Catlin Boyer for the fantastic paint job.
As for the game, the Rockets never trailed, leading 1-0 after one period, and 4-2 after two periods, before ending up with the final score of 7-4.
The Rockets spread the scoring around with Bradley Stitt, Michael Mcnamee, Mike Bird, Fabian Walsh, Mitchell Gibson, Marco Azzano, and Glenden Bakker each scoring once for the Rockets.
Brandon Gilmour, Broydon Stufko, Nathan Merrett, and Adam Goodfellow scored for the Rangers.
The three stars were Marco Azzano (first star), Fabian Walsh (second star) and Brandon Gilmour (third star.)
The Rockets outshot the Rangers 56-19 in what was a chippy game. The Rockets picked up 53 minutes in penalties while the Rangers had 43.
The Rockets next game is Sat., Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m. against the Paugan Falls Rapids in Low, Quebec.
Terry Tinkess is a professional photographer, educator and journalist. He has been making a living with a camera and keyboard since 1999 and has been featured in such publications as The Ottawa Citizen, Cornwall Standard Freeholder, The Globe and Mail, The Miami Herald, Ottawa Construction News, The Ontario Construction Report, Ontario Home Builder Magazine, Reed Construction Data, Canadian Potato Business and most recently, The Record and Eastern Ontario AgriNews. Terry lives in Ingleside, Ontario with his wife Brenda, Mia the anxious Pittie and cats Wally and Chubbers.
