The Clifford Thunder Atom team was presented with new home jerseys by Gerald Koeslag, who represented the Wellington County Dairy Committee on Nov. 29 at the Clifford Arena.
Koeslag farms in Minto, has 50 cows and is one of the 460 milk producers in Wellington County. Each committee has one director who serves on the farmer-run provincial board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario.
In turn, the committee supports community youth by promoting minor sport.
Besides the jerseys, the committee will supply 400 boxes of chocolate milk for the upcoming Clifford Cricket tournament in February.
Coach Perry Weber and assistant coach Larry Reinhart were pleased to accept the jerseys that feature a Canadian flag and Clifford Thunder logo on the front, a dairy cow logo patch on the right sleeve, and the player’s number and sponsor Dairy Producers on the back.
The cautionary “stop” patch reminds each player not to hit from behind.
Team members include Aidan Atchison, Madison Atchison, Brandon Benson, Brianna Dyksterhuis, Brigitte Dyksterhuis, Mikyle Hoffele, James Honorkiewicz, Dylan Hutchinson, Zakery Leith, Sidney Reinhart, Preston Rutherford, Garrett Scheeringa, Nathan Weber and Nicolas Weber.
The Clifford Thunder took to the ice to play the Drayton Defenders the first night they first wore their new jerseys. Sidney Reinhart faced off against William Cooper at centre ice for the unofficial puck drop by Gerald Koeslag under the watchful eye of referees Matt Harris and Matt Loos.
Great saves and good plays encouraged a lot of enthusiasm from an appreciative crowd during the game, which saw Drayton earn an 8-3 victory.
The team follows a theme, and you can overhear the members express to their friends, “It’s not about winning, it’s about having fun on the ice.”
