SAYHA Memorial Awards
Every year, SAYHA recognizes individuals who receive the various Memorial awards. The meaning of these awards needs to be brought to our attention so that we can once again understand and appreciate them for what they are: part of SAYHA's history that goes back to 1959 when our Association first began.
Lois Ham Memorial Award
Given in memory of Mrs. Norris Ham, Lois, an enthusiastic youth hockey fan, and mother of outstanding goalie Frank Ham. This award is given to a goaltender 15 years of age or older, house or rep, who is not only an exceptional goalie, but also an individual who has shown leadership and dedication and has given something back to his association.
“Alyssa Swegel exemplifies the Outstanding Goalie. She is hard working and always hustles. She is an outstanding athlete and always gives her best effort. Alyssa is a leader for both boys and girls hockey. On or off the ice, Alyssa is always positive and reflects SAYHA values.”
2008-2009 Award Recipient: Alyssa Swegle.
Matt Beamer Memorial Award
Given in memory of Matt Beamer, a young boy who was a Squirt-aged player at the time of his tragic passing. Matt was watching an exhibition WHL hockey game at Eagles Ice-A-Rena when a puck left the ice surface, striking Matt in the head. Matt loved the game of hockey and played it with a boy’s passion, displaying sportsmanship and the desire to have fun. This award is presented to a Squirt-aged player who exemplifies the character of Matt and how he played the game and is voted on by the coaches from the Squirt division.
2008-2009 Award Recipient: Alex Bowden.
Eric Dormaier Inspirational Award
The Eric Dormaier Inspirational Award was established in 1977. Eric was a Bantam A player with SAYHA at the time of his passing. He was an inspiration both on and off the ice to his teammates as well as those who watched him play. Eric’s determination and desire for the game of hockey and life was even more evident during the long battle with his illness. He demonstrated great sportsmanship and integrity for the game Hockey that he loved so much. This award is presented each year to a Bantam-aged Rep player who exemplifies the spirit of this inspirational award.
2008-2009 Award Recipient: Nick Farmer.
Brad Porco Memorial Award
Given in memory of Brad Porco, whose untimely death was caused by an auto accident, while Brad and two of his brothers were en route to a hockey school in Canada. This award was originally established for a high school-aged player and is now presented to a Midget-aged player. Brad was a fine example of a Midget player who had the determination and desire to achieve and play at the highest level of hockey that he could, while still demonstrating integrity and sportsmanship for the game. Off the ice, Brad was always looking to give back to the program what it had given him. This award is presented to the house or rep Midget player who demonstrates these qualities.
“Tony has been a member of SAYHA for several years. Despite getting a late start in the sport, Tony worked diligently and consistently to improve his game and eventually earned his way to positions on the Midget A U18 Team for two seasons. For much of the season Tony was paired with defensive partners without experience at this level. Tony consistently provided support and encouragement for these less experienced team mates and admitted he felt an obligation to assisted the team mates because he remembered being in their position just a few years ago. He was a leader and an integral reason why his team finished the season strong and represented SAYHA exceptionally well.
2008-2009 Award Recipient: Tony Stasch.
Geoff Leach Memorial Award
The Geoff Leach Memorial Award was established in February 2001. Geoff died of a rare infection. He was a young man who was loved by all who met him. He never had an unkind word to say and his faith gave him strength and his commitment made him a strong hockey player. He was always encouraging on the bench and was an inspiration to his team. This memorial is awarded to an outstanding Bantam house player who has shown academic achievement as an honor roll student. This player is an inspiration on the bench and in the locker room. This player is involved in activities away from the ice rink and school displaying a strong moral character and a quality of excellence in every aspect of his or her life.
“Each year that I have had the pleasure of coaching Sadie she has been selected by her teammates to be our team Captain. As a team Captain, Sadie has shown leadership and true sportsmanship. Sadie is a true team player, she constantly plays the game with her team in mind, constantly cheering them on when we are up or down in the game. If another player is down Sadie is the first to give an encouraging word. If you ever have the pleasure of meeting Sadie you will instantly see her upbeat spirit and love of life. Her smile and beautiful personality is contagious to anybody that she makes acquaintance with. Sadie is not only a leader at the ice rink; she is a leader in School. She is on the honor roll and after speaking to one of her teachers she is also a wonderful student at Rogers High School.”
2008-2009 Award Recipient:Mercedes Slawter
Norm Lochten Award
This award is given in memory of Norm Lochten. It is given to an outstanding parent from any division within the Association
“The Rose family has dedicated long hours this year to SAYHA. Jessica is the manager for her son Mason's Sr. Mite team, and the Sr. Mite Divisional Coordinator, and in doing so has been a great mentor. Jessica works full time at a brokerage firm, and also as a Section Leader at the Spokane Chiefs games and puts all her spare time into SAYHA board meetings, guidelines committee meetings, and Coordinating tournaments at home and away. The family recently had a tragedy with the passing of Jay's mom, Candy, in August. I want to recognize Jessica and Jay Rose for being outstanding hockey parents going far above, and beyond what is asked from other volunteers and parents.”
2008-2009 Award Recipients: Jessica and Jay Rose.
Russ Osborne Award
The Russ Osborne award is given to a Midget "B" player that is an outstanding personality both on and off the ice. This award is in the name of Russ Osborne who, at the time of his accident, was a Midget "B" player. Russ was playing in a game at the Spokane Coliseum when he was checked into one of the bench area glass supports, ending his hockey career. Russ himself established this award in 2005 with it being awarded for the first time at the end of the 2006-2007 season. He personally presents this award each season.
2008-2009 Award Recipient: Ryan Felvarg
House Coach of the Year: Olga Pasher
Olga displays a great attitude at all times and shows the kids nothing but positives. I’ve never heard her or her asst. coach gripe or argue with the referees or display bad sportsmanship. The kids love to play for her and her attitude brings out the best in the kids.
House Teams of the Year: Bantam Bulldogs, Sr Mite Blue Jackets, PeeWee Red Wings
BANTAM BULLDOGS – “They had a rough start of the year with one of their top player drafts moving on to a Rep team. That left them with ten skaters and a goalie. Toward the end of the season another player was injured, now they were down to nine skaters and their goalie to finish off the season. The Bulldogs had three girls play on their team. Throughout the season the Bulldogs remained positive, they skated hard each game, they traveled to other tournaments and continued to remain a team through the ups and downs and should be House Team of the Year for their perseverance. I think the Bulldogs show such good team work and enthusiasm and they have such a positive attitude in spite of their many losses. I think that shows such great commitment and sportsmanship. It’s really not all about winning.”
PEEWEE RED WINGS – “It was a rough start as their top draft choice was traded at the beginning of the season, which left a bit of a hole, as all the other teams still had their top draft choices. It left an unbalanced advantage for the other Peewee teams. The Re Wings were also training a new goalie. In the middle of the season they picked up a Rep player that had come back to house, their goalie was improving. From their continued hard work you could see the improvement in the games they played by the end of the season. This is my son's second year skating on a team and this has been the most fun he's had so far. The kids on this team all get along great and support each other.”
Rep Coach of the Year: Dan Holden
“Dan has kept a very level head in developing his teams. He started last year with the Squirt B team and played in the PNAHA league. He soon realized there were teams that were quite dominate due to the fact they were made up of second year players, but he kept a very steady course and continued to prepare his team for the competition. This year in coaching the Squirt A team, he once again keeps the development of all the players on the top of his list. He is consistent in how he develops his teams and keeps a real level focus. He had a hard fought battle through the State Tournament and prepared his team to win the championship game. Dan is an asset as a coach to our association. He has done an outstanding job over the past two years with his teams. This year as the Squirt A coach he won the PNAHA League Squirt title and the Squirt Festival State Tournament. We are seeing the success of his programs and coaching abilities and should be nominated for the Rep Coach of the Year.”
Rep Teams of the Year: Squirt A and Peewee AA
Squirt A – “With ten teams in the PNAHA league, this team won the league with a record of 19-0-1. They also were very competitive against the Canadian teams they also played throughout the season. The Squirt A team won the Gold Division of the Squirt Festival State Tournament. It turned out to be a hard fought battle to make it to the Championship game. Their first game March 13th against Seattle Jr. went to overtime then a shoot out with Spokane winning 6-5. Later that same day they would beat SnoKing 5-4 in an overtime game. March 14th the tournament continued and Spokane would have another close game with Seattle Jr. losing by one point 2-3 and then later that afternoon losing to SnoKing 0-4. After adding up the points for each team it ended up SnoKing and Spokane playing for the Championship. Spokane would win the game 5-3 to bring home the Gold. The Spokane Squirt A team worked hard, remained competitive and consistent throughout the season to win the league and the State Tournament and they should be the Rep Team of the Year.
PEEWEE AA – “This is an extraordinary group of young players that defined the very word TEAM. They all played together as one unit, and egos were checked at the locker room door. It was never about one player, it was always about the entire team. They struggled early on in the season, but with hard work and determination, they improved individually and grew stronger as a team. That hard work paid off at the State Championship Tournament. They were tremendous underdogs going into the finals, and they knew it. But they rose above that label, and went on to earn the title of State Champion in a game that will be remembered at SAYHA for seasons to come. They did their Association proud with their showing at Regionals, making it to the semi-finals against the San Jose Jr. Sharks. Although they lost that game, they came away with their heads up and their champion spirit intact. These players made all of us parents extremely proud and they truly deserve the title "Team of the Year.” I think this team and their coach represent a number of things that are admirable for youth sports. First, the coach taught the kids to be winners. When the coaches thought the competition within the state wasn’t good enough, they scheduled games against tougher teams, mostly from Canada. The kids rose to the challenge and won more games than they lost, finishing with a 32-21-5 record. They also won the State Tournament for Tier II, beating a team that was favored to not only win State but to go on to Nationals. Second, our coach taught our kids how to play with heart. He dropped a few players from the team because they weren’t trying, not because of talent. Throughout the season, speaking as a parent, I never saw our coach get angry and yell at the kids because they lost a game. He got upset when they didn’t try, which wasn’t often, but it he did it in a manner to encourage them to do better, not to belittle them. Third, this is from my perspective as a parent. This year with SAYHA has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me as a parent and for my son. This team and this coach deserve to be held up as examples for how the game should be played and coached. We didn’t have the most skill or talent all the way through but as a team we learned what heart meant and how heart can overcome talent. It wasn’t overnight, we didn’t know what heart meant for four months in 2008. But in 2009 our kids gladly accepted a challenge to get better by skating extra in January and February. Our kids willingly accepted a challenge to get stronger by going to a nearly two hour dry land session on their off day. We had one goal in mind during all of this and that was to defend SAYHA’s Peewee Tier II state title. The kids latched on to that goal like I’ve never seen in a team, we went to a AA tournament in Alberta and lost in the final, we went to a AA tournament in Trail and lost in the semi final, same in Osoyoos, lost in the final. Those losses didn’t create despair, they created more hunger, more heart and in the end they had one final in mind and played the game of the year for SAYHA in front of tremendous Spokane support.”