Canada Tour 2009

Friday, 13th February 2009

A Manchester Phoenix Junior squad depart for Canada this weekend for a whistle stop tour of Central Ontario.

A Phoenix U-17 squad will fly to Toronto before heading north to Orillia where they'll make their base.

Over the coming week there'll be five morning training sessions conducted by head coach Paul Bayliss at nearby Coldwater and six exhibition matches at rinks within a fifty mile radius of the Orillia base.

Tour organiser Paul Brown takes up the story. 'This is a fantastic opportunity for the players and they're all excited to be making the trip. It's the third year we've taken a team across the Atlantic under the Phoenix banner and it's all thanks to the generosity and hospitality of our hosts.

'Bob Beaumont and Phil Hendry of the OMHA have arranged our fixtures for us, and we'd like to say a big thank you to them and also to the families and the officials of the host teams. This time of year is playoff time in Canada and we know how difficult it can be to confirm ice slots and avoid fixture chaos.

'How will the team fare against Canadian opposition? Well, there are so many teams playing out of each rink, it's never easy to be sure of what we'll be up against. On previous visits we've played some very close games. We've also been made to look like novices on one or two occasions! Whatever the outcome, the players will all have a brilliant time and learn a great deal.'

There'll be regular updates on the junior forum all week, so everyone will be able see how the Phoenix Juniors compare to their Canadian counterparts.

The team's game schedule looks like this...

Sunday Feb 15th @ Unionville
Monday Feb 16th @ Collingwood
Tuesday Feb 17th @ Coldwater
Wednesday Feb 18th @ Georgina
Thursday Feb 19th @ Essa
Friday Feb 20th @ Richmond Hill

Canada Tour 2009

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