It’s been a rewarding 15 years

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — When the Keith Lindsay Memorial Hockey Tournament was first organized 15 years ago, Greg and Kelly Dries were instrumental — along with Keith Lindsay himself — in getting things rolling.

The event — then known as the March Break Kickoff Tournament — took on the new name after Lindsay passed away in 2009.

Over the years, many teams have participated in the tournament, which was traditionally run during March Break, but according to Greg Dries, the date change to a week earlier has allowed the tournament to flourish.

“We found more and more teams weren’t coming for the March Break week, so we changed it and interest picked up considerably,” he told the Sun last week.

Dries and his wife Kelly have been at the helm of the tournament for 15 years now, and this year’s event is their last as tournament organizers.

“It’s a lot of work but I’m going to miss seeing all the girls have fun,” said Greg. “It makes all the work worthwhile.”

The Dries have had a lot of help over the years with many committee members coming on board to lend a hand over the busy weekend.

This year’s event has 32 teams involved from 15 different centres, with some as far away as Ayr and Stoney Creek. The tournament is split into four divisions with teams representing U11, U13, U15 and U22 of the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association.

A Southpoint Stars team celebrates in 2014. The Dries have many pictures and memories of the tournament.

The Southpoint Stars will be represented in the U11, U13 and U22 age groups.

The Dries have been involved in all levels of Southpoint Minor Hockey for about 30 years and Kelly says it’s been a rewarding time for them.

“We had one of Greg’s teams he coached at our wedding doing an honour guard,” she says. “That was many, many years ago — almost 27.”

The 2021 event was cancelled because of COVID restrictions, so Greg says this year will be special.

“It’s so good to get them back on the ice,” he says. “The kids really need it.”

Looking back at the 2020 event, he says, little did they know what would transpire the following week.

“We held the 2020 tournament on March 6-8 and then on March 12 they shut everything down for COVID,” says Greg.

This year will be a bounce back year for the tournament and the swan song for Greg and Kelly Dries, but they will exit the convenor’s chair with their heads held high and know that the tournament will be in good shape moving forward.

The tournament kicks off Friday morning at 8 am as the Southpoint Stars U11 squad hosts the LaSalle Sabrecats on the Highbury rink, while the Stars U22 team hosts the South County Predators on the Unico rink at 8:30 am.

Greg and Kelly Dries will be there, reminding everyone to have fun and try their best, because, as Keith Lindsay always said, “Every day is a good day.”