“It's hard for me to put it into words" Dick Penner's family appreciates memorial tournament

The fourth Dick Penner Memorial Hockey Tournament was held this past weekend. 

The event is annual, however, there were a couple of forced hiatus years during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dick Penner's son Lawney is now the board chair of the Mitchell Minor Hockey Association and notes the way the community celebrates his dad means a lot to his whole family. 

“It's super special for our family. My dad loved nothing more than seeing community members at the rink coming together. To see community members continue to do that in his honor and come watch some good U13 hockey and just sit around and talk and reminisce, It's special for our family, we really appreciate it.” 

Lawney adds “It's hard for me to put it into words. My dad was so passionate about Mitchell Minor Hockey, whether it was coaching, on the arena board, on the Mitchell Minor Hockey Board, he loved it.” 

He notes it was a great weekend and watching the Mitchell Mustangs capture the tournament title on Sunday was the cherry on top.  

The Dick Penner Memorial Hockey Tournament also acts as an important fundraiser for the hockey association and their programming. 

Putting on his hat as board chair, Lawney says they’re happy to see significant improvements at the Mitchell Arena over the last few years  

“The RM of Hanover has done a really good job doing some renovations and improving the rink this last year and they're committed to continue doing that. We got a new Zamboni on the way soon, we got a new ice plant this summer, so we're excited about our rink and about the continued improvements that we're making.” 

Lawney notes these improvements are certainly felt when they host a tournament like this past weekend. 

It was hard to get people out after those tough pandemic years, but Lawney says the numbers are starting to climb once again and, all in all, they are feeling very positive moving forward.