On Sunday, April 21, Parkland ice hockey club finished their season by holding a banquet at Shepherd Hills Golf Club. The team spent the evening looking back on this past season but also made sure to look forward to the future. The event hosted each of Parkland’s teams and their families. Each member of the team’s board attended the event as well and gave speeches to the teams on the team’s accomplishments throughout the season as well as the plans for next year.
Throughout the ceremony, each team was given a moment to honor their players for outstanding accomplishments from this year. Players were commended for on ice performance, services provided to the team, and academic excellence throughout the season. Parkland’s youth team (grades 1-5) were given an extra moment of celebration for winning this year’s Phantoms Cup at the youth level. Though they were the only one of Parkland’s teams to win the cup, all other teams were congratulated for their performance this year.
Parkland’s varsity team took extra time to honor their players and especially their seniors who are departing after this year. The seniors that played for the team this year were forwards Max Bilger (12), Ryan Hewitt (12), and Austin Bellis (12) as well as defenseman Richard Weiner (12). Max Bilger was awarded the Gus Schwartz Memorial Scholarship Award, a prestigious award given to seniors of Parkland Ice Hockey who maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout their high school careers and gave their best performance on the ice. Forward Connor McGinty was awarded the Zachary S. Kraus “Mucker and Grinder” award for his hard work on the ice and in the physical aspect of the game this season.
The ceremony ended with each team and all members of the organization’s coaching staff getting pictures together. Plans for next season were announced as well and it was announced that varsity head coach Rob Bilger will be moving on to a member of the board as head of coaches for the next season. With another great season passing Parkland is looking forward to another successful season next year and the years to come, go Trojans!
