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Shamrocks remember Siddall

Kilt-wearing, ever-joking, smiling Owen Siddall will never be forgotten by the Armstrong Shamrocks.
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Kilt-wearing, ever-joking and smiling Owen Siddall will never be forgotten by the Armstrong Shamrocks.

The highly popular senior lacrosse goalie died at his home in Armstrong on Thanksgiving Sunday, 2012 at age 46. The Shamrock of the Year trophy now bears his name.

The Irish also named their annual Ice Breaker trophy after the cabinet maker. This year’s tournament is a three-team series of exhibition games this weekend at Hassen Memorial Arena.

“I had hoped that six teams were going to compete but unfortunately Victoria, North Shore Indians and Kamloops Rattlers have withdrawn due to player availability,” said Armstrong GM Ryan Nitchie.

“What we are going to do is have the Shamrocks play the Mohawks Friday night, Kelowna play the Mohawks at noon on Saturday then we are going to mix the three Thompson Okanagan Senior League teams into a TOSLL All-Star team to play the Mohawks on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

“We are disappointed that more teams couldn’t compete but we think this is a great opportunity for our players to join forces against a good Alberta team and get to know each other in a different light. All three TOSLL governors are supportive of the idea of forming an all-star team as a way of showcasing some of the senior lacrosse talent our league possesses and to potentially tone done some of the competitive animosity between the clubs.”

The All-Stars will face the Mohawks Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m.

Nitchie takes over from netminder Chad Pieper as GM of the three-time defending champion Shamrocks, who will also be without longtime captain Chad Pounder.

“Both Chads’ contributions to the Shamrocks legacy are historic,” said Nitchie. “Pounder was the epitome of an amateur weekend warrior and Peeps is a gentle leader both on and off the floor. Pounder is a formidable leader and dominated our physical style since we reformed the team after joining us in 1995. He certainly was a player you wanted to play with rather than against.”

Pieper joined the Shamrocks in 1999 after he left the grandstands as a spectator attending games with his grandfather. The Shamrocks barely fitted him with surplus goalie gear as he gave lacrosse a try for the first time.

“Peeps actually made his lacrosse debut as a planned backup goalie for us at the Alcan Cup tournament in Prince George. We ended up being short runners so we taped some out gear to him and he played as a runner,” joked Nitchie.

Pieper evolved into a dominant goaltender winning four Shaw Cup/Rowcliffe Cup Championships, several Masters championships and earning a National Lacrosse League tryout with the Philidelphia Wings.

Despite the loss of two veteran leaders, the next generation of Shamrocks leaders have emerged with returning players like Jamie Cockerill, Steve Clark and last year’s MVP Carston Schlaak. The Shamrocks will be tapping into the sensational talents evolving from both North Okanagan Junior B lacrosse teams in players like Cam Nelson and Willy Hanley of the Junior Shamrocks and Braden Barr and Jay Seaton of the Junior Tigers.

Also coming out of retirement is Nitchie’s younger brother Kody, who led the Shamrocks to three consecutive Shaw Cup titles from 1995-1997 and won two more in 2002 and 2003.

“Kody is in the best shape of his life and at 40, still has the size, speed and desire to help us on defence and special teams” said Ryan.

The Shamrocks will be without league leading scorer Steve McIlwrath for the majority of the season as he recovers from reconstructive knee surgery but the Shamrocks will monitor his progress to see if he can join the lineup later in the season

“Steve is a great player on and off the floor and we are looking forward to getting him back as soon as he’s ready” said Nitchie.