South Muskoka Shield
| South Muskoka Shield | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada |
| League | Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Home arena | Gravenhurst Centennial Centre |
| Colours |
Red, Black, and White |
| Owner(s) | PJ Droulliard, Courtney Doron, David Ryan |
| General manager | Frank Demasi |
| Head coach | Frank Demasi Anthony Gambacorta |
| Media |
TVCogeco 99.5 Moose FM Gravenhurst Banner |
The South Muskoka Shield are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Gravenhurst, Ontario. They are members of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL).
The Shield are a community-based team with a number of corporate sponsors helping the team to be a viable club. Based on the attendance at the home opener and since, this club has been successful from a fan support standpoint. Gravenhurst is a proud hockey town that is rich in hockey history. The Shield follow in the tradition of the Gravenhurst Indians and the Gravenhurst Cubs who played out of the Georgian Mid-Ontario Junior C Hockey League from 1980 until 1987 and 1994 until 2000 respectively. The Shield also draw their fan support from other centres in the area, such as Bracebridge, Port Carling, Bala, Washago and Orillia.
The first game in the Shield's history was on September 9, 2006, against the Deseronto Thunder in Deseronto, Ontario. The end result was a not-so-glorious 8–1 loss. While Frank Agostino started their first exhibition game in net, it was 16-year-old Steve Brown from Port Carling who played the club's first competitive game. Midway through the third and final period, the Shield used its first import, when 18-year-old Briton Nick Rowe took over from Brown in net. The scorer of the Shield's first goal was scored by Dustin Curran. Their first home game took place on September 15, 2006, against the eventual league, playoff, and Alliance Cup champion Bradford Rattlers. The result was a 10–1 blowout loss. The Shield's first win came on October 13, 2006, against the struggling Toronto Canada Moose. The final score of the game was 9–6.
On November 21, 2006, Shield left winger and captain Garrett Hamel was heavily injured in a head-on collision. He was flown to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and required surgery to repair his broken talus, knee cap, femur, radius, pinky finger, and a shattered pelvis. The next game, on November 22 against the Nipissing Alouettes, was cancelled out of respect of the Hanmer, Ontario, native. After extensive rehab, Garrett rejoined the team in November 2008. On January 11, 2009, Garrett returned to the ice against the Nipissing Alouettes and scored a goal in a 9–5 victory for the Shield.
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