Remembering Newell Hastings
Hockey night in Petrolia as Squires, Flyers host openers
October 14, 2021
The Greenwood Recreation Centre will be a busy place this week with both the PJHL’s Petrolia Flyers and the WOAA’s Petrolia Squires hosting home openers on consecutive nights.
The Flyers entertain Wheatley on Thursday at 7:30, while the Squires open a new senior season against Ripley on Friday night at 8:30.
The Flyers are looking for their first win of the season after road losses in Mooretown and Blenheim to open the regular season earlier this month. It’ll be the first PJHL contest at Greenwood since the Flyers beat Amherstburg, 2-1 on Feb. 22, 2020 to force a seventh game in their first-round playoff series with the Admirals. Amherstburg went on to win game seven a night later.
The GM of the Flyers says a capacity limit of 500 fully vaccinated fans remains in place for tonight’s PJHL contest at Greenwood. Dennis Meston says the town has made that decision despite the province allowing rinks across Ontario to open to full capacity.
Meantime, a handful of players in the Flyers’ lineup nearly 20 months ago will suit up for the Squires when they skate up against the Ripley Wolves on Friday night. Ex-juniors Eric Marsh, Curtis Helps, and Jack Hackett have all joined the Craig Prudhom-coached Squires for the 2021-22 campaign.
The senior squad hasn’t been on home ice since a first-round playoff loss to Lucknow on February 7, 2020.
The Squires were to have opened on the road in Lucknow last Saturday, but the game was postponed to Oct. 30 as both teams would have been short due to the league vaccination policy.
NEXT
Search continues for victim at Twin Creeks
PREVIOUS
New drive test centre opened to clear pandemic backlog
Front Page
Remembering Newell Hastings
June 14, 2025
Heather Wright/The Independent Sunday, Newell Hasting’s service to King and Country over a century ago was remembered in a peaceful church cemetery near Watford. Hasting was born in Petrolia and his family moved to Watford around the turn of the century. He signed up to serve in the miltia with Watford’s 149th Battalion before being called up for service. He
Read More
Front Page
Sidewalk projects around First Ave this summer
June 13, 2025
Heather Wright/The Independent Sidewalks along First Street in Petrolia will be getting an upgrade once school is out for the summer. It’s part of the latest large project to improve the town’s sidewalk system. In 2023, BM Ross and Associates completed a study on Petrolia’s sidewalk system and found it lacking. It suggested $1.5 million in sidewalk construction was needed
Read More
Front Page
Aamjiwnaang evacuates parts of community as INEOS decommissioning increases benzene levels
June 13, 2025
Leaders of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation are evacuating residents between Churchill Road and Tashmoo Ave after high levels of benzene have been detected in the area. Just before noon Friday, INEOS Styrolutions issued a notice saying hourly benzene emissions have been detected about 0.021 parts per million. The company is decommissioning the plant which is within eyesight of Aamjiwnaang’s band
Read More
Front Page
St Philip’s student wins big at national fair
June 13, 2025
The Independent Ben Harper made a splash at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton taking home a bronze medal. The Grade 8 student from St. Philip’s in Petrolia presented his climate-focused project called A Wavy Problem – Navigating the Surges of Climate Change last week and won a bronze medal in his division. The Petrolia student tested six different offshore
Read More