Barry Wright/The Independent

Kaden Babcock has been named an assistant coach with the Chatham Maroons of the Greater Ontario Hockey League.

He was the assistant equipment manager with the Sting last season, served as an assistant coach in the Lambton Jr. Sting organization and played 10 games of senior hockey with the Petrolia Squires. He previously played junior hockey with the Mooretown Flags and Dresden Jr. Kings.

“His passion for the game, dedication to player development, and commitment to excellence make him a tremendous addition to our coaching staff,” said the Maroons in making the announcement.

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The PJHL’s Petrolia Flyers have added a veteran presence to their blueline with the acquisition of defenceman Michael Verberne from the Sarnia Legionnaires.

The 19-year-old Strathroy native had four assists in 47 games last season with Sarnia.

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Sasha Pastujov has been traded by the Anaheim Ducks to the Montreal Canadiens.

The third-round draft choice by the Ducks in 2021 has yet to make his NHL debut but had a career-high 22 goals and 58 points in 73 games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls last season.

He was part of the Sting team that advanced to the OHL’s Western Conference championship series against London in 2023.

In other Sting news last week, defenceman Jacob Reese has committed to the University of Connecticut for the coming season and Carson Hall’s rights have been traded to the Toronto Patriots of the OJHL.

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Corunna moved into a first-place tie with the Dresden Bulls with a 10-3 win over Wyoming in Western Counties senior baseball last week.

The Cattlebarons rebounded for a one-sided win over Petrolia last Friday night and Port Lambton edged Dresden, 6-5 on Sunday afternoon.

The Giants and Bulls both have 19 points but Corunna has three games in hand. Wyoming has 17 points in the standings and Port Lambton has 15.

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The Corunna Lady Giants U13 team has qualified for the 12-team provincial championship in the tier one classification next month (Aug. 7-9) in Windsor.

The Giants stood tall playing six games at the provincial qualifier last weekend and coming away with bronze medals.

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Dresden’s TJ Brodie has announced his retirement from the National Hockey League.

He played 1,018 regular season and playoff games with Calgary, Toronto and Chicago dating back to 2010. He scored 63 goals and had 317 assists while averaging about 22 minutes of ice time per game.

Before turning pro he played junior hockey in Leamington, Saginaw and Barrie.

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The Alvinston Riverhawks are the girls’ under-nine champions in the Lambton Central Softball League.

They defeated the host Corunna-Pink in the championship contest at the year-end tournament last weekend and were undefeated all weekend.

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Haley Barclay of the Sarnia Golf and Curling Club and Camlachie’s David French won the recent PGA of Ontario mixed team series golf championship at the Briars Golf Course near Barrie. The duo carded 12 birdies for a 59 total and a one-stroke victory.

Barclay, from Strathroy, is a graduate of the Western Michigan women’s golf program.

French, formerly of Sawmill Creek, is now the head teaching professional at Cutten Fields in Guelph.

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Carolyne Prevost can add another notch to her athletic resume.

The Sarnian has won the CrossFit Masters Women’s world championship for athletes between the ages of 35-39.

The 11-time champion in four different sports won one individual event, was second in three others and had two third-place finishes en route to the championship over American Mekenzie Riley in California last week.

The race for the Open championship began with more than 11 thousand competitors and was whittled down to 30 finalists for the crown of the Fittest on Earth in their age group.

Prevost, an educator, now lives and trains in Toronto.

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The chase for an Ontario Power 5 Football League three-peat by the Sarnia Imperials is over.

The Burlington Longhorns beat the Imperials, 45-10 in semi-final action at Norm Perry Park last Saturday to advance to the league final.

The back-to-back champion Imperials had won four straight postseason games since joining the league in 2024.

Burlington will now travel to Sudbury for the league championship game on August 8.

Sudbury advanced with a 21-19 win over Tri City in the other semi-final contest on the weekend.