Barry Wright/The Independent

Kitchener Rangers Chief Operating Officer Joe Birch has been awarded the David Branch Leader of the Year for the 2025-26 OHL season.

“Birch has set a standard for leadership that reaches every corner of the Kitchener Rangers organization,” said OHL Commissioner Bryan Crawford in presenting Birch with the award at a recent league gathering.

Birch, originally from Corunna and a graduate of the former Lambton Lightning AAA hockey program, is honoured and humbled to receive the award.

“Leadership is never about one person, and I view this recognition as a reflection of the outstanding people I have the privilege of working alongside every day.”

Birch played two OHL seasons with Kitchener and London from 1995-97 after a season with the then Sarnia Bees. He
then spent four years with the Western University men’s hockey program.

He worked in the league office from 2006-20 before joining the Rangers as COO ahead of the 2020-21 season.

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The Dirty Oars are now golden.

The women’s recreational team with the Lambton Shores Dragon Boat Club saved the best for last winning the 2K final in the final race of the day at the Welland International Flatwater Centre last Saturday.

Their winning time of 13:21.79 was more than seven seconds faster than the team that placed second.

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The Taxandria Falcons downed London’s PCL Red Eagles, 8-2 to capture the Elgin Middlesex District Soccer League (EMDSL) Cup in the boys’ under-15 tier-two division last weekend.

Simon Cano Mejia led the winners with a hat trick while Ryder Hanlon scored twice for the Arkona-based champions.

Reed Huras, Darragh Lawlor, and Trevor Heynsbergen also scored for Taxandria.

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The Alvinston Killer Bees continue to shape their roster for the coming season, adding size and experience with the signing of Mark Woolley.

The 6’3”, 220 lb. blueliner is coming off a four-year Canadian collegiate career with St. Francis Xavier University in Nova
Scotia. He has OHL experience with Guelph and Owen Sound.

Meantime, the team has re-signed Bayly Fryfogle and acquired forward Christian Moccia from Tilbury in exchange for d-man Jack Van Boekel.

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The Petrolia Squires has announced its first two tryout dates and they are both at the Moore Sports Complex.

The team will welcome potential players on August 26 from 7:15-8:15 p.m. and September 1 from 9-11 p.m.

Additional dates will be announced in the near future.

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The Petrolia Flyers has signed Miller Glenn from the Sarnia-Lambton Jr. Sting organization.

Glenn, 16, from Forest and a graduate of the Lambton Shores minor hockey program before moving on to AAA hockey, had nine goals and 20 points in 33 games with the Jr. Sting under-16 squad last season.

He also played in a pair of games with the Sarnia Legionnaires, registering one assist.

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The Mooretown Flags play the first of two preseason games against the North Middlesex Stars at the Moore Sports Complex this Saturday, August 22. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

The Flags entertain the Petrolia Flyers on Aug. 29 also at 7:30 in Mooretown.

Meantime, the Flags has announced its home opener against Walpole Island will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12. As of
press time, Petrolia had not yet announced the date for its home opener.

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Trevor Syer will continue his baseball career this coming season with the Doane University Tigers in southeastern Nebraska.

The Petrolia pitcher is heading west after two seasons at Kanakakee College near Chicago where he made a total of 14 appearances with the Cavaliers.

Doane was 47-11 last season, advancing to the NAIA World Series in Idaho.

This past summer, Syer, 22, played with Medicine Hat of the Western Canadian Baseball League where he said after a couple of tough seasons he was re-invigorated to continue his collegiate career.

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The North Lambton Community Health Centre’s 4th Annual Migrant Worker Project Soccer Tournament is Sunday at the Taxandria Soccer Fields in Arkona.

This free community event celebrates the contributions of migrant workers while bringing together workers, employers, volunteers, community partners, and residents for a day of soccer, culture, and connection.

Eight teams from across Lambton and one from Chatham-Kent will play in the tournament from 10 am to 6 pm.

“For one day, the soccer field becomes a place where cultures come together, friendships grow, and our community celebrates the people who help feed our region,” says Andrea Jones-Peper, Migrant Worker Project Coordinator.

“We invite everyone to come out, cheer on the teams, meet the workers, and be part of this special day.”

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Lenny White retained his bantam weight belt beating Miko Dusek of St. Catharines in the main event of the Prospects Fighting Championship card at Lambton College on Saturday.

White, from Sarnia, has now won four straight bouts and is 4-1 overall. The win avenged a loss to Dusek a little over a year ago in White’s series debut.

Organizers hailed the fight as a classic.

“Two warriors stepped into the PFC cage and showed exactly what a championship fight is supposed to look like,” they wrote in post fight comments on social media.

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The finishing touches are being put on the first OHL game to be hosted in Warwick Township.

The London Knights take on the Erie Otters in an exhibition match Aug. 29.

The game is a fundraiser for the Brooke-Alvinston-Inwood Arena floor replacement project which is almost complete. Tickets for the event have sold out.

The municipality is replacing the cooling system in the Alvinston arena so Warwick Township agreed to host the game at the East Lambton Community Centre.