The Golden Puck Hockey Committee was formed in 1964 to host their 1st annual hockey tournament at the Westside Arena in 1964 with 8 Peewee Novice Allstar teams from various towns in Ontario. It is now the longest running minor hockey tournament operating in our community. The out-of-town players were billeted with Port Colborne families for the 3-day tournament. Since 1964 the tournament has grown in leaps and bounds these past 58 years with the last tournament having a novice and an atom and a peewee division with over 40 teams using 5 ice pads. It is hoped that the tradition continues for the next 58 years.
The original members of the Committee were Wray Benner Sr., Fred Butler, Colin Filson, Jack Longfellow, Archie Roy, Don Simmons and Rene Smits. Some long-time members included Gary Benner, Bill Burgess, Ken Burke, Al Buzzi, Art Hamilton, Harry Mahaffey, Norm Martel, and Martin Van Gool. The annual Golden Puck tournament is named in Van Gool’s honour.
