The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Over the years, there have been a number of excellent hockey players grace the ice surface at Snow Lake's Wilfred T. Lipton Arena. Ernie Ramstead, Ken Baird, Cal Hammond, Joe Milburn, Gary Gaudet, and Shane Holunga, to name a few. In the recent past, the action in the old home town barn hasnÕt been as fast and furious, but with the dedication and tutelage of some exceptional coaches, the community has still managed to see a few of her favorite sons excel and become elite players. Although he no longer lives in the community or in the area, Lem Randall is one those players who still calls Snow Lake home. Randall is currently playing in Division Ô1Õ hockey in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), for the Maine Black Bears. This US College hockey team plays out of the Harold Alfond Sports Arena in Orono, Maine and covets such famous alumni as Paul Kariya, Dustin Penner, Garth Snow, and Keith Carney. Randall played his freshman year for the team in 2007-08 and is looking forward to his sophomore year and those that follow in his quest for a degree and further hockey experience. Along with his parents and four sisters, Lem Randall came to Snow Lake from Yellowknife, NWT in the mid-nineties. The Randalls almost immediately enrolled their son in the local minor hockey program, and he soon began lacing them up with a series of Snow Lake Spartan teams. He played his Novice, Pee Wee, and Bantam hockey in the community. With little other than rec hockey available in town for those finishing out their Bantam years, leaving Snow Lake was the only choice for players who wished to progress further. At the age of 15, Randall traveled to Thompson, Man., and tried out for the Norman Northstars, AAA Midget franchise. He had a hardnosed style of play that featured heavy hits, pin-point passing, and a decent set of hands around the net. Making the team was a foregone conclusion, as was impressing Junior ÔAÕ scouts during the two years he played with the club. In his two seasons with the Northstars, Randall notched 35 goals, and an equal number of assists, and in his second year was chosen to attend the leagueÕs All Star Game. Step up Still able to play one more year as a midget, Randall opted to step up and play Junior Hockey instead. As the OCN Blizzards held his rights in Manitoba, and were coming off their fifth consecutive league championship, he elected to sign with them rather than test the waters in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. While there, he excelled. He played four years of Jr. Hockey for OCN, attending the leagueÕs All Star Game during three of them, and finishing sixth in league scoring during his final year. During that year, he had 101 points and a team-high 209 penalty minutes. Contacted via e-mail at his parentsÕ home in Osler, Saskatchewan, the 6Õ 1Ó, 205 lb, centerman is training for the upcoming season, but took some time to talk hockey - past, present, and future. Of his first year of school and hockey in the states, Randall says that he really didnÕt know what to expect, but is happy with how it all turned out. ÒItÕs a great hockey atmosphere and everyone in the area is always looking to help out the freshmen and make them feel at home,Ó he said. ÒI found taking classes while playing hockey very demanding, and know that I have to keep on top things to succeed in both. There is not much time between the books and the rink. But at the same time, I couldnÕt see myself doing anything else at this point in my life.Ó Presently taking courses in KPE Exercise Science (Kinesiology and Physical Education), Randall says that he wants to finish that degree and then possibly continue into a pharmacy program. And although he knows it is still a long ways off, he says hockey will prove tough to put away. In that regard, he doesnÕt rule out staying in the sport and Òchecking out the scenery in Europe one day,Ó or continuing on and becoming a physical trainer. With each level in the game, come new challenges, new strategies, and new systems. The fundamentals are static, but how they are incorporated is forever changing. Many times it seems to the player, as if they are starting over. Randall says that the biggest difference between hockey at the Junior ÔAÕ level and College is the quickness. He says there is no time to play around and try to make that extra move with the puck. ÒWhen you get it, you better have a good idea what you are going to do with it,Ó he explains. Randall says that he started his freshman year on the fourth line and pretty much stayed there for most of it. ÒI finished the year with onr goal, onr assist, and about 12 PIMS in 24 games,Ó he said. ÒI had a few opportunities to step up with injuries and things like that, but ice time was considerably lower than previous years in junior.Ó Displaying some of the determination that got him where he is, Randall feels that will only improve in the coming season. Of the coaching, the sophomore believes that it has also gotten more complex with each level he ascends to. ÒThe college game is so much about systems and positioning,Ó Randall said. ÒWe go through a few hours of video before and after games and really try to get as well prepared as we can.Ó As well, the Black Bears have a number of coaches who are on the ice during practices, telling and showing players how to work on certain aspects of their game that need improvement. Training for the college game is also very intense. Both in and out of season, Randall follows strict training schedules that focus on specific movement relating to hockey. Randall points to the solid grounding he received in Snow Lake, and lessons he learned along the way, as reasons for his success in the game. ÒEven though it is tough to get exposure living in the north, IÕm really happy where I grew up playing hockey,Ó he said of Snow Lake. ÒWhen I started playing midget in Thompson, it was a big change from minor hockey. Living with a new family, I had to grow up a lot faster than IÕd have liked to. But I feel it prepared me for going to college and living by myself in another country.Ó And of playing hockey in another country, the hard hitting centerman says, ÒI think the best part of going to play so far away is that you donÕt know anybody on the other teams, so when you hit them, you donÕt feel bad.Ó
