April 2019 Editor: Mark Romer The season is entering the final weeks. We are sad to report the passing of a Past President and a current member of the board & Mixed Day League. Both of these members made significant contributions to our club. We are also honoured to announce the appointment of a new Honorary member. Read on for more details and good luck to all members during the league playoffs. Albert Anthony “Al” Kmec December 11, 1937 - March 10, 2019 Once again we have lost one of our fellow curlers, Al Kmec, who left us March 10, 2019, after suffering a terminal illness. Al leaves his only son Ian, and his grandson Jackson, along with other family members. Al joined the Montreal West Curling Club in 1996, and continued to enjoy curling for the last 23 years, up until his illness became very difficult to manage. Al enjoyed spending time at the curling club and he was a dedicated curler who very rarely missed a game. Al also volunteered his time by helping with different activities including helping the Day Ladies set up the hall whenever they held their special events. Al served on the Board of Directors of the Montreal West Curling club during his later years, and represented the Mixed Day Curling League. Al also volunteered at the Queen Elizabeth Health Center.

Al will be remembered kindly by the members of the MWCC for his dedicated service and spirited play. [R LeMesurier]

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Debby Laramee March 10, 2019 Deb Laramee joined the Montreal West Curling Club in the early 1990 and soon became an integral part in several of its leagues. She served as President of the Wednesday evening Business Ladies League in 2003 and 2004. At the same time, Deb was the Recording Secretary of the Curling Club’s Board of Directors. In 2005 Deb became the club’s 2nd lady president. Along with her friend and partner Myke Wilder, Deb helped organize the Friday evening Wilkinson

league and the Saturday morning Junior program. Deb was an entrepreneur – years before this career choice became fashionable. She was an industrial photographer with Canadian National Railways for many years. She travelled across Canada taking pictures of railway lines in the most remote locations. She also had a home photo studio which allowed her artistic and creative juices to flow. She had a wonderful eye for beautiful things. Deb was very conscious of our environment long before the cause became popular – always using re-cycled paper when printing documents! Deb was a very gentle and generous person and contributed greatly to a number of local women’s shelters. During her summer months, Deb played softball with a local group known as the “space cadets”. Deb will always be remembered for her warm and welcoming smile. [Cathy Hughes] Nacy Gallant – Honorary Lifetime Membership It is with great pleasure that the Board of Directors is presenting our friend, past board member and past President Ronald “ Nacy” Gallant with a Lifetime Honorary Membership.

The NEW Miriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition of a “volunteer” is a person who, of his own free will, offers his time and energy for a service or duty in an exceptional and extraordinary manner. This definition exemplifies the many years of service Nacy has given to the Montreal West Curling Club. An Islander by birth, Nacy left Prince Edward Island as a young man, to come to the big city of Montreal where he worked in the sales division of the Shmata business. Alongside his wife Barbara, they raised three wonderful children who have blessed them with 9 beautiful grandchildren. To Nacy’s chagrin none of them curl! Nacy joined the Montreal West Curling Club in the 1990’s and immediately took on a visible leadership role.

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His presidential years, the first in 1999 and the second in 2007 through 2010 were years highlighted by club “issues”. Under Nacy’s transparent, level-headed and inclusive leadership style, the curling club emerged every time stronger than ever. Whatever the case in point might have been, his motto was always “whatever is in the club’s best interest”. Nacy believed in working in an inclusive manner, with a great sense of humor all the while being guided by his astute way of reading both people and issues. He believed in a “pro-active” approach to dealing with issues, formulated ways of problem solving and led the board in a positive manner. A true visionary, Nacy always seized the opportunity to expand the curling club’s membership and highlight its successes. Under his directorship, a group known as CANFIR (or Canada First) joined the club under the umbrella of the “Sunday afternoon curlers” and still is a part of the club’s “reservation” leagues – meeting every Sunday morning. Nacy served as President of CANFIR for close to 10 years. The Montreal West Curling Club has benefitted by the addition of a number of CANFIR members to its league rosters. A dozen or so years ago, Nacy was invited to curl at the Glenmore Curling Club in a day event called “Kurling for Kids” – a successful fundraising event which takes place every year. Nacy soon became an integral part of this fundraising committee, brought the “day” to Montreal West and under his directorship K4K has been THE most successful curling event each year. Working diligently with the committee and the members of the club, Montreal West remains the #1 fundraising club for this event. This is because of Nacy’s dedication to the cause. During the month preceding the event, Nacy is at the club, putting on his “one-man show” to each of the club’s leagues, explaining how K4K works and encouraging everyone to either participate on the day or sell tickets for the cause. There is no pressure, but you can count on Nacy to make sure that you sell your tickets to keep Montreal West in that # 1 spot. His soft spoken manner and encouraging ways are hard to turn down! For those of you who have either curled with or against Nacy, you know he loves the game of curling and is always a team player. His welcoming manner, his jovial attitude and his encouraging words contribute to his passion for the game. Nacy’s additions to the game are his well-recognized wide out turn known as the “Elbow Shot” and his distinct “yell” - the decibel determines whether to sweep or not to sweep. Nacy’s mild manner, humbling demeanour and steadfast presence on and off the ice, have been a continuous driving force behind the successes of the Montreal West Curling Club. We thank him for his long-time service and award him with this Honorary Lifetime Membership. Congratulations Nacy!

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Shamrock Bonspiel The Shamrock got under way Monday with a 12 team draw which quickly sorted out to a two division play-down in “A” and “C” divisions. There were some close and exciting games (The Potato Peelers taking The Craics down to the last rocks!) and some less exciting games which are now long forgotten!

Friday’s finals were extremely close in the A and AC divisions. In both cases, the eventual winners were behind at the mid-point and required some patience and the last rocks of the 8th end to secure their victories. The finals were followed by a delicious Italian dinner and Irish-themed trivia quiz organized by Trish Dempsey. Congratulations to this year’s Champions: “The Shenanigoons” with skip Mark Watson, Tyler Watson, Mike Simpson and Diane Huculak. The finalists “O’Lucky Lazyboyz” were skipped by James Eaglesham, with Jason Eaglesham, Rick McKenzie, Brandon Doyle and Wayde Brenie. For more info visit our Shamrock Page and BLOG on the club's Website. A special thanks to the various volunteers who helped with the running of the tournament:

Suzel Julien & Ellen Meredith who made sure we were well nourished after the games. Kari Parm for handling the bar and producing the specialty Irish cocktails! Howie Myers, Mark Romer & Rob Philion for management, scorekeeping, and communications through the week. Pebblers & Nippers who helped with the ice maintenance between draws.

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Shamrock Bonspiel March 11-15, 2019 A Winners The Shenanigoons Diane Huculak Mike Simpson Tyler Watson Mark Watson A Finalists O’Lucky Lazyboyz Wayde Brenie Brandon Doyle Rick McKenzie Jason Eaglesham James Eaglesham A Consolation Winners The Whiskey Stones Steven Fagen Marc Philion Daniel Philion Trish Dempsey A Consolation Finalists Fumblin Dublins Steve Hirst Don McKenzie Chris Palamar Wayne Myers Howie Myers

A

AC

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B Winners Irish Creamers

Jeremy Shepherd Nathan Shepherd Joel Proulx Claude Tellier Angie Marszalek Lester Shepherd B Finalists The Craics Fred Hooper Danielle Denis Mickey Thun Ellen Meredith Jonathan Knight C Winners Ship O’Fools Kelly Gazdewich Alex Patton Mandy Lecocq Rob Philion Scott Grafton C Finalists The Dublin Outsliders Harvey Artsob Chris Morrin Anne Mitchell Peter Vaupshas

B

C

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D Winners The Sham Rocks

Martin Jacobs Eddy Cheong Jocelyn Brace David Brace Glenna Jacobs D Finalists The Potato Peelers Jon Albert Liz Codsi Marie Falardeau Kelly Hall Liz Boyer and 2 more competitors : Nil Fhois Agum Jacqueline Camley Denis Kubat Andre Gariepy Peter Graham and Paddy O’Furniture Marc David Suzel Julien Bonnie Soutar Mark Romer

D

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Financial Report from your friendly treasurer John Ford ( Hector the Collector ) WOW – The last month of Curling! Time flies when you’re having fun on the ice. March is our last month of our CHIT service for the current year. Anne will be sending out the March Statements in the coming days (as soon as we have processed all the current transactions). News! The Board of Directors have been looking into upgrading the top floor of our club. The last improvements were made in 1965 and many areas are in need of attention. This is a very large capital project for which funds have already been set aside. As per our by-laws – “All members in good standing are the owners of the club” and as such, all members have responsibilities. How can you help your club? [1] Please make sure your March 31st final statement is paid in full as soon as possible (and at the latest by April 30th). I do not wish to borrow money to finance these improvements and would love to present the final financial statements for this season with an Accounts Receivable balance of $0.00. We are very lucky to be able to finance this capital project from our building funds accumulated by our membership over the past 9 years.

[2] Volunteers will be needed! As the renovation work begins this summer the project coordinators will need your help. So please offer to volunteer your time and expertise by contacting myself or Anne. We will all benefit from these improvements. Thank you for your cooperation and looking forward to seeing you around the club over the summer months.

At the Electric Company: “We would be delighted if you send in your payment. However, if you don't, you will be delighted." Mixed Day Curling League Here is a report from Bob Lemesurier: The Mixed Day Curling season is winding down and playoffs will start April 10th 2019. Our year end luncheon will be Wednesday May 1st, 2019

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Kurling for Kids On March 24th, Trish Dempsey organized the 3rd annual Paint Nite Benefit to support Kurling for Kids. The successful event drew 35 aspiring artists and raised $700 for K4K, with 35 participants. Many of the participants were first time painters and everyone had a blast! March 30th Our K4K day at MWCC day on March 30th was an absolute success and we cannot thank you enough for all your support and being part of such a successful and well recognized charity! Amazing! This is the first word we can think of when we presented a cheque in the amount of $73,000 for our club, which is only $4,000 short of our club objective of $77,000. We are at 61% or $306,561.90 of our $500,000 objective for this year. Now you might ask how will we get there? The formula is simple, it is with your assistance! What can you do? You can continue to solicit friends, family and business partners. If you raised the minimum of $250, for another $50 you will now be eligible for an incentive prize! If you need more tickets please contact us and we will get the tickets in your hands ASAP. Thank You! This event would not be as successful as it is without your participation! Your Montreal West Curling Club, Kurling for Kids Committee Mark Watson, Jamie Burnett, Nacy Gallant, Trish Dempsey and John Stone

Day Ladies Match Report Here's a report from Susan Leger-Hussey: The 2018/2019 curling season is almost over. Let’s recap what we have accomplished so far… We have completed five competitions (President’s, Maple Leaf, Past President’s, Crystals, and Royal Montreal) and two mini-competitions (Curling 101 & Three’s Not a Crowd). We will finish Skins on April 2 and Fillies on April 4. We’ve had two curling clinics (thanks to Sandra Jones) and two skills competitions (thanks to Anne Mitchell). Results from our Royal Montreal competition are gold medalists Team Jeong and silver medalists Team Linder. Our last Fun Day will be held on April 9. Our Queen Bee ladder finals will be held on Monday, April 1. Congratulations to all the finalists. Congratulations as well to Team Mitchell who finished in first place of the seasonal competition and won a berth directly into the finals. LCA Report Here's a report from Angela Geoffredo: Hello Ladies. Spring is here, I know because of the buds on the trees and the geese that have come back from their winter homeland. Although the weather outside has not been too great for walking on all that ice, there is still lots of curling left on our indoor ice sheets!. LCA Competitions JACKSON - We have just finished playing the Jackson, the last of the LCA competitions which was held March 21 at various clubs across Montreal. Forty-seven teams entered and played their games at clubs who offered ice time and hospitality. Montreal West donated 4 sheets and our usual hospitality coordinated by Rosemary Cochrane and Dale Houston. I thank them both for their continued support of LCA competitions held throughout the year at our club. They provided juice, coffee and sweet breads for all curlers before their morning games. Montreal West entered six teams - five from the Day Ladies section and one from the evening and weekend section. We did not do well this year in terms of points but I hope that all ladies enjoyed playing at the different clubs and meeting new curlers. CHALLENGE GAMES - The LCA Challenge games, Birks (double entry), Ted Thompson (5 yrs. +) and the Dudley Kerr (5 yrs. less) are complete and only the finals of the Birks to be played at Hudson Legion on Thursday, April 4th. 9:30 am. This should be fun to watch, so if you are an early bird, and want more curling time, venture out to the Hudson Legion to watch Glenmore and Lacolle play in the Birks Finals.

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Montreal West Day Ladies entered the Ted Thompson and the Dudley Kerr and lost to stronger teams, but did not enter the Birks. We look forward to participating next year in the Challenge games. Thank you to Irene Rixon and Aline Patterson, our Day Lady catering team who made wonderful lunch meals for Challenge Games curlers at our Club and to Anne Mitchell for bar services when needed.

Maggie MacLaren, one of our Day Ladies wearing the original hat worn by Mrs. Ted Thompson, who along with her husband Ted Thompson, contributed a trophy for the LCA Ted Thompson Challenge games. The hat holds more than 42 winning pins won by Mrs. Thompson while curling at national and international competitions. Included are pins from American clubs including Schenectady and Utica, clubs in Newfoundland and Manitoba and even Scotland! The two hats, one from Mrs. Thompson and one from Ted Thompson (also covered in at least 45 pins), were donated to the LCA by her daughter Lorna, 91 years old, who lives in Ellsworth, Maine. The hats were passed onto me from one of our day ladies, Anna Grafton. It must have been very heavy wearing these hats while curling.

New LCA Day Ladies rep next September, 2019 After many years participating in the LCA as part of the Executive in District 1 (Quebec) and as LCA rep for the Day Ladies of Montreal West, I will be stepping down and moving on to other ventures and handing over the LCA duties to someone new this coming September. I know that whoever is chosen will provide all Day Lady Curlers with information and support for all LCA competitions as well as submitting updates in the ROAR. I wish to offer special thanks to Greg Kehoe and his ice team who ensured that all LCA games at the Club had the best ice conditions for all their competitions. Thank you also to Angela Marszalek, our new LCA rep for the MWCC Ladies, Evening and Weekend section, who provided information for LCA events. Here is hoping that she will continue to serve LCA in this capacity for another year. I wish all Lady Curlers, Day, Evening and Weekend a good summer and look forward to your participation in the upcoming curling year at Montreal West. Angela Bridge Groups Here's a report from Hille Viires: The last luncheon bridges of the season will be Wednesday April 10, 2019. Please note, it will be a regular luncheon bridge and NOT a dessert bridge as it has been the last few years. To reserve your table to play cards or board games, sign the sheet in the women’s locker room or email Hille Viires at hvgk@sympatico.ca

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Tuesday Bridge group continues with starting time at 12:30 PM with the last day to be April 30. April 9th will be the pizza day. Come and join the fun. Convenor: Cathy Wardlaw Duplicate Bridge continues on Mondays at 1 PM. Convenors: Carlos da Roza: cell 438-870-7025, carlos.daroza@gmail.comand Linda English: 514 697-9745 Ladder Here is a report from Howie Myers: The 4th session of Ladder curling has come to a close and the final standings for both Tuesday and Thursday divisions are presented in the table at the right. Congratulations to Team Dominique Jean for being Regular Season Champs in the Past-Presidents Ladder! The playoffs will start on Tuesday, April 2. The top 8 teams will play for the Ladder Playoff Championship over a 3 week period. The 3 B Division teams will be joined by a 4th team made up of Instructional & Wednesday night players looking to test their game and there will be a 3 week round robin. Congratulations to Team Scott Grafton for being Regular Season Champs in the Grafton-Hunt Ladder! The playoffs will start on Thursday, April 4. The top 8 teams will play for the Ladder Playoff Championship over a 3 week period. The 3 B Division teams will be joined by a 4th team (Team Boyer) and there will be a 3 week round robin.

PP ladder (Final) GH ladder (Final)

JEAN 52 GRAFTON 51GRAFTON 48 SHIP 46

CARTWRIGHT 43,5 M. PHILION 44DEMPSEY 39,5 R. PHILION 37WATSON 36,5 WEINGARTSHOFER 36,5

CADORETTE 36 CARTWRIGHT 34,5DAROZA 28 MARTIN 33,5TOTEDA 25 MYERS 30,5

HALIBURTON 24,5 WATSON 27BELANGER 24,5 DUBEAU 21,5

COHEN 23,5 WYATT 19

Looking Good at the St Patrick’s Day Parade !!

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Wednesday Evening EHL Here is a report from Claude Tellier: With three weeks remaining in the winter round-robin, Robbie Sproule and his team are leading the pack with a record of 8-2. Sophie Bélanger's team is in close pursuit, with a record of 7-2 and one game in hand. The teams of Guillaume Leboeuf and Mark Romer are also in the race, so it's almost certain that we will only know who wins at the end of week 13. Stay tuned! As usual, we are always in need of replacement players, frequently on very short notice. So if you are available to play on any given Wednesday in April, please contact our Match Coordinator at match.ehl@gmail.com

À trois semaines de la fin du tournoi à la ronde de l'hiver, Robbie Sproule et son équipe se retrouvent en première position avec une fiche de 8-2. L'équipe de Sophie Bélanger est en deuxième position avec une fiche de 7-2 et un match en main. Les équipes de Guillaume Leboeuf et Mark Romer sont également dans la course, donc il est presque certain que nous ne saurons l'équipe gagnante à la fin de la semaine 13. Restez à l'écoute! Comme d'habitude, nous avons toujours besoin de joueurs de remplacement, souvent avec un préavis très court. Si vous êtes disponible pour jouer un mercredi pendant le mois d'avril, veuillez contacter notre

coordinatrice de match à match.ehl@gmail.com

On a repair shop door: WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR – THE BELL DOESN'T WORK.) Notice in a farmer's field: THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES.

EHL Standings – March 31, 2019

RANK TEAM TM# PTS #GP WIN TIE1 Robbie Sproule 9 26 10 8 02 Sophie Belanger 10 23 9 7 03 Guillaume Leboeuf 11 22 9 6 14 Mark Romer 7 21 9 6 05 Francois Monarque 13 20 10 5 16 Lester Shepherd 2 18 9 4 16 Claude Tellier 3 18 9 4 18 Mike Allen 1 17 9 4 09 Mike Simpson 12 16 10 3 010 Angela Marszalek 4 15 9 3 010 Peter Vaupshas 8 15 9 3 012 Karoyln Brault 6 14 9 3 013 Geneviève Lemieux 5 13 9 2 0

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Wilkinson Curling Here is a report from Jim Doyle: The regular season has finished. The Alex Hall Team won the 2nd session and will play the 1st session winner, Team Fagen, for the Wilkinson Trophy and the chance to represent MWCC at the ARCM Provincial Mixed competition next Fall. The playoff will take place on April 12th and a Pot Luck meal and celebration will take place after the 6:30pm draw. Teams who are scheduled to play at 8:45pm will have the option of playing their game later that night or accepting a tie. The final game of the curling year will be held on April 19th. Thank you for a most enjoyable season!

Chicago radiator shop: BEST PLACE IN TOWN TO TAKE A LEAK In the front yard of a Funeral Home: DRIVE CAREFULLY – WE’LL WAIT In a Veterinarian's waiting room: BE BACK IN 5 MINUTES. SIT! STAY! Carpet Bowling Here's a report from Kathy Hardiman If you know someone who might be interested in Carpet Bowling - We would be happy to welcome them for a free trial on Tuesday, April 9th from 9:30am – 11:30am at the Montreal West Curling Club, 17 Ainslie Road, Montreal West. Alternately, our next season will start early October 2019 and carry on until mid-April 2020.

Wilkinson Winter 2019 FINALRANK TEAM GP PTS WINS TIES

1 Alex Hall 11 31 10 02 Claude Tellier 11 25 6 23 Steven Fagen 11 24 6 13 Ivo Duarte 11 24 6 23 Jonathan Knight 11 24 6 16 Mark Romer 11 23 5 37 Lester Shepherd 11 21 5 08 Joelle Green 11 20 4 19 Jeff Cohen 11 19 4 09 Keith Kavanaugh 11 19 4 0

11 Norm Savoie 11 18 3 212 John Ford 11 15 2 0

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Junior Curling Here's a report from Jim Cochrane: March was a quiet month for our younger set as Spring break applies to Junior curling as well! Since we did not have too many events, we wanted to highlight the curlers who work hard every week but do not necessarily play in the bonspiels. We have had several new curlers join our ranks this year – many of them since the New Year. As we all see on the TV at this time of year, curling is becoming a sport that many countries enjoy – and our new Juniors come from many corners of the world. However, unlike past years, in our recent experience, it is the kids that are driving the interest to learn curling. Of our 25 or so Junior curlers, only a handful come to us from a family with a curling tradition. Most of our Juniors are the first curlers in their families. This is a unique situation, but one our club has, and should continue to take advantage. We have already converted some of our Junior parents into Instructional league curlers.

There were two events in which our Juniors did participate this month. We sent a contingent to represent our club at the Junior bonspiel in Schenectady, NY. Our teams have often done well there, and this year was no different. The squad of Nathan Shepherd, Jeremy Shepherd, Clovis Leclerc and Jake Greenbaum placed second in the second division. More importantly, the Montreal West Juniors and our club by extension, received a great honour during that bonspiel. To commemorate our long-standing support of this fun event, the Schenectady club presented our team with a replica of our club crest. This crest, with several other honourees that have been awarded in previous years, will hang on the wall in the shed in the Schenectady club. You can see the crest in the accompanying photo. Finally, we once again had a Junior presence in this year’s Kurling 4 Kids event. Robin Meldrum, Clovis Leclerc and Aiden Cochrane joined their coach Jim Cochrane in this year’s version of the Rockwaves K4K team. The team played well winning the first and tying the second game. More importantly, the team was again one of the top fundraisers in

Montreal West. Everyone enjoyed playing and many club members were once again impressed with the quality, skill and sportsmanship of our young Juniors. Our season wraps up on April 6 with our annual pizza party.

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Canfir report from Chris Babajko: Canfir is a mixed social curling league of various ages and skill levels. We play Sunday mornings from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, followed by a light lunch. If you are interested in sparing for Canfir, please send an email to canfircurling@gmail.com Congratulations to Rob Williams and his team (Christopher Babajko, Nancy Duplessis & Claude Labreque)

WMSCL - Here are the current standings from Anthony Altobello:

Don't do any vacuuming with your head phones on. I just finished vacuuming the whole house before I realized the vacuum wasn't plugged in.

Please take a moment to check out Canfir’s

Facebook Page for the latest buzz about our

league and the curling world. While you’re there, don’t forget to

“Like” our page.

CANFIR Standings (Final Season Standings)

RANK TEAM # WIN LOSS TIE PTS1 5. Rob Williams 11 5 0 382 6. Howie Myers 8 5 3 353 2. Danny Boyd 8 6 2 344 1. Bob LeMesurier 7 8 3 335 4. Pierre Cadorette 6 8 3 326 3. Luc Arseneau 7 6 2 317 7. Sophie Belanger 4 11 0 23

WMSCL (Final Standings & Playoff Scores )

Regular Season Finish Rank TEAM Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 TOTAL

1 Mike Simpson 11 112 James Botsford 25 253 Angela Marszalek 8 84 Glenna Jacobs 23 235 Jonathan Knight 24 246 Andre Lepine 14 147 Michael McKeown 19 198 Rick Hughes 15 15