The Leaside Flames minor bantam AA team has won the Toronto Aeros Winter Challenge Tournament. The tourney is a battle of undefeated teams. The Flames won the championship game 3-1 over the Ottawa district Cumberland Jr. Grads last week. The two teams had tied their preliminary round tilt 2-2 to open the tournament and then went on to win their two other preliminary round games as well as their respective semifinal games before meeting up again in the championship match as recorded in the East York Mirror. The team is now preparing for the Greater Toronto Hockey League Playoffs starting in February. Members of the championship team are Robert Oberfuchshuber (trainer), Chris Nagadowski, Martins Linde, Sam Smeeton, Vincent Lexovsky, Broc Edghill, Tanner Sanford, Ryan Stansfield, Rob Stansfield (co-head coach) and Shane Edghill (assistant coach), Chris Power, Wyatt Neal, Liam Rivard, Matthew Schell, Caiden Royce, Brandon Raftis and Matthew Oberfuchshuber, goalies Tanner Borsch and Josh Martin. Congratulations to everyone 

Five benches which were hand-crafted from wood salvaged off the site of the Leaside Memorial Gardens expansion have now been delivered and are in use at the arena outside the dressing rooms. This refreshing news and until now almost unknown project is mentioned on the arena’s Facebook page this day. The arena thanks Mercer Brown Contracting, the firm that constructed the benches. But it is apparently a story involving a number of skilled people, starting with the contractors who cut the trees, carefully selected on the woodlots beside the original arena. Simon Stevenson is the owner of Leaside Landscaping. He told the South Bayview Bulldog part of the story. The Maple and Linden trees were marked where they stood, cut and turned into logs. Later, they were  milled at a location near Fenelon Falls. The lumber was then stored for a year at a facility of the public-spirited Canada Self-Storage firm while it dried. The wood was then we daresay lovingly fabricated into the benches now located outside the basement dressing rooms at the arena. They were delivered on Monday, January 26, 2015. The management posted a message asking that members and the public “be respectful” as they enjoy the benches so they last for many years. Photo: There is a new warmth outside the dressing rooms at the arena to greet waiting parents. Inset, Laura Spracklin with her daughter Nicole Manneh Thursday evening awaits son seen emerging after a game.  More on how benches were built