Off Ice Officials – Meritorious Service
Prince Albert is known as a Hockey Town. Hockey games do not occur without off-ice officials and for over 30 years, a group of 7 gentlemen have been key volunteers for over 26,000 hours of their personal time to run the scoreclock, game sheet, penalty box and/or goal-judge at games of the Prince Albert Raiders, Mintos, Bears and other key hockey events. Gerry Bergen, Elder Bergen, Lloyd McBeath, Jean Mauviuex, Wayne Soles, Rick Willey and Ron Wildey have been mainstays at hockey rinks behind the scenes for decades.
Besides countless games for the top level teams in the city, they also have worked the 1999 Air Canada Cup, 2009 World Junior Championship Exhibition Game (Switzerland vs. Austria), 2014 Telus Cup Western Regionals, 2014 Saskatchewan Winter Games, 2017 Esso Cup Western Regionals and other key hockey events in the city.
Gerry Bergen
Gerry Bergen has been deeply involved in hockey all of his life. From a rink rat for the Junior Mintos at the old Minto Arena to coaching his boys in minor hockey for 11 years to president of the East End Community club, assisting in the formation of the Centre Four Hockey and serving as its inaugural rules chairman to canvassing for the construction of the Comuniplex (now the Art Hauser Centre), hockey is in Gerry’s blood.
Gerry started as an off-ice official in 1984 with the Junior B North Stars & Generals and Midget AAA Raiders. In 1985 Raider Assistant Coach Rick Wilson called to get Gerry to assist as an Off-Ice Official, a position he has held since. Bergen started coordinating the officials through the Western Hockey League, in 2000 scheduling a crew of 13 into the 9 positions required at each game. He is highly respected by the Western Hockey League for his integrity and attention to detail.
Elder Bergen
Gerry’s brother Elder is another mainstay as an off-ice official. Elder started volunteering in 1975 at the East Hill hockey through 1978. From 1975-79 he was the secretary, chair of rules committee and referee coordinator for the PA Minor Hockey League.
Elder Bergen was part of the off-ice crew that assisted Female AAA Hockey to get established in Prince Albert working for the Bears for their first 7 years as timekeeper. He has worked 21 years with the AAA Mintos and 20 years on the WHL crew for the Raiders. His duties with the Raiders have included goal judge, penalty box keeper and communications.
Lloyd McBeath
A lifelong Prince Albert resident, Lloyd McBeath got involved with minor hockey through his two sons, Clifford and Shaun. He coached for Parkalnd, Carlton Park and Crescent Acres in PA Minor Hockey for 10 years and also coached Tier One Pee Wee AA for 12 years. He was on the Crescent Acres Community Club committee evaluating players for 2 years.
Lloyd McBeath has been working for the WHL Raiders since 1998-99 as a penalty box keeper and score keeper. He joined the off-ice crew of the AAA Mintos in 1999-2000 and joined the off-ice staff of the AAA Female Bears in 2014-15
Jean Mauvieux
Jean is following in the footsteps of his father Louis Mauvieux who was a long-time off ice official with the Raiders and Mintos. He started with the AAA Mintos in 1997-98 and with the WHL Raiders in 2007-08 primarily as goal judge.
Wayne Soles
Wayne Soles coached minor hockey from 1974-79 and volunteered to help build the East Hill Arena.
He started volunteering as an off-ice official for both the AAA Mintos and WHL Raiders in 1991=92.
Rick Willie
Rick Willie started as a coach with his son Travis from 1989-93. Travis would go on to play in the WHL. Rick was the manager of the Pee Wee AA Accra Lock Lightning in 94-95 and PA Minor Hockey Association Tier 1 Chair from 1995-2001. He chaired or co-chaired the AAA Midget Ice Mania Tournament from 1996-2007.
He was the Tier 1 chairman when Prince Albert hosted the Male Midget AAA National championship (called the Air Canada Cup at the time) in 1999. Following that he recommended to PA Minor Hockey that the AAA Mintos be run by a Board of Directors and he was on that board as a chair until they won their first Canadian Title (Telus Cup) in 2006.
Rick Willie has been a time keeper for both the Mintos and Raiders since 2003.
Ron Wildey
Ron Wildey has had a lifelong involvement in hockey, beginning with playing on a pond near Paddockwood with his father and brothers. He managed a Senior Hockey team in the Garden River League during the 70;s and 80’s, and the was manager of his son Robin’s minor hockey teams from Novice to Bantam.
Ron and his wife Deb got involved volunteering, starting with working the door at the Mintos Ice Mania Tournaments in the mid-1990’s. In 1998 he joined the Mintos Off-Ice crew as a goal judge, penalty box attendant and score keeper. He continues to volunteer for the Mintos to this day.
Ron joined the WHL Raiders off-ice officials crew in 2008 with various duties, then joined the Female Midget AAA Northern Bears off-ice official crew in 2014.
