The Stanley Cup is coming to Honeywood and Shelburne this Sunday.  

Aaron Downey, the Detroit Red Wings pugnacious winger, will return to his hometown to showcase the fabled trophy with his family, friends, and thousands of hockey fans.

Honeywood is a hotbed for hockey talent despite a limited population. In 1993, Bert Wilson, a Honeywood native, cracked the New York Rangers' roster.  

Downey is considered a rugged, relentless professional, who made the show from an incredible amount of hard work, desire and passion.  

He grew up playing minor hockey in Honeywood, provincial Junior A hockey in Collingwood, and even managing a few shifts for the Creemore Chiefs of the Senior Hockey League.  

There are a number of festivities surrounding the visit of Lord Stanley's mug.

At 12:30 p.m., there will be a parade starting from the Shelburne Arena. The parade will include, and also honour, the Shelburne novice league champions, the Honeywood novice rep Ontario champions, the Honeywood girls hockey club, the Shelburne Veterans junior lacrosse team, and figure skaters from the Honeywood and Shelburne communities.

The official ceremonies take place at Honeywood Arena at 3 p.m., followed by photo opportunities with Downey and the cup. From 3:30 p.m. through to 2 a.m. there will be food, live entertainment and a licensed beverage room at the arena, with all proceeds going to support minor hockey in Honeywood and Shelburne.

Downey will be joined by Red Wings' teammate, defenceman Kyle Quincey, who was born in Dufferin County but spent the majority of his minor hockey days in Kitchener.

On the baseball scene Thursday, Bolton and Lisle played the conclusion of the game from last Sunday, when during the North Dufferin Baseball League's (NDBL) OBA playoff classification tournament thunderstorms stopped the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with Lisle leading 8-6.

The game lasted all but 10 minutes as Lisle obtained the two outs they needed to end the inning and the game, with the score still 8-6.

The win created the need for a second game as the Brewers received their first loss in the double-loss elimination tournament. That game was played immediately after with Lisle outscoring the Brewers 5-1 to send them to the Provincials in Wallaceburg for the 'D' tournament on the Labour Day Weekend.

The other two NDBL elimination tournaments for the 'B' and 'C' classifications were decided earlier with New Lowell winning the 'B' and Creemore the 'C'.

Alex Hargrave is a sports writer for The Stayner Sun. His column appears each week.