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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-09-23, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010.SportsIronmen extend season-opening winning streak The Wingham Ironmen are a perfect 3-0 after two weekends of Western Junior C Hockey League action. The most recent win came Friday evening at the North Huron Wescast Community Complex, at the expense of the Hanover Barons. The Ironmen needed a shootout to claim the 7-6 win over the Barons. “This was a tougher win than we wanted,” coach Chad Haggitt said after the contest. He said the Ironmen played hard and never quit. The Barons took a 6-4 lead in the second period as they were able to take advantage of a breakdown in Wingham’s game plan. “That breakdown in our game is something we are going to have to work on in practice,” said the coach. “We are a young team and will make mistakes.” Haggitt said the Ironmen knew going into the game that the Barons were a good hockey team and were looking to improve on the previous weekend’s results when they lost two games. “We played well,” he said. Chase Chapman of Brussels scored with 29.5 seconds left in the first period to give the Ironmen a 3- 2 advantage going into the middle stanza. The defenceman said the players knew they would have to come up with a excellent effort to beat Hanover. He added that the Barons would be playing hard because they didn’t want the same result as the previous weekend when they lost two games. “We knew what it took to beat a good team like Hanover,” he said. Chapman said the Ironmen had a full squad for the game against the Barons. The assistant captain said it was good to see the young players come through and play well. He added it was good see the team come back the way it did and pull out the victory in the shoot out. Cory McDonald opened the scoring in the game at 4:23 of period one. Brett Brophy made it 2-0 exactly one minute later. Hanover tied the game on goals by Jim Hutchison and Jacob Brown. Chapman scored to give the Ironmen a lead. The Barons got goals from Steven McDonald, Trent Hay, Hutchison and Dylan Weltz to take a 6-3 lead before the second period reached halftime, Brandon MacDonald started in goal for Wingham, but was relieved by Matt Stirling following the sixth Hanover goal. Chris Corbett of Brussels scored two goals to get the Ironmen within one of the Barons by the end of the second period. Graham Ashcroft scored at 2:04 of the third period to tie the score and send the game into overtime. Nothing was decided in the extra period. Corbett and Aaron Armstrong scored on their shootout attempts. Hanover’s Rob Lucciantonio was the only successful shooter for his team. Wingham outshot the Barons 45- 42 through 65 minutes of hockey. As for the team’s next home game against the Goderich Sailors on Friday evening, Haggitt said the teams will not take the Goderich squad lightly, just because they scored an 8-3 decision over them during the first weekend of play. “They gave us a good game last weekend,” he said. Chapman agrees with coach Haggitt and the Ironmen will not be able to take the Goderich Sailors lightly. “We are going to have to keep the same momentum we had here tonight (Friday) to be successful against the Sailors,” he said. “At 3-0 we have a good season going.” The Ironmen host the Goderich Sailors on Friday at 8 p.m. at the North Huron Wescast Community Complex. On Saturday, the Ironmen are in Mitchell for a 7 p.m. game against the Hawks. By Jim Brown The Citizen The Wingham Golf and Curling Club enjoyed another busy week. Tuesday, Sept. 14 the ladies wrapped up their match play with Linda Walker coming away as champion. Ed Daer won the A side match play while Steve Nixon was B side winner. The Wednesday morning seniors had 16 golfers out on a cool, but sunny day. Brian Skinn shot a tidy 38 to win low gross. Doug Neil was low net with Ross Peacock placing second and Skinn coming in third. The Thursday night men, despite the wet night, had 25 golfers hit the links. The winners were: closest to the pin, Doug Neil; longest putt, Lorne Millen and Doug Neil and hidden score, John Nicholson. Richard Watson fired a 40 to post low gross for the night. This group is sure a super bunch of dedicated golfers. Friday night, Rona treated its contractors to a night away from work. The 25 guys enjoyed nine holes of golf and a barbecue out on a beautiful night on the patio. On Saturday, the club hosted the “Grumpy Old Men Tournament” in honour of the late Brian Marston and Al Godfrey. Around 75 family, friends and children had a great time playing golf before enjoying each other’s company in the dining lounge. On Saturday, the club also had a nine-hole scramble for 20 gals and guys from the Blyth Legion. On Sunday, Sept. 19 the Lucknow Lions Club had a nine-hole scramble at the club. The 50 golfers enjoyed a fantastic sunny day and shared many good shots and laughs. Following the Lions group, the club hosted the Robinson family get-together. The group played nine holes of golf and then enjoyed supper in the golfers’ lounge. OUT OF BOUNDS NEWS The Wingham Golf and Curling Club was honoured again this week hosting the tournament in memory of Al Godfrey and Brian Marston. It was a special sight to see all the children and the smiling young faces. The club was presented with a bench in memory of Al and Brian that will be placed overlooking the fourth hole. Al and Brian are gone, but not forgotten. Chip and a Putt – By Bruce Skinn Wingham Hitmen lead league at Blyth tournament The first-year Wingham Hitmen are the Huron County Fastball League champions for 2010. The league’s year-end double- knockout tournament was played in Blyth this past weekend. A four-run fourth inning carried the Hitmen to a 9-3 decision over the Walton Brewers in the championship game played Sunday afternoon. To win the championship, the Brewers would have had to defeat the undefeated Hitmen in back-to-back games. Scott Leonhardt was the losing pitcher for the Brewers. Jason Daw went the distance on the mound for the Hitmen to earn the complete game win. Mark Olsen had a triple and two doubles for Wingham. Steve Bourne contributed a pair of triples, with Daw getting a pair of singles and a triple. Devon Connor had a triple and single for the Hitmen, with Ken Hogg contributing a double. Bruce Pearn hit a pair of doubles for the Brewers. Rapping out singles were Ron Strome, Paul Dolmage, Leonhardt and Matt Shortreed. Although pleased with the overall performance of the team in the tourney, Walton manager Paul Dolmage said he was disappointed in the outcome of the final game. However, they knew Wingham was a good hitting team. “They beat us two times in the tournament,” the manager said. Dolmage said he was satisfied with the play of his team, but just wished it had been a better outcome. He did note that Bruce Pearn had a good tournament. “Our pitchers, Scott McDonald and Scott Leonhardt, were solid,” he said. The Brewers opened the tournament with win over the Belmore Stingers. Leonhardt was the winning hurler and connected for a home run. Darryl Houston, Strome and Shortreed rapped out two singles each. The Brewers went up against the Hitmen in game two, managing just a pair of runs in the setback. Leonhardt was the losing pitcher. McDonald had a triple and a single in a losing cause. Pearn had a double and single in the team’s third game as they scored four runs in their win. Houston and Leonhardt each had a pair of singles. In the Brewers’ fourth game, against Exeter, the Brewers needed just two runs to win the game. Leonhardt was the winning pitcher and had a double and single at the plate. Strome rapped out a pair of singles and Shortreed connected for a triple. Walton scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as they defeated Goderich Grizzlies. McDonald earned the win on the mound and contributed a triple and single at the plate. Leonhardt, Pearn and Shortreed each had a pair of singles. The Brussels Tigers played four games in the tournament, winning two and losing two. The Tigers opened the tournament Friday evening with a 9-2 decision over the Wroxeter Rippers. Shawn Daw was the winning hurler. Daw paced the offence, by going 3-4 at the plate and getting two RBIs. Jason Kellington and Ty Sebastian were each 2-3 at the plate with two runs batted in. The Tigers lost 8-0 to Wingham in their second game. Sebastian was tagged with the loss. Steve Scholl and Daw were each By Jim Brown The Citizen Naked Ladies are here again - Colchicum - Autumn Crocus (thousands of them) Potted blooms available now Treasure Valley Crocus John Gaunt 38929 Belgrave Road Phone: 519-887-6038 REPRINTS OF PHOTOS taken by Citizen photographers are available to purchase. ALL ARE IN COLOUR 4x6 - $4.00 5x7 - $5.00 8x10 - $8.00 Phone to order ~ 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 Continued on page 9 Perfect The Wingham Ironmen racked up their third win in as many tries on Friday, beating Hanover by a score of 7-6 after a shootout. The team has now improved to a perfect record of 3-0 thus far. (Jim Brown photo)