Loading...
The Citizen, 1998-04-08, Page 14ports From the sidelines The Bermuda Triangle of W. Ontario sports Switch to natural gas appliances! No payments until September '98f Enter to win' $1500 in appliances Terms and Conditions t Deferred payments available to Union Gas residential customers on approved credit and financed through Union Gas and participating Member Union Gas Appliance Dealers. All other offers not applicable. Offer valid from March 6 to April 26,'98. There are no set-up fees or early payment penalties for financing. .No purchase necessary. One contest winner will receive $1500 in appliances, one of which must be a natural gas appliance. Contest closes April 26,'98. Draw date is June 15,'98, See participating Member Union Gas Dealers for complete rules and regulations. *Union Gas Limited 1998 'U' PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998. Midget Bulldogs come home with Canadian Cup By Rusty Blades The Blyth Midget Bulldogs capped off their dream season this past weekend with the 1998 Montreal Canadian Cup Tournament championship. By Hugh Nichol Brussels founder William Ainlay's foresight was incredible when, after surveying the situation in the mid 1800s, he decided the location would be perfect for settlement. Acres of untouched soil, close to water of the present day Maitland, the land was filled with potential for the growth of a community. Unfortunately his chain was a link short when it came to visualization of the Brussels sports world. Not because of quality or quantity of future sports enthusiasts, or the limitation of events but rather the who and where of inter-community competition. Confused? Groupings for sports are usually determined by location with divisions named after simple geographical terms. North, South, East, West, Atlantic, Central, Pacific, all give a definite idea of where teams are situated. Close proximity to your opponents saves travel time, increases rivalry, and allows fan support to mix and mingle. Brussels is situated almost directly in the centre of a diamond-shaped parcel of land bordered by Hwy.'s 4- 86-23 and 8 (or whatever 9-1-1 restructuring has named them). This area can be described as rustic, picturesque or historical, but in reality it is the Bermuda Triangle of Western Ontario sports. Our sports teams are like a sailboat on a windless day, floating aimlessly awaiting a gust of a Lake Huron wind. Direction is secondary, for gone are the days of Men's Tri- County Softball when Brussels was the centre pillar surrounded by teams in Jamestown, Ethel, Moncrieff, and Walton. Today we are the north team in a south division or the south team in a north division. Take our Junior Hockey Club for example. The Bulls started in the Grey Bruce Junior League and were the only team south of Hwy. 87. They later transferred to the Western Jr. D loop and except for a few select years travelled exclusively south of Hwy. 8. In an effort to cut travel costs the Bulls joined the Junior C ranks where today all their opponents are situated north of Hwy. 86. After the demise of Tri-County Softball our men's team joined the South Perth League and in their first year were the only entry north of the The team travelled to Montreal from April 2 - 5 with everyone contributing to the Championship victory throughout the weekend with solid play and off-ice fellowship. Londesboro-Gads Hill boundary. Later they switched to the Bluewater League where they were the only team south of Hwy. 86. Today the Tigers and Bulldogs play in the Huron County League where, with the exception of Walton, all teams are Hwy. 8 or below. For a change in direction our minor soccer teams, members of the North Perth League, are the west club in an east division, and if they switched to the Lake Huron League would be the east team in a western division. We are however not alone and perhaps this is what our "founding father" was thinking when he donated the land for the present day ball park. In major league baseball during the 1970s, 80s and early 90s, the Atlanta Braves played in the West Division of the National League with Los Angeles, San Francisco and and San Diego. At the same time the East Division St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs flew over West Division Cincinnati Reds airspace enroute to their divisional opponents. The City of Chicago was literally divided in half as the Cubs played in the East Division of the National League while the cross-town rival White Six played in the West Division of the American League. The NHL tried to confuse us by using proper names for its divisions but the idea was the same. The Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings were teammates in the Norris Division for seven years. In 1980-81 the Calgary Flames skated in the Patrick Division alongside the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Philadelphia and Washington. For two years the Adams Division consisted of Buffalo, Boston, Toronto and the California Seals, while the Vancouver Canucks first four years of existence were played in the NHL Division. And don't forget it was not that long ago the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were East Division Champions of the Canadian Football League. Perhaps that is why nobody was surprised when our minor hockey Juvenile team was placed in an East Division with Shallow Lake, Hanover, Walkerton, Lions Head, Wallace and Mildmay, and played an interlocking schedule with the West Division teams from Clinton, Goderich, Elma-Logan, Lucknow, Ripley and Teeswater. So maybe Bill's chain was the right length after all, even if someone did yank it just a little. After all last year's Homecoming was a celebration of 125 years at the same location. After arriving in Montreal late Thursday afternoon the Bulldogs used their free time on Thursday evening for a Montreal orientation session. They then opened the Canadian Cup tournament on Friday with two round-robin wins. Their first game turned into a relatively easy 8-1 thumping of the Philadelphia Roman Catholic Selects. The Bulldogs took control with four unanswered first-period lamplighters on their way to victory. Mike Haggitt earned Player of the Game honours with a three-goal and two-assist effort. Single game markers were added by Mike Ansley, Jamie Black, Dave Ansley, Darrell Gerrits and Chris Carter. Single game assists were recorded by D. Ansley, Steve Oldfield, Darryl Bromley, David Craig, Mike Courtney, Cory Bragg, Jeff Cowan, Jon Kochis and Craig Marks. Scott Bromley and Dean Wilson split the game between the pipes although they were rarely tested. Chipping in with solid defensive play were Kyle Anderson, Tyler Stewart and Derek Cook. In their second game the Bulldogs built a 5-0 second period lead before coasting to a 6-1 win over the Toronto Bert Robinson Knights. Again Bromley and Wilson shared the netminding duties as Blyth outshot the Knights 48-4. Gerrits was the Player of the Game, scoring Blyth's final goal after earlier adding two assists. D. Ansley lit the red light twice while single goals were scored by Black, Haggitt and Courtney who also each earned an assist. Additional assists were credited to Bragg, Anderson and Cowan. Blyth's third game of the tourney was played early Saturday morning against the Thorburn, Nova Scotia Golden Hawks. The Bulldogs scored three goals in the first and third periods and cruised to a 6-0 triumph. Bromley and Wilson shared the shutout while Craig earned Player of the Game honours. He picked up an assist and created offensive havoc throughout the contest. Marks, M. Ansley, Anderson, Bragg, Gerrits and Kochis dented the twine. Haggitt led the assist parade with four helpers and Stewart, Gerrits, Courtney, D. Ansley, Marks and Oldfield added single helpers. Early Saturday afternoon the Bulldogs cleaned up in the Skills competition. Two shooters and one goalie from all Midget Division teams competed with Haggitt winning the shoot out in a lengthy breakaway session. Bromley was the runner-up in the goalie competition, while Haggitt and 4-Wheel Drives lose to Durham The Milverton 4-Wheel Drives "AA" hockey season came to a close Saturday night with a 4-2 loss to Durham. Although the series was hard-fought and evenly played the record books will show a four- game sweep by the Thundercats. The win gives Durham their ninth championship in 12 years, (They were finalists to Tavistock in 1995, while the Brussels Crusaders were champions in 1988 and 1990) with the trip to the finals being the Drives first since an intermediate "D" appearance in 1989. Despite the loss, Milverton Continued on page t9 Cowan were runners-up in the relay race. Blyth faced their stiffest test of the weekend late Saturday afternoon as they lost 4-3 to the Mariposa Lightning from Little Britain, ON. The teams were tied 1-1 after the first and 3-3 after the second, but Mariposa scored the only third- period goal. M. Ansley scored two powerplay goals and Courtney added the final Blyth tally. Oldfield, Haggitt, Stewart, Cowan and Gerrits counted game assists in this round-robin finale. Mariposa finished in first place and the Bulldogs in second which put these two teams into the championship game on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs were a team on a mission as they reversed Saturday's loss with a convincing 5-0 whitewash. Courtney set up Gerrits for the opening goal of this championship game with only 26 seconds remaining in the first period. Cowan assisted on the only second- period goal as Haggitt slid the puck through a maize of legs to give Blyth a 2-0 lead. D. Ansley earned Player of the Game honours with two third- period goals, sandwiched around a goal by Courtney. Black assisted on Ansley's first, Cowan and Gerrits helped with Courtney's tally while Bragg earned the assist on the final goal of the game. This was certainly a fitting end to an eventful season as captain Mike Ansley accepted the Montreal Canadian Cup. Former Boston Brain goaltender Gilles Gilbert presented Championship gold medals to all team members as well as a plaque to M. Ansley who was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Bromley -went the distance between the pipes to earn the shutout for the Bulldogs. Injured Bulldog Corey Campbell also made the trip and gained some coaching experience as he helped cut behind the bench. This trip was also about more than hockey as everyone who attended enjoyed several extra- curricular activities including sightseeing, a trip to the casino and museums and attending the Montreal Canadiens-Carolina Hurricane NHL game on Saturday evening. Saturday afternoon former NHL goaltender Greg Millen was the guest speaker at a reception at Les 4 Glaces complex where all tournament games were held. Before Sunday's Championship game the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes held a team practice on one of the ice pads at the complex. An exhausted Manager Allan Craig said, "The team arrived home, blond hair and all, early Monday morning with memories that will last a lifetime." All players agreed that, "This was a wonderful way to cap this championship season and we will always be indebted to those who made it possible. We hope that future Bulldogs will be allowed the opportunity to experience a trip like this." Coaches Wayne McDougall and Doug Chamney also enjoyed the trip and to the Bulldogs would like to say, "Thanks for the memories!" FROM THE DOG POUND: Former Bulldog Ryan Chamney and the Exeter Hawks have advanced to the OHA All-Ontario Junior Development Final, winning a tight, seven-game semi-final series against the Port Stanley Lakers. They now face the Wellesley Apple Jacks in a rematch of the 1996 All-Ontario Final when Chamney and Jason Rutledge helped Exeter win the Championship in a classic seven game series. Thank You Stephen would like to thank the Blyth Minor Hockey for the opportunity of playing with an all-Ontario team. They are a great bunch of people. We've met and made a lot of new friends. Special thanks to all the coaches for all the dedication and hard work that they did. Congratulations to all the boys. it was a pleasure being part of this team. Thank you, Stephen, Darlene & Jim Oldfield DEALTREALT MONTGOMERY'S COMFORT CENTRE LTD. Hwy. #4 South, Wingham - 519-357-4300 Port Elgin - 519-832-2026 Natural gas a • pliances