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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-02-06, Page 6The next generation By Craig Nicholson (©2001 by Craig Nicholson. All rights reserved.) EDWARD FUELS SALES AND SERVICE HONDA, YAMAHA, SKI-D00 JOHN DEERE, SABRE TANAKA "Your Arctic Cat Sledquarters' ARCTIC CAF What Snowmobiling's A11 About."' Service to most makes of small engines Automotive farm and tire service 519-345-2248 Mike Kells WINGHANI • 357-3435 Jim Bauer 1119- t311017.1-11R6EINI brought to you by: e Advance' snowmobile products The best for your sled! SPECIALIZING IN ROTAX CRANKSHAFT REBUILDING • CYLINDER REBORING • RE-SLEEVING *VALVE GRINDING COMPLETE MACHINE SHOP SERVICE Wingham (Hwy. 86 just east of Hwy. 4) (519) 357-3435 Fax (519) 357-3081 F rowlmoirwrimm. PAGE 6 THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2002. Sports 411ezik filarifielifor CRAIG NICHOLSON Put out The Blyth PeeWee Bulldogs finished off a visiting Bayfield team on Monday night, winning the second straight game in the best of three playoff series. (Vicky Bremner photo) The Blyth PeeWee Bulldogs host- ing back to within one. Once again ed Bayfield on Monday, Jan. 28. Cook went to work wristing another With the Bulldogs up in this playoff Albrechtas pass by the Bayfield net- series one game to none, the pres- minder. The Albrechtas-Cook duo sure was on Bayfield. would strike again with Albrechtas The Bulldogs came out flying. finding the net assisted by Cook. Darcey Cook scored on an unassist- John Bokhout closed out the scoring ed effort seconds into the game, then for the Bulldogs on a pass by Kyle put the Bulldogs up by two, assisted Nixon. Bayfield struck for one more by Josh Albrechtas and Kyle Nixon goal with 1:53 to go but that was all late in the second. they would get. Bayfield came to within one, find- The Bulldogs skated away with a ing the net shortly after. 6-3 victory and eliminated Bayfield The Bulldogs picked it up in the with the win. Joel Salverda made third. Cook took a pass from many spectacular saves in backstop- Albrechtas to gain his hattrick in the ping the Bulldogs to a first round third period. Bayfield scored sneak- playoff victory. Bulletts edge Parkhill, St. Marys The Brussels Midget Bulletts wel- mounted a pressured attack includ- corned Parkhill to town on Saturday, ing pulling the goalie for the equaliz- Feb. 2. er, but were unsuccessful as Parkhill Parkhill caught the• Bulletts flat- won 4-3. footed as they scored three unan- On Sunday, Feb. 3 St. Marys came swered goals to hold a 3-0 lead at the to Brussels. The Bulletts took the end of the first period. lead in the opening period with The Bulletts didn't quit. Alicia Candace Procter snapping the puck Dick got things started knocking a in, assisted by Rebecca Bruton and rebound home in the second. Kern Meier. Assisting on the play was Britt In the second Danielle Good sent a Campbell and Kristen Palmer. pass up ice to Ritchie who rifled a Brussels scored again when wrist shot to the top corner. Palmer Campbell took a pass from Dick and snapped one by with 27 seconds left slipped a shot past the Parkhill in the period, assisted by Sarah goalie. Palmer gained an assist on McDonald to give the Bulletts a the play as well. With only minutes commanding .3-0 lead. remaining Michelle Cook one-timed In the third period St. Mary's an Ashley Ritchie pass by the goalie showed some spark sneaking one by to knot things up at three after two Nicki Berfelz in the Brussels cage periods. that would be as close as they would In the third period Parkhill found get, however and the game finished the net for a 4-3 lead. The Bulletts in a victory 3-1 for Brussels. Juveniles down by 2 games The Wingham McFadden's fought battle. Brian Sinclair and Maytag Juveniles find themselves Craig Marks scored for Wingham. trailing Lucknow two games to one Curtis Knight and Peter Irwin picked in their WOAA semi-final series. up assists. Saturday night saw the team lose Game four goes Friday night in in Lucknow 6-0. Sunday the team Lucknow at 8 p.m. and game five, if returned to Wingham. Lucknow necessary, goes in Wingham skated away with a 4-2 win in a hard- Saturday at 3 p.m. Blyth Novices win B The Blyth Novice Bulldogs Local League team won the R Division Championship in the Wingham tournament on Saturday, Feb. 2. After three periods in the first game against Listowel, the score remained 0-0. John Lecomte, Aaron Popp, Michael McDowell and goal- tender Grant Sparling took on three of the Listowel players and their goaltender in a shoot-out. Although Michael McDowell was successful in scoring, the Listowel team scored twice giving them a 2-1 win. Blyth continued by playing the home team of Wingham in their sec- ond game of the day. The entire team played an excellent game. Sparling held Wingham to one goal and McDowell scored once in the second period and once in the third period to give Blyth a 2-1 victory. Blyth took on Simcoe in the final game. Simcoe took the lead with the first goal. Trevor Raynard scored an unassisted goal in the second peri- od. Daniel Elliott was the next play- er to score against Simcoe, assisted by Aaron Popp. Once again at the end of three periods the score was tied 2-2 and a five-minute overtime period was played. At the end of the overtime period the score remained tied, Three players and a goaltender from each team once again engaged in a shoot-out. Both goaltenders allowed one goal in the first round. Raynard scored for Blyth. Again tied, it came to a sudden-death shoot-out. Katie Richmond was vic- torious and scored the winning goal. During the lunch break, Colton Kerr and Sparling competed in a skills competition. Grant placed first for goaltending in a field of eight. Colton made a great effort against his competitors in a shooting competition. There was also a puck toss over the lunch hour and Jordan Teed (sister of the Bulldog Dana Teed) was closest to centre ice. Thanks to the coaching staff of Larry Plaetzer, Sue Richmond and Matt Bromley (as well as all of the parents who volunteer their help on a weekly basis), the team won their first tournament trophy of the sea- son. PeeWees lead Brussels PeeWee Reps command- ed the playoffs against Howick with two solid victories. In game one goals by Matt McClinchey (two), Matt White (three), Adam Corbett (two) and Adam McClure helped Brussels enjoy an 8-1 romp. Assists went to Christopher Jutzi, with four, Greg Bowers with two, McClinchey, Corbett, Chase Chapman, Jordan Campbell and Andrew McDonald. Game two in this best of five series also went to Brussels. Leading the scoring in this 7-1 effort was McClinchey with a hattrick. Singles went to Corbett, McClure, Bowers and Steven Ropp. Creditted with assists were Bowers with two, Chapman, Jutzi, McClinchey and White. The squad can clinch this series with a win in Howick tonight (Feb. 6) at 7 p.m. New engine technology is here to stay. It will reduce snowmobile emissions, lower fuel consumption and decrease noise levels even fur- ther. But will it deliver the same punch and excitement as our familiar two-strokes? You bet, just wait and see. Last winter both Arctic Cat and Polaris rushed to market with four bangers that were more of a political statement than a immediate benefit to snowmobilers. In fact, it might be argued that these two manufacturers have jumped- the gun on a pending new standards announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency. After all, it was just last winter that new emissions tests for two-stroke snowmobile engines proved that existing EPA data was over-estimated by an astounding 335 per cent! Although I was pleasantly sur- prised by the smooth low-end accel- eration and quietness of the Arctic Cat offering, the throttle maxed out at 60 mph and took forever to get there. I was concerned about not having the top end oompf to pass, pull through slush or come out of corners. I also wondered if we're in for a whole new era of animal colli- sions now that the fauna won't hear sleds coming from a distance any- more! Meanwhile, the aftermarket folks are salivating over the modification- prone four-stroke engines, but all their talk of turbos and mods has my _pocketbook clenching. It also makes me wonder if this add-on parapher- nalia will decrease the environmen- tal gains that prompted their genesis in the first place. Both Arctic Cat and Polaris have brought much improved four-stroke combos to market for 2002, albeit in a very limited number -of models. But I wouldn't be buying one yet. First, like any new technology, first attempts can be close to obsoles- cence before they even ship. As Bombardier and Yamaha enter the market in 2002/03, snowmobilers can expect revolutionary, next gener- ation sleds, re-engineered from the snow up by all four manufacturers. Count on Bombardier to take a close look at its already successful two-stroke orbital technology, This new owner of the FICT system has also recently introduced a new four- stroke engine for its ATVs and per- sonal watercraft — can snowmobiles be far behind? And what about Honda, perhaps the world's most established manufacturer of four- stroke engines? If they ever intend to get into the snowmobile business, wouldn't this be their opportunity? One thing is certain. We will soon be riding sleds that are the most advanced, quietest, fuel efficient and emission-friendly our sport has ever experienced. They will likely handle better and be more comfortable to ride. They should be less expensive to operate, using regular fuel and requiring only oil changes just like cars. The big questions are: will all of this innovation attract new riders, and will snowmobilers be willing to pay a little more to help protect the environment? 'Meanwhile, rumour already has it that sooner than later, many current snowmobiles will be as out-of-date as bogie wheels, so be very careful about what you buy for the next year or so. Until next time remember to be a Safe Rider this winter. For trail con- dition reports check ofsc.on.ca Craig Nicholson is .a regular con- tributor to Snow Goer, Canada's Snowmobiling Magazine. The Intrepid Snowmobiler also appears on radip and on Snowmobiler Television. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. • PeeWee Dogs down Bayfield