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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1991-05-08, Page 1714 OHA Junior 'D' final iri h sunk by Trojans for the second straight year By Fred Groves THAMESFORD - Three times a bridesmaid, never a bride. For the third consecutive year, the Lucan Irish have gone to the Ontario Hockey Association Jun- ior 'D' finals, and for the third year they have finished second. Wednesday night in Thames - ford, the Irish were beaten 4-1 as the Trojans took the best -of -seven series in five games. Last year, Thamesford beat Lucan in six games and in 1989, it was the Lambeth Lancers coming out on It feels worse this time than it did last time," said Lucan coach Ken Needham. "I really thought we could beat them." In the final game, Thamesford took a 2-0 first period lead and al- though Jon McEachem gdt his fifth goal of the series in the sec- ond period, the Trojans hung on. McEachern's goal resulted when Thamesford's Jean Marc Loiselle carried the puck into the Lucan end and was met by a very solid bodycheck from McEachern. The big Lucan forward then stole the puck, went down the rink and snapped a quick shot high on the glove side past Scott McKnight. With several players sidelined due to injuries, McEachern picked up a lot of the offensive load and Needham said he was very pleased with the performances of goalie Dan Jenken, forward Andy Ross and defencemen Jamie Pearce and Kevin Leitch. Pearce, who along with Todd Hayter were the Irish overagers, Thamesford captain Quinn McKnight who had five goals in the series, thought winning the overtime game was important. "That could have turned things "It feels worse this time... I really thout we could beat them" Ken Needham played in his final junior game Wednesday night. For him, it was another chance to win, but once again he 'had to finish for second best. "You get upset everytime you lose, no matter who it's to," said Pearce. • He said the third game of the se- ries, a 5-4 overtime win for Tha- mesford took the momentum away from the Irish and so did the fourth game, a 9-5 blowout for the Tro- jans. "I thought they- were a better team last year. I think we could have played better but there's no excuses," said Pearce. around. They could have tied it up and it might have gone further than five (games)," he said. Comparing the 1991 Thamesford team to last year's squad was fairly easy for Needham. "You have to give them credit, but I don't think they're as good as they were last year," he said. "I think they were total offence and no defence, we couldn't crack them," he added. Kept battling: Even though the Irish were on the brink of elimina- tion, it didn't look like they were about to give up, especially the way they were handing out body checks. Lucan's Tim Hayter banged Scott Bowers so hard in front of the glass that it rattled and Bowers retaliated and got a trip to the penalty box. Hayter played one of his best playoff games and in one second period shift, dished out two hard hits and had a couple of good scor- ing chances. On one of those he had McKnight beaten and flipped the puck over the net. Although Thamesford lost about half of their players from the 1990 champs, they only lost three regular seastfn "We camee in pretty confident but they gave us a run for our money," said Quinn McKnight. "We had some really good goal- tending and a lot of depth. We had four good lines where they might have only had two." With all the injuries to the Irish, Needham had to do some line jug- gling and the line of Dan Brand, Ross and McEachern was his top trio as they combined for seven of the 17 goals in the series. Jason Wilson and Brian Schuyler had a good series with three goals each. They were not linked in the finals with their regular linemate Darren Neil. While the two teams were bat- tling on the ice, a fight broke out in the stands in the third period. Last Friday, in game three, the local po- lice were called twice to the arena but they did not show during Wed- nesay's brawl. All over - Lucan defenceman Jamie Pearce, left; dished out a hard ward, both a pair of tough guys, congratulated each other on a hit during the game and after, Tim Hayter and Thamesford Jim Ho- good series. Alif 1c).07. GtiefoctiO'YJ C'• tA•A•tez•A•N•T• E • 6•'V ` v l vr v v v v v .r v r►946 •i2-;• v t► VitteriO Et41/At e, A stunning arrangement including a purely .. beautiful white Japhet orchid - perfect for your Mom on Mother's Day, 4 • ` nay i 3495 AfOrt• VY -I/ Spring's freshest blossoms beautifully tucked into o vase. With or without a special heart sachet for Morn. 15.00 ttfD Q jarcivi,Plate Flowers to enjoy the whole summer through! Patio pots, mixed pans, geraniums, Impatients, hangin baskets, - all ready to plant out of doors. AGsoft. Prices tyi OfillItkak-130LtAgt Blooming colours In a white -painted basket your Mom will love 29.95 Give our "Mug of Love' for Mother's Day. A bright colourful mug brimming with fresh flowors. a% • TeJP bre, C,o Du,5e l/t1u e, h flthi owers, Filled with fres s lovely arrangement features a beautiful porcelain carousel horse that will be a lasting reminder of your affection. 39.95 Lovely fresh cut flowers ready to arrange In your own vase at home, 109%2,Ib.95 (0.�.�TPY [IOWOS` Z3i5—Z3te0r we defivr,rSmileB F,,, I A look back at winter 90-91 t was back in early September when I took a piece of paper and toped it to the wall behind my desk. On it 1 scribed all the arenas and all the hockey games I'd be cover- ing over the winter. The list was never filled in and that piece of paper has long been ripped off the wall. But there is a lot I remember about the hockey season. Like the night I made my first trip down to Dunnville with the Ex- eter Senior 'A' Mohawks. Richard Hawkins wasn't playing and he decided to get into a little bit of a scrap. It wasn't preuy but neither was the playoff series which came later between the Mohawks and the Mudcats. It would be pretty tough to find anyone in Exeter who is a fan of Dunnville's Gerry McSorley. I wrote a sidelines column and if you recall, I scribed that he left more than one Mohawk bleeding and battered. What I enjoyed the most about covering hockey this winter was the huge rivalry between the Lucan Irish and the Exeter Hawks in the Junior 'D' League. The Times -Advocate is the only paper that covers these two clubs and at times there was more of a rivalry between them to see who could get the most ink. But as far as on the ice is concerned, both are class operations. There's a lot of other Junior 'D' teams that would be glad to have the executive the Hawks or the Irish have. The Hawks took a risk this year with Derek Shackleton; dil._ paid off in big dividends. The SCMarys native -was a rebel and the coaching staff thought it best to give him an 'assistant captain's sweater. It kept the lid on his temper and Shackleton responded with three goals and an assist in the 4-3 win over Port Stanley in the seventh and deciding game of that series. Steve Vandenberk broke his ankle, Shayne Robinson scored two goals in a playoff game against Seaforth and while going after a hat trick he broke his thumb. Injuries hurt every team and it seems the longer the season, the busier the team trainers get. No one knows this more than Lucan's Pat Riddell. Brandon Telfer broke his ankle in the first game he played for the Irish. He since returned to the lineup. But rookie Jeremy Jemec broke his wrist, Greg Muir an ankle, and Tim Hayter suffered a sep- arated shoulder. The biggest blow to the hockey team has to be that of Todd Hayter. He and Jamie Pearce were the club's twooyeragers this year and were the backbone of the blueliners. Todd suffered a mild concussion and two very _big bruises to the back of his neck as a result of a fight he had with more than one Ex- eter Hawk in the final game of the division final. In a game against Thamesford, Todd was hit in front of the Lucan bench by Jean Marc Loiselle and went immediately to Riddell's in- firmary. Two days later, Todd had his spleen removed and will be off work for two months. His brother Tim had his spleen repaired a year ago and now, when they go to the beach, can show off their matching scars. The final game of the Lucan-Exeter series was very intense and I admit it was pretty tough for me to watch guys who I have covered all year, beat up on each other. "The penalties that came out of that game are being investigated," said Ontario Hockey Association Brent Ladds. He added the OHA will be lvinLmore details at the end of next Well, hockey's over but once again I Managed to scam a few 'souvenirs. A puck from Ingersoll, the odd program here and there and a cherished hockey stick which hopefully will sit by my desk for many years to come. sidelines by Fred GI ayes Of all the arenas I was in this past winter I recommend the hot chocolate in Mt. Brydges, the hot dogs in Lucan and don't eat the hamburgers in Dunnville. The Times -Advocate has been covering a lot of bowling ban- quets lately and I came across a very interesting story. At the Town and Country Bowling Lanes banquet in Hensall re- cently, Tony Bedard who owns the Zurich facility with his wife Marlene told me about his team,'Family Affair.' In February, his team was tied for first place when tragedy struck. Teammate Jack Hamilton died of a heart attack at the bowling lanes. The team went into a slump but regrouped and came back to win the playoff championship. 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