HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-02-19, Page 13W
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CRASHERS - FEB. 20 - FEB. 22
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Senior 'A' hockey
Mohaii&s drop two, finish second
By tired (:roves
EXETER - -Ail season long -The
Exeter Mohawks have received
strong goaltending but on the week-
end their biggest weakness was be-
tween the pipes as they lost two
games. `
A 9-5 defeat at the hands of the
Dunnville Mudcats on Saturday fol-
lowed the next night by an 8-7 loss
to the Point Edward Steeplejacks
resulted in .the Mohawks finishing
second in the Southern Senior 'A'
Hockey League.
It was the third straight loss for
the Mohawks who are idle until
playoffs gig this. weekend.
Saturday night's game in Henson
was for first place and it resulted in
the Mohawkshaving to play Inger-
soll B's in the opening round of
playoffs while the Mudcats await
'the winner of to Dorchester
--Aryhaersetrieglo rollr'th-placc.
After the game, Exeter coach
Dave Revington said finishing first
was very important, not -just from
the prestige point of view.
He said the top spot, guarantees
home ice advantage, the 'Mohawks
wanted to prove they could beat the
'Mudcats -antf .Itaaily, Revington -
said the B's will give his team a
tough time.
"We really didn't•want to play In-
gersoll the. first round because we
have a tough. time against .them,"
said Revington.
Exeter took a very quick 2-0 lead
on Saturday when Dale Gibbon
scored just 44 seconds into the
game and it was Tim Shields giving
the Mohawks a comfortable mar-
gin.
Hut the Mudcats hauled back,
--connecting with -three-powetptay
goals. It was 4-3 for Exeter at the
end of 20 minutes as Greg Snyde,
and Joe Scherer scored.
Penalties hurt the Mohawks as
they let Dunnville back in the game
early, giving up three quick goals.
"Our discipline hurt us,- we took
sC 11,0 poor penahies, said Reving-
ton.
Jeff Hill started the game and al-
though he did make some key
saves, including a stick save laying
on his back, he was replaced after
five goals by Rick Rettig.
"Two of the three previous games
we should have beaten thesn.`We
outshot them and -dominated deem.
We should have won that overtime
game down there," said Revington
Poor defence: Dunnville cam('
on strong in the second frame, scor-
--ing four unanswered goals and
jumping into a 7-4 lead which the
Mohawks could not recover from.
From the opening minutes of this
game it was evident that defence
for both teams would not be a main
concern as they attacked the offen-
sive zones with a great deal of au-
thority.
"They (Dunnville) get scramble -
type goals. They flood the front of
the net and they bang away at it,"
said Revington.
Snyder was the lone -Mohawk to
soore in the third period while
Dunnville's offence was paced by
`the three goal, two assists perfor-
mance of Mike Kerslake. Dale Kel-
lr had two goals with singles to
Continued on page 14
Hensall runner is a Canadian champion
Grant St. John is not only a busy man during the day at W.G.
Thompson's but he spends many long hours running.
By Fred Groves
HENSALL - After a 20 years ab-
sence, Grant St. John is doing
something he enjoys and does very
well, running.
The Hensell resident is the Cana-
dian masters champion in the
10,000 meters in the age group of
44-49.
A former university and high
school competitor, St. John just
started lacing up his shoes again in
1989 following a 20 year break.
"1 got married and I.strayed away
from the sport. I kind of got
wrapped up in my job," said St.
John in his office at W.G. Thomp-
son and Sons in Mensall.
"About 1989 I kind of. got the
bug to do some masters competi-
tions. 1 always had this thing in.the
back of my mind to give it one
more shot."
e (rose 20 years, St. John would
go for the occasional jog but he
would not run at all for stretchesup
to six months. Now he is a disci-
plined runner who trains at the Uni-
versity of Western Ontario. both on
the track and in the pool.
"1 woke up one day and said 'i(
you're ever going to get in shape
and do this, do it right away or it
will be too late'."
While St. John runs up to 50
miles a week in the summer, he
does most of his trainingnow at the
univeraity which includes putting
on a .wet vest and running in the
pool. But that doesn't mean he
doesn'tbattle the bad weather.
"I have to or 1'11 lose it. In the
winger 1 run around town."
Third in bis-gre.p: lie recently
finished third in his age group at an
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outdoor race in Michigan. There
were 700 entrants and he was an
amazing 35th overall. Two other
races in Michigan earlier this year
were fust•place efforts.
"Most of the competitions are on
the road but I love the track be-
cause that's what I did as a kid." he
said.
St. John was fifth in the all -
Ontario high school two-mile event
when he iived in Sunderland and in
the fall of 1965 was on.the Ontario
wmning team .at the Canadian
• cross-country championships.
He was a member of the East York
Track Club in the late '60's before
taking a break from running.
Last summer:in Ottawa, St. John,
45, was first in his age group at a
masters hack meet which was
billed as the Canadian champion-
ships with a.time of 37.35 over the
10,000 -meter _:Mince Which -Is
about six and a quarter miles.
The -win was rewarded with being
invited to an Ontario banquet
where, winners of various ages and
sports were recognized.
St. John is scheduled to run in
Michigan again on February 28 and
is gearing.up to defend his Canadi-
an title in Regina in July.
"It's quite well organized. Mas-
ters start at 40, there's a lot of par-
Ucipants."
The 10.000 meters distance suits
St. John just fine and he has no de-
sire to run the very long marathons
which are over 26 miles.
However. he has tried it once, the
Boston Marathon in 1969 when he
was at the University of Guelph.
But now, he is content to excel in•
the 10.000 meters.
Stephen Kings move up
to face tougher competition
Iremember a hot
summer's might
nearly 16 years ago. sidelines
My older brother,
clad in kis work boots, was
heating the tar out of me in
basketball. / hooped in high - I,y
.school and wasn't as bad as 'Pd
he was making me look. (itt+t)v!s
In between baskets, he just -
stopped and said, "if yea
want to improve, you have to play somebody who is better
than you."
My dad said the same thing evervtlme he beat tee In ping -
..
11 took me a while but I eventually became The better
paver
-That's the only way you learn
All season long, theStephen Township novice Kings hock-
ey team has been winning and winning big. I labelled them
Western Ontario Athletic Association (WOAA) contenders
-waybeek--in November.
Stephen Township is an 'E' category centre but in their first
round of thc WOAA playoffs, they *ere pitted against a 'C'
category team, Mitchell. (Novices dont go past WOAA in
playoffs).
For those who don't know how the different letter categories
come about, here's a brief description:
.It's based on how big an areayouu draw from. The smaller
the area, the bigger. the letter. Example, London would be
'AAA', while Stephen and Zurich arc 'E'. The 'E' centres tisu-
ally have only one hockey teaimper age division.
By comparison, Exeter is 'CC' and they have at least two
teams per division.
The argument here is -whether or not the Kings should stay
in their own 'E' classification and have a very good shot at
winning the WOAA crown, or move -up and seek a hater calf
`-bre of competition.
This is six of one and half -a -dozen of another
Sure, we would all like to see the youngsters parade around
the ice chanting, "we're number one". Hanging on to such a
memory for years to come would be special.
But on thc other side of the puck, you can't hold anyone
back for wanting to improve. Some would rather be competi-
tive at a higher calibre than win it all at a lower level
Don't take anything away from the 'E' centres though, on
any given night they can beat the higher teams.
All it takes is the few basic ingredients; good coaching,
steady goaltending, a few big guns and some role players who
go out and get thc job done. From what I've seen. the Kings
have got all of these.
"We've been.bumped up voluntarily. For the benefit of the
kids, WOAA moved us up," said Kings' coach Dan Conner.
Following a 1-1 tic with Mitchell in the opening game
Thursday night, the Kings had scored 262 goals in 37 games
while allowing just 36. That's an offence which generates
over seven goals a game and a stingy defence which allows
less than one.
In any age group those arc amazing numbers.
"They am a good team and they can play good hockey,"
modestly said Conner. •
The decision to move up to 'C' was not hastily made. Both
parents and players were involved.
-- 442411 -12 of them (players) wanted—to ;.play in ,.itis -other
league."
Whether or not the Kings beat Mitchell, whether or not they
win it all, doesn't matter.
1 wasn't going to have an opinion when I first started writ-
ing this but I do have an observation. The Kings should be
congratulated, not criticized for making this decision.
It's a tough one but I know this team will be the better for it
Go get em' Kings
From the sidelines: Ray Lewis who has been covering the
Exeter Hawks all season• and myself, following the Lucan
Irish, will have an -interesting challenge in the next couple of
weeks. A little wager which could involve a car wash for the
victor. Look for it in a week or so For the referee who was
supposed to stay in Zurich last Wednesday night but instead
went to watch his own boy play hockey in Exeter, naughty .
ircwghty. Perhaps the single referee who did the gantc himscl
should have received double pad , I've been told it doesn
work that way...Sorry Leaf fans, its not going to happen.
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