HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-02-10, Page 15Hawks defence dazziin
EXETER - Although they have
given up their fare share of goals
this season, the Exeter Hawks did a
good job of keeping the puck out
of the net on the weekend.
Beginning with an 8-1 win over
Lambeth at the South Huron Recre-
ation Centre Friday night, then a 3-
3 deadlock with host Mt. Brydges
on Saturday and a 6-4 win over
Seaforth on Sunday.
Friday night's contest was the
first back in their own arena for the
Hawks after seven straight road
games.
It took only 2:53 into the -game
for Exeter to score as John O'Hara
spun around and blasted one past
Junior hockey
Lambeth's Brett Tindale. The Lanc-
ers almost tied it up but defense -
man Jason McBride was alert and
slapped the puck away from the
goal line after Brandon Ropp had
lost control of it_
Ropp, recently signed by the
Hawks, is a former Stratford Junior
'B' netminder and he also played
Junior 'C' in Port Colbome. In his
debut, the big standup goalie made
20 saves.
Friday night also saw the return
of winger Derek Shackleton who
played in his first of the season and
helped set up two goals.
le the second period Exeter's
Mark Lynn got his first Junior 'D'
goal of the season as he let go with
a high, hard shot to make it 2-0.
But Lambeth's Chris Gehl scored
with a shot which seemed to hit the
crossbar and drop behind Ropp.
It was all Exeter in the third peri-
od as they rattled off six unan-
swered goals.
Shayne Robinson's 22nd of the
year regained a two -goal cushion
and than it was 4-1 when defense -
man Nathan Blight stayed deep in
the offensive zone, buzzed around
the net slapping at the puck before
getting it to Robinson for his sec-
ond of the night.
With 7:05 left to play, captain
Paul Manders drifted down the left
lenitogart of RSD Sports
i hrpresented plaques to
Hawks players-of-the-
month
layers-of the -
month Clint McCann
(December) and Kurt Ropp
(January).
side and let go with a very hard
.shot Which sailed over Tindale's
glove Mad into the to corner.
A ;il.ny Cousineau breakaway
ma. , t 6-1 and just 10 seconds lat-
er T ; ' McCann scored on an un-
assisted effort. With just 54 ticks
left on the clock, Dave Dalrymple
redirected a shot and it was 8-1.
Jamie Cornish, Dalrymple and
Lynn till played physical games for
-the winners. Rookie forward Sean
McCann left the game in the sec-
ond period after he was checked
hard into the boards. He is expected
to be out of the lineup for a few
weeks.
Hawks 3, Bulldogs 3
With Sean McCann out with his
injury', Shackleton moved in with
Robinson and the results were more
than adequate.
Shackleton scored all three Exet-
er goals, all in the second period,
one on a powerplay while Robin-
son drew assists on all three. Clint
McCann played well in net for the
winners.
Hawks 6, Centenaires 4
In Seaforth Sunday, it was Robin-
son's turn to score as he netted a hat
trick while Shackleton had a goal
and an assist Also scoring for the
winners was John O'Hara. Clint
McCann allowed just one Seaforth
goal in the first period and none in
the final 20 minutes...
Hawke hannenings:..J..arry Lew-
is returned to the Hawks' lineup on
Sunday...In three weekend games,
Shackleton had seven
points..Zurich resident Jamie Ram-
er, just coming off. a shoulder inju-
ry scored twice for Seaforth...The
Hawks host Belmont at 8:30 p.m.
on Friday and Sunday afternoon
travel to Alvinston...
a
•
Exeter Hawks' goalie Brandon Ropp made his South Huron Recreation Centre debut Friday.
Here, during the 8-1 win over Lambeth he is set to snag the puck while forward Dan Irvine
helps out.
Moore's hat trick lifts Irish
as playoffs draw closer
By Fred Groves
T -A staff
LUC:AN - With only six games
left in their OHA Junior Develop-
ment League season, it appears as
though the Lucan Irish arc getting
primed for the playoffs.
Wednesday night they skated to a
very easy 9-2 win, taking a firmer
hold on first place in the west divi-
sion.
Led by the three goal perfor-
mance of rookie Steve Moore, the
Irish led 2-0 at the end of the first
period and coasted to a 5-2 lead af-
ter 40 minutes.
If the playoffs were to begin to-
night, thc Irish would be pitied
against the eighth place Belmont
Pests.
The Lancers are currently in a
battle for fourth place with the Ex-
eter Hawks in the nine team divi-
sion and were expected to give the
Irish a little more trouble than they
did on Wednesday.
"They (Lambeth) came out flat in
the first and we got an early jump
on them. In the second period we
got a couple of quick ones," said
Irish captain Andy Ross who net-
ted his tenth goal of the season.
He is looking towards the playoff
and after three failed attempts, may
be bringing the Ontario title to Lu -
can. But following the game with
the Lancers, Ross wasn't certain his
team is ready for post -season play
yet.
"I don't think our record during
the season really shows the way we
can play. We beat a couple of
teams just because we've beaten
them so many times in the past. I
think we'll be ready when the time
comes."
Ross said the Irish are thinking
about the playoffs.
Lucan coach Ken Needham said
one reason for beating the Lancers
on Wednesday could be that club's
inability to keep the puck out of the
net. -
"They've had trouble all year. I
don't know whether its their goal-
tending or their defense."
Needham said after Lucan's loss
to Mitchell on Superbowl Sunday,
they were eager to get back on the
wiping side of things.
As far as the playoffs go, he said
it's the middle of the division
teams, Exeter, Alvinston and
I.aritheth who will be tough.
"Anybody will beat anybody.
People say you'll be there (in OHA
finals) again but. it's going to be
tough just to get out of here (west
division)," said Needham.
He said his team is not ready yct
4
for the playoffs and they h(tvc some
Work to do.
Wednesday night, league leading
'scorer Greg DePrest of the Irish
managed an assist but he had a
great deal of trouble shooting as he
has a very sore shoulder.
"He's got a sore shoulder, that's
why he. can't shoot -the puck. He
was tryipg to stay out of the way
and not get crunched," he said
about the game with Lambeth.
Besides Moore's three goals, Ja-
son Wilson had a pair, with singles
from Jim Stanton, Paul O'Shea,
Ross and defenseman Keith Rob-
son who caught the comer with a
shot from the point.
Irish 8. gawks 2
Friday night in Mitchell, the Irish
saw their record improve to 29-4-2
with an 8-2 win over second -place
Mitchell Hawks.
Jason McLeod, Ed VanKer-
kocrle and DePrest led the Irish of-
fense all with two goals and an as-
sist. Also scoring .were O'Shea and
Chris Chater. Moore had a pair of
assists.
Lady charms: Lucan hosts the
North Middlesex Stars tonight at
8:15 p.m.; head to Seaforth on Fri-
day and Monday are in Mt. Brydg-
es for a rare Monday night
game...Unofficially DePrest now
has 90 points...
LONDON - Peter Hakvoort :a
forward with the Exeter Centenai
als of the Western Ontario ;1n
Soccer League, was
+til amed that league's Star;,
'Week.
He recorded his team's first ever
:hat trick as the Centennials beat
.Doug Jones Painting 7-2. The win
also snappedsa.three game skid for
Exeter in>,iVitich they only scored
six goals.
Hakvppttsgw has eight :gnats
And leadellie'Centennials in scor-
ing.
MIIIr is appreciated
ICs a 1tMeie routine
which hat ehimged
much in lite last ten
years.
On game nights, John 11.dler
methodically goes about his
business. Most of the time tint -
deed, he like others doing his
task are seldom recognized for
their contributions.
Miller, a trainer with the Exeter Mohawks of the Southwestern
Senior 'A' Hockey League is the guy who keeps tabs on anything
from sticks and tape to making sure the cooler is full for the after
game refreshments.
It was ten years ago when the Lucan Junior 'D' Irish first acquired
his assistance and while there he was part of a provincial champion-
ship. Last year with the Mohawks, Miller celebrated with thc rest of
them as they carted away the senior title.
"I started with the juniors, they asked me to train for them. That's
how I got started."
He was in Lucan for six years and then when Exeter coach Dave
Revington moved up from the junior ranks from the Irish, Miller
came with him.
With a towel around his neck, Miller is seen most Sunday night's
dashing around the South Huron Recreation Centre. He greets most
people with a simple nod and a hello.
On road trips Miller is usually busy wrestling with dozens of
sticks as players usually get a little demanding when it comes to the
certain piece of lumber they want to get the job done.
"We usually try and ,keep it down to two sticks per player," he
said of the numbers take on on the road. This year the Mohawks
have switched over to aluminum sticks. "A lot of the players like
them but some don't."
There is no glory for Miller. He doesn't get to jump and celebrate
on the ice when the big goal is scored and he isn't slapped on the
back -for his efforts.
Simply put, it's a thankless task but obviously one he enjoys do-
ting.
After ten years, Miller says he has not grown tired of working be-
hind the scenes. When asked if he will ever quit, he says, "someday
but right now I enjoy it."
"ICs safe to say that over the past decade, Miller has been on the
Tench for probably at least 350 games and in that time, he's noticed
the difference in the way the juniors and seniors play.
"In our league it's more sticks up around the face."
Helmets, pants, sweaters and sucks are all compliments of the
Mohawks to the players. That's a lot of gear Miller has to keep track
of from the training camp in September to when the team concludes
playoffs in the spring.
He said the local senior club is a good organization and, "that's
why I stuck with it."
Strange structure: Still on senior hockey, the Petrolia Victorians
who finished first in the seven team Southwestern loop, will face
the Elora Rocks in the opening round of the playoffs.
In my opinion, this is not a good move by the league officials.
The purpose of the series is to see which league will get the home
advantage in the Ontario final series.
There are only 10 teams vying for the crown, seven in the south
and just three in the north. But the possibility of either Petrolia or
Elora winning their respective divisions is not that great so why
have those two teams determine someone else's future.
But that's not the worst of it. The senior league has been trying to
market their wares for sometime now and this playoff structure de-
feats any notions of trying to keep the league afloat.
There is no winner or loser in the Petrolia-Elora series. After the
Rocks take on the Vics, win or lose they wait to see the winner of
Lakeshore-Creemore. The same goes for the Vics as they wait for
the winners of the other series.
Players can get hurt or suspended for what? And if you are a
hockey fan in either Petrolia or Elora do you want the possibility of
seeing the two teams again meet in the playoffs?
idelines
by
Fred
(;roves
From the sidelines:. -How about that NHL all-star game. 1
watched the first period and that was enough for me. Three goals in
one period by Mike Gartner, the guy who was just a fill in for Mark
Messier. Poor goaltending by not just one but three netminders
wasn't my idea of all-stars...Congratulations to the Exeter atoms for
winning their series against Forest...Nice to see Derek Shackleton
back with the Hawks...
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