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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-04-21, Page 15V��r u:�l�j/!�rU "Vol' o Second section ' junior 'D' playoffs Injuries and a lack of experience prevent lrish from beating Mitchell By Fred Groves T -A staff MITCHELL - Craig Quipps goal just 23 seconds into the third -peri- od was all the host Hawks needed here Friday night as they beat the Lucas Irish 4-3 to win the Ontario Hockey Association Junior Devel- opmaot*avast division. It will be the fust time in five years the Irish do not make it to the provincial finals. Mitchell ted the series three - games -to -none at one point but the Irish znanaged,to battle back and win the next two.games by a single goal. For most of Friday's game it appeared as though the Irish.would win Game Six and force a seventh and final game back in Lucan. But injuries to key players" and just a lack of Junior 'D' playoff ex- perience stopped the Irish from go- ing to the finals. "I don't think they (a dozen rook- ies) knew what it was about," said Lucan's Greg DePrest. He was the acting captain in place of Andy Ross who suffered a separated shoulder in the series against Exeter. Ross, along with Sean Kaczmarek and Jason McLe- od who were also injured, took a lot out of the Irish lineup. "You can't blame the injuries but it took a lot of punch out of our lineup," said Lucan coach Ken Needham. Kaczmarek was teamed with De- Prest and Steve Moore and he was replaced on the wing by Jason Wil- son. Although a speedy, agressive forward, Wilson didn't have Kacz- rnarek's size. "He (Kaczmarek) clears the cor- ner and I take the puck," said De- Prest. This was a rebuilding year for the Irish and it was somewhat of a sur- prise they finished first in the+ttten- lar season standings and swept both Belmont and Exeter. "We had 13 new guys, we wer- en't supposed to be this far," said Needham. For. all the Irish it was a disap- pointment but probably more for overagers Kevin Leitch and Brian Schuyler. While the latter played a "We had 13 new guys, we weren't supposed to be this far. " Lucas defenseman Ed VanKerkoerle tripped up Mitchell's Jeff Smith game in Lucan. The Irish won 3-2. but lost the series to;the Hawks. during Wednesday's Panfers' corner Badminton teams win HP WINGHAM - South Huron Dis- trict High School really cleaned up at' the Huron -Perth senior badmin- ton championships on Wednesday as they brought home the overall team title with 34 points, 11 ahead of Stratford Central. Candace Miller and Chrissy Mor- gan combined to win the girls' dou- bks event while Jason Coolman and Ryan Stuart were first in boys' doubles. Lynn Workman and her partner Matt Gardner were second in mixed doubles. In singles competition, Lisa For- est was second in the girls' divi- sion. Friday, again in Wingham, the Panthers found, for the first time ever, they had won both the junior and senior conference titles as the juniors had 26 points to second place Listowel at 23. Tow Chansamone won the junior girls singles, while Andrea Wei- gand and Meagan White teamed to win the girls' doubles event. Ben Guenther was fourth and Anita Wein and Andrew Hern were also fourth. The badminton teams now head to WOSSA where the seniors arc in Sarnia today and the juniors are in London at Saunders on Saturday. Soccer: South Huron's soccer season got underway last week with a pair of exhibition games. Last Tuesday, the juniors beat Stratford Northwestern on goals by Heather Davies and Sandra Van- derlaan. The seniors also won a 3-1 Val Ryan, right; of the South Huron junior girls soccer team controlled the ball against Stratford Northwest on Tuesday. Looking on is Helen Tlieophilopoulos, left. decision. League play began on Thursday and in Goderich, the juniors won 1- 0 on Davies' goal as Jana Webester had the shutout. The seniors lost a close 1-0 decision. This Thursday will sec the sen- surs head to Seaforth. limited number of games because of school, Leitch was with the team all year, as he has been for six sea- sons. "I'm used to it now," said Leitch of the past years when the Irish did well but never won the title. "Mitchell has a strong team, it was a good series." Trailed series: The Irish won eight straight playoff games before bowing three in a row to the Hawks who put a string of 11 post -season wins together and will now face the defending Junior D' champions, the Thamesford Trojans. DePrest was shocked at how the Hawks won three straight against the Irish. "We came out like it was going to ,be given to us, he said. "Everybody realized it was going to be so easy," said Leitch. Friday's game saw the hosts score just 47 seconds into the game when Quipp got his illst.:But Chris Chat- er tied it.up for:the Irish audit was 2-1 after 20 minutes .as Mitchell captain Trevor Harmer got his first of two. The Irish had a huge powerplay at the beginning of the second peri- od and with two-man advantage DePrest fed Moore to tie it up. Lu - can were sloppy in their own end and Hasner scored shorthanded to put the hosts in fmnt again. Jason Reidhead reach for a long pass from Schuyler and managed to get the shot away and past Dennis Scherbarth. With five =minutes left to go in the second, Kory Dietz was awarded the second penalty shot of the series and Lucan's Eoin McIner- ney came up with the save. The only -goal .of -the third period, what proved to be the winner was Quipp's seeped. Lucan sent the series back to Mitchell for a sixth game following a one -goal victory in Lucan on Wednesday. Steve Snider made it 1-0 for the hosts and it was 2-0 after 49 min- utes as Moore scored. Very early in the third, DePrest made it 3-0 but the Hawks chipped away and a shorthanded goal by Rob Jarmuth made it 3-1. Lucan had the chance to score more goals when Harmer was given a five- minute penalty after he ran into Lu - can goalie Brent Lewis. Mitchell's Denny Horan scored with seven seconds left in the game. Ringette players enjoy Kitchener When you get to play in a national tournament, its quite an honor. But when you play in one just an hour away from your home, it's even more exciting. Friends and family come and watch you compete and it makes you feel good. "I wish it was further away but it was nice having the cheer- ing there,' said Danielle Miners. Last week, Miners, Kim Farquhar and Cara Gardner repre- senting the London Juniors were in Kitchener for the Canadi- an Ringette Championships and no doubt the trio will have a lot of memories to look back on. "It was great, I met a lot of people from other teams," said Farquhar. All three gins have ,played in the Exeter and District Rin- gette Association andthey hinted that winning the Ontario ti- tle.a couple of weeks earlier, was more exciting than playing against teams from across Canada. "It was better competition in the Ontarios. Some provinces brought their regional teams," said Gardner. When the Ontarios were held in London, teams were repre- senting their own city. If they won there, then they head to Kitchener with that team. Gardner hinted that some teams like Manitoba brought more of an elite team. In just five days, the girls played a total of nine games. That's a lot of skating but Gardner said it wasn't that tough. "It wasn't that bad, we had a lot of brea'-s," she said. The London Juniors played very well . the nationals and tied for third place after the preliminary mu. However, a tie breaking system by way of goals for and agr, st meant they did not advance to the semi-finals. "The eastem side wasn't that good. The westem teams were better," said Miners. Farquhar said the competition and the nationals, even though they finishedsauvith a 6-3 record, was not as tough as the provincials. Ringette has grown not just in popular but recognition as well. There were several scouts from Team Ontario who were in Kitchener looking at the London players. A letter has been sent out and players could be notified very soon whether or not they are on that team. sidelines by Fred Groves At the Exeter Mohawks banquet on Saturday night, both coach Dave Revington and former executive member John Pryde commented about the season and how it was the same players showing up and the same ones displaying the commit- ment. What to do? Those who show up certainly have the talent. That's evident by their ability to go on the mad with just two lines and win hockey games. An observation I made is that several players keep coming back year -after -year because perhaps they feel there is no one to replace them...It's tough to retire... Anyone obt there want to make i prediction who will win the Stanley Cup? """' You have to go with high flying Pittsburgh with Mario lead- ing the way. He had two goals and a pair of assists in the first playoff game. If there is a long shot to win it all, it has to be the Leafs, yes that's right. I hate to admit it but a couple of times this year I jumped on the Leafs bandwagon. Doug Gilmour, Felix Potvin and a cast of many. Why not the Leafs? From the sidelines: I really enjoy the weekends in Exeter, I can get away from the office and get out and see what is go- ing on. On Saturday, I was at the Exeter Public School where Sensei Brian Decker and Sensei Ron Tyndall were grading several young karate students. Congratulations to those who moved up from white belt to yellow belt and David Gascho who received his orange belt. It's nice to see young people working hard at something and it is also nice to see Tyndall and Decker making it fun for them: VJ%kkD *MANI (IX.IMIOA New Owners Shelley & James Grant invite you tO visit the renovated store. We offer: sth Clean atmosphere Larger selection of fish and aquarium supplies ® Larger selection of pets and pet supplies t We now carry dog and cat food, Premium Quality, Fair Price DOG & CAT GROOMER ON PREMISES ;:i Grand Re -Opening Wed., April 21st Free gifts 363 Meip Street, Exeter Stolt Feurs: Mon. - Sat., 10 a.m . - 6 p.m. 235-0251