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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-08-25, Page 15• 46 0. Police handcuffMML By Fred Grows T -A staff HURON PARK - Want a sure way to fill an arena? - have profes- sional hockey players strut their stuff. Wednesday night at the Stephen Township Arena, hundreds of spec- tators got a look at players from the National Hockey.League as the Pro Stars took on the Ontario Provin- cial Police's Blue Knights. Thanks to a goalie trade prior to the start of the game, the Blue Knights beat the Pro Stars 8-6 in a r. benefit . game which raised funds for the Orand. Bend Parks and Rec- . seation deparunent. It was a game with a fairly slow start as the two teams felt each oth- er out before the Pro Stars took a 2- o lead in the first period on goals by John McIntyre of the New York Rangers and Jason Simon of the New Jersey Devils. But the OPP had a few secret weapons including NHL goalies Craig Billington and Jordan Willis who, traded to the Blue Knights for OPP puckstopper J.J. Arseneau, got down to business and helped the policemen comeback to win. Billington, a London native, has played partsof the past eight sea- sonswith the New Jersey Devils be- fore being traded recently to the Ot ;: f81 1 OPP:'Blue_Knights - Steve Bab k, 4; Bob Martin, Mike Feeney, ord Bruce, Jeff Smith. NHL' Pro Stars - John McIntyre ;'Rangers), 2; Jason" Si-- Jersey i'=Jersey Devils; . Scott tan, Edmonton Oilers; Brian Dobbin, Boston Bruins; Mike. Craig, Dallas,$#¢.. tawa Senators. Although the Senators struggled in their inaugural year, Billington seems to be looking forward to tending goal in the nation's capital. "I don't know a lot about it (Otta- wa) but I've played there in junior. It's a great hockey town and they've been supportive," said Billington. A member of Canada's Olympic team for two yrs, he .added that the fan support in Ottawa is:appre- Ambulance attendent Leroy Edwards, right; tried,to take care of Benguin the Penguin but Dale and Mark Hunter of the Washington Capitals were against -it. ciated. "Anytime you get in an environ- ment where they're excited about hockey, that's a big plus." Washington ,Capitals' Mark Hunter, left; of the NHL -Pro. Stars team faced off with Gard Bruce of the OPP Blue Knights during opening ceremonies of Wednesday night's game. The fundrais- er saw Grand Bend Mayor Tom 1i wion:and Juatin,Ataeneau, $on.of;SPP,goalie.LJ. Arseneau drop the puck. Field hockey Campbell wim Iber in B.C. KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Could the Olympics be next for Exeter's Tina Campbell? The 21 -yew -old just returned from the Canada Games in Kam-. loops, B.C. where she helped the Ontario under -21 women's field hockey team capture the silver medal. Ontario lost a slim 1-0 game to British Columbia and had to mule for second best. Although this is her highest ac- complishment, Campbell, who is moving to Saskatchewan and hop- ing to pi hat province's team, want: Olympics. „It's ...dines) the largest tournament in Canada you c:an go into without playing in the Olym- pics," said Campbell. She was a member of the South Huron District High School Pan- thers team which won the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic As- sociation title in 1989. Ikaater natty* Tina Campbell with the OW nal she recent y.won at the Canada Games. Making the Olympic team may not be that far away for Carnpbell. "You have to be asked to tryout. You can get noticed but there were no scouts there." However, after the Canada Games in British Columbia, Camp- bell and two other woven from the under -21 team were asked to head to Toronto to help out, the Ontario senior women's team. - " It's ttIQ tour- nament nMinoan you Can go to... In Toronto at another tournament, Ontario once again had to settle for the silver again against their rivals from British Columbia. Oa the senior team, Campbell joined fellow Panther Leanne Die- trich who played for the under -21 team for three years before moving up. Dietrich of Dashwood, is a Uni- versity of Waterloo student. To be asked to .tryout for the Olympic team, ;you need experi- ence. "You have to play in a lot of tour- naments. This (Camila Gams) was my fust major iO r$awent." Campbell is being monigniaed it marts as she was one pt ve Must Valuable Players twmied;*t Clew ttament in Resile in February. While the game did provide some fine displays of hockey by both sides, organizers made sure there were moments on a non -serious note. Like when referee Don VanMas- senhoven, a former Pinery Park OPP officer and now an NHL offi- cial, made sun Chicago Black Hawks' Trevor Dam and Anaheim Mighty Ducks' Scott McKay were tied securely to the Pro.Stars net. •' "That helped the Blue Knights play with a two man .'advantage' to • tie the game up at two goals Each. In between the. first and second period, the Grand Bend Winter Car- nival mascot, Benguin the Penguin skated around the ice and shot a few pucks before being beaten up by Dale .and Mark Hunter of the Washington.capitals. Lassidiessastaianoselly4srisesselie pros are preparing for their own NHL -training camps but they still had time to do a little fund-raising. "This close to the season I don't do very much but my ownr.train- ing," said Billington. "A lot of these guys are going out of their way." Besides Van Massenhoven, other officials in the game were NHL linesmen Scott Driscoll of Seaforth and veteran Leon Stickle. Driscoll, heading .into his first full -year with the NHL said it's good to see more NHL teams•join- ingthe league on a regular basis. "It's good for the game. The more hockey there is, the more positions there are for Canadian players. More and more it's becoming an in- ternational game." Driscoll set to face the NHL full -time I11 just five sho years, Soott Driscoll has gone from play- ing Junior 'B' hock- ey to being a linesman in the National Hockey League. Realizing his career in hockey would have a brighter future if he were to wear the striped shirt instead of a col- ourful team jersey, the Seaforth native is entering his first full -year of being a linesman in the NHL. Wednesday night at the Stephen ToWMfilp =Ai na, he teamed with referee Don Van Massenhoven and fellow lines- man Leon Stickle as they were the officials for a benefit game between the OPP Blue Knights and the NHL Pro Stars. At just 25, it was early last year when he was approached by the NHL who offered him a job on a probationary basis. "I was hired when I was 24. That's the age they're looking for linesmen to get longevity," said Driscoll. Asa probationary linesmen last year, he did 46 games in the NHL and some in the American Hockey League. This year he's on full=time with the NHL, but admitted he liked splitting the games between the two leagues. "It's a good training program. If you're having low confi- dence levels in the NHL games, you have time to go to the minors and regroup." Being an NHL linesman means you have to be both quick and agile to skate but big enough to do one duty they don't en- joy, breaking .up fights. Driscoll's past hockey playing days and the fact he's over 225 pounds, help in both those parts of his job description. Beginning when he was playing Junior 'B' for the St. Marys Lincolns, Driscoll knew then he did not have a hockey play- ing future but realized he still wanted to be part of the game. "It was always in the back of my mind. I knew when I was playing Junior 'B' that I wasn't going to make it as a player." After officiating many minor hockey games when he was a teenager, Driscoll joined the Ontario Hockey Association as a linesman when he was 20 years -old. He spent a couple of years with that group but at the same time was still playing hockey. Driscoll attended Waterloo's Wilfrid Laurier University where he was a member of the hockey team. They just missed winning a national champion- ship by one goal, a heartbreaking 2-1 score. When he was in teachers' college, Driscoll moved on to be a linesman in the Ontario Hockey League. Bigger and faster ,layers meant he also had to put a lot of effort into his new :career. "I had toput the hours in to make it." He said that in one year, he officiated 108 games between the OHL, the OHA and the professional Colonial Hockey League. But there was a time in his life when Driscoll was faced with the option of either playing in the NHL or being a lines- man. After his two years with Wilfrid Laurier he had a tryout with the Vancouver Canucks but unfortunately did not make by 'Fred Clove. I.came back: that's a► ern cbtd tol; -and start officiating. It's still an intnoal mart of hockey and you're still in touch with the game." While we tend to watch those who shoot the puck, perhaps now we'll being watching one guy who drops it. From the sidelines: The South Huron District High School Panthers girls' field hockey team is gearing up to host the 1993 OFSAA championship tournament November 4-6 and they've already had several organizational meetings. Reports from these indicate this could be an event which will attract hundreds of people to Exeter. In the past 16 years, the Pan- thers have won 13 Huron -Perth Conference titles including the last ten in a row .and 11 WOSSA titles including six in a row. The 1989 and 1992 OFSAA _champions are the first rural school ever to host the provincial tournament. 1 Cuts and divides residue, lifts and aeries the $ee,beri zone allowing air nd warm-up time prior to planting process. .4, 6 and 8 Row Units Now Available 014Y FOR RAI. DETAILS FARM jr�tUIPMENT - EXETER, ONTARIO Sales, Service & Rentals since 1932 TRANSTILL r •