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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1983-12-14, Page 16PAGE 16—CLINTON NEWS'RECORD, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1 sport on Sports By Rod Hilts Leaf line-up lacking Last Wednesday night the Toronto Maple Leafs ran into the Rock of Gibraltar. The rock was in the form of St. Louis goaltender Mike Liut. Liut was at his best as he kicked out 41 shots, 21 of those in the first period, as St. Louis knocked off the Leafs 4-3. The game marked the Blues first road win of the season. From my vantage point, 10 rows above ice level in the visitor's corner, Liut played one of his best games since being blown out against the Russians in the 1981 Canada Cup. The lanky 6'2" goaltender stood his ground admirably in the Leaf contest. At the other end of the ice, Mike Palmateer played poorly. In contrast to Liut's style, Palmateer flopped around like a fish out of water. His greatest play of the game was in the final minute when he skated to the bench in favor of an extra attacker. Palmateer is strickly a streak goaltender and against the Blues, he was definitely not hot. Following the first period, a fellow journalist and myself ventured up to the gondola, high above the Gardens' ice sur- face. After identifying ourselves to about a half-dozen security guards, we were allowed entry into the press area. The first person we ran into was King Clancy, who was reminiscing about a game a few years ago in Chicago. Some members of the St. Louis media listened intently to Clancy's story. "The players were going 15 feet offside but the referees and half the fans didn't notice. Everybody was caught up in the game and paid no attention to the offsides," Clancy chuckled. Clancy can chuckle at the past but after watching his team bombard the St. Louis net and only come up with one goal, well that was enough to make Clancy cry. The Leafs continued to hammer away at Liut but the St. Louis goaltender stood up to them. Liut was deservingly named the game's first star. Leaf lin-up lacking The Leafs are lucky they're not in the Adams or Patrick divisions. If they were, they wouldn't find themselves in the race for first place. An analysis of the Leaf's line-up shows the team is lacking in many positions. DEFENSE - Outside of Borje Sahning, the Leafs are lacking a leader on the blueline. Jim Korn shows spurts of talent and has played well at times. If Korn would use his head more he'd be a much bigger help to the Leaf cause. Gaston Gingras is struggling this season. He is -17 on the ice and has been rather ineffective offensively. He has definitely not utilized that blazing shot he possesses from the point. Bill Stewart is holding his own on the blueline. Stewart is the only Leaf defenseman with a plus on ice record to his credit. He is +4 in 23 games this season. Dave Farrish's only con- tribution to the Leafs is his bone -crushing body checks. Gary Leeman is at his best as a forward and not a defenseman. That leaves us with Dave Hutchison. I really don't know his purpose on the ice. Perhaps an enforcer? BOTTOM LINE - The Leafs defense is lacking another dependable defender to join Borje Salming. Forty minutes a game is stretching the aging Swede a bit far. GOALTENDING - The Toronto goaltending picture is a real puz71e. The team really doesn't have a number one goaltender. Rick St. Croix, when he's healthy, is a more dependable goalie than Palmateer. His stand-up style simply gives him a better chance of stopping the puck over Palmateer, who is usually squirming around oh the ice. Newcomer Ken Wregget looks like he could be a bright spot in the Leafs' future. He needs time to mature. BOTTOM LINE - The team needs at least one strong goaltender to become a con- tender. Right now the Leafs are without that one strong goaltender. Palmateer's "streaks" just aren't enough. FORWARDS - Right-winger Rick Vaive is off to a flying start with 24 goals and 15 assists in 29 games. He is by far their deadliest offensive weapon. A 50 -goal season is a definite possibility for Vaive. The line that must produce in order for the Leafs to progress is Miroslav Frycer and Peter Ihnacek. The pressure must be taken off Vaive's line. In the Blues game last Wednesday, the two Czechs proved to be too vulnerable to the body. The word around the league is if you bounce the Czechs around, you stop their line. Maybe when Walt Poddubny returns to the line-up in the new year, the line will return to score some goals. Dan Daoust, John Anderson, Bill Derlago and occasionally Dale McCourt, have the ability to put the puck in the net. Dale McCourt appears to be a spot ctreman at best for the Leafs. These men mist produce if Toronto has any hopes of m�iing up the NHL ladder. Greg Terrion, Bill Harris and Terry Martin all perform their role as defensive forwards well. Pat Graham and Stewart Gavin, in my opinion are floating in no man's land. The Leafs already have an abundance of defensive forwards. What they need is a couple of guys that can score a some goals. BOTTOM LINE - The team lacks a player or two even close to Vaive's calibre. They need a 30 or 40 goal scorer. The Leafs are not the kind of team that can win a 10-9 shoot out or a 2-1 squeaker. So where does that put them? About third in the Norris division. Prediction (Oct. 5)- Third in the Norris Bennett Landing wins at Western Raceway for first lifetime victory By Lois Gibbings Bennett Landing, owned by Gorge Feagan of Goderich; had his first lifetime win in 2.09.2 at Western Fair Raceway in London on December 9. Ross Battin drove the six-year-old pacer by H.A. Meadowland - Miss Judy Bars by Victory Bars, for trainer Gord Kerr. Finishing third in the same race was Rex G. Ames for Rex Duckworth of Goderich, while Rustic Dream took fourth for Charles and Clara Brindley of Goderich. Sunrise Bingo was second for owner Douglas Kerr of Dungannon in a 2.10.1 mile in the first. John Lester finished second with Goshen Lad, co -owned by Ken Parke of Var- na, at the same track on December 5. At London on December 7, Verdun Vanstone of Benmiller finished fourth with both Linlor Lois, co -owned by his wife Lois in the first, and with Linlor Lebelle in a 2.04.2 mile in the ninth for Holmesville Valley Farms of Clinton. Ross Battin drove Countess Janet home fourth in the fifth for Ken Parke of Varna and was also fourth with Mitola Hi for Joe Lane of Seaforth. Saturday, December 10 marked the last day of racing at London until Boxing Day, December 26. Alissa Lad, a trotter owned by Bill Camp- bell of Seaforth was second for driver - trainer Don Corbett in a 2.08.3 mile. Johnny Freight finished fourth in a 2.07 mile with John Lester up for co-owner Ken Parke of Varna. Trotter R.J. Ready, owned by Bob and Doreen Rowcliffe of Hensall, was second in a $10,000 race at Mohawk Raceway on December 6. Another trotter, Vesta Herbert, owned by Clarence (Jiggs) Le Beau of Brucefield finished second at Windsor Raceway on Thursday night. Armbro Arctic, owned by Stewart McCall of Seaforth, was fourth in the $75,000 Pace which was won by the great Cam Fella in 1.57.2 at Greenwood Raceway in Toronto on Saturday afternoon. Clintsn Mnstangs swee By Rod Hilts The Clinton Mustangs put together a pair of victories over the weekend enabling them to creep out of the basement past the Walkerton Black Hawks. On Friday night, the Mustangs knocked off the first place Port Elgin Bears 3-1, for their first home -ice win of the season. On Sunday they travelled to Walkerton and thumped the Black Hawks 6-3. The victory was Clinton's third in their last four games and gives them 10 points. Although recently acquired goaltender Jim Terry was not in the line-up for the wins, Head Coach Bob Zimmer credited the team's improved goaltending by Terry's presence over the last month. "Terry has taken the pressure off Cronin and Bean by playing the bulk of games. Before Terry came the two of them were down. Terry has allowed them to get their confidence back," Zimmer explained. Pat Cronin has really come into his own over the past three games and shone in Clinton's 3-1 victory over the Bears. Terry Bean was equally sharp in their road win on Sunday. The Mustangs charged out of the gates in Walkerton and dominated the•Hawks. Jeff LeBeau scored Clinton's first goal at 8:29 with assists going to Grant Garrow and Kevin Lee. Garrow led the rush from outside the Mustang blueline and carried the puck into the Hawks zone. After he was stopped by goaltender Scott Fritz at the side of the crease, LeBeau hopped on the rebound, putting the puck over Fritz. In a span of 30 seconds the Clinton powerplay connected for two goals begin- ning at the 12:12 mark. Tom Smith scored both goals, which were almost identical. On the first goal Wayne Smith batted down a clearing attempt by the Hawks defense and passed the puck to Brent Daw. Daw hit Tom Smith in the slot and Smith quickly released a wrist shot high to the glove side of Fritz. Tom Smith scored again at 12:42, with Brad Armstrong doing much of the leg work. Armstrong glided over the Hawks blueline and stickhandled past two defenders before feeding the puck to Daw. Daw again spotted Tom Smith cruising through the slot and again Smith made no mistake. Mustang Manager Wayne Wiggins said Clinton did an excellent job of forechecking in the period. He gave credit to the line of Tom Smith, Brad Armstrong and Daw for their play. The Mustangs outshot Walkerton 16-8 in the period. The Black Hawks came alive in the second period by scoring three unanswered goals. Dave Watts scored two minutes into the period when it appeared Bean smothered the puck. The puck was actually loose and Watts pounced on it for the goal. Walkerton closed to within one three minutes later on a well -executed powerplay. Dave Busby got the goal with assists going to Kevin Elliott and Jeff Davidson. Bean had little chance on the play. Kevin Elliott tied the score at 8:23 when his blast from the point deflected off a Clinton defender past a screened Bean. Manager Wiggins said the period was filled with end-to-end rushes and the dif- ference in the period was, "they got the breaks." The third period was all Clinton as they came out hungry. Torn Smith was superb in the third period scoring two goals, his last one into an empty net. Just over a minute into the final frame Tom Smith scored on a deke. Brad Arm- strong was instrumental in the play as he stickhanded around a number of Walkerton players before passing to Smith. Smith, who seemed to be everywhere on the ice, deked Fritz to the ice and deposited the puck in the upper corner. With seven minutes remaining in the game, Brad Hymers set up Randy Marriage alone in front of Fritz for Clinton's fifth goal. Marriage pulled the trigger, scoring low to the stick side. Ironically, Tom Smith scored Clinton's final goal. After taking control of the puck at the Mustang blueline, Smith fought off half a dozen checks before scoring while on his knees. The playoff picture for Clinton following two weekend victories isn't promising although their improved play is en- couraging. The Mustangs trail the fourth and final playoff position, which is occupied by the Hanover Barons and Kincardine Kinu,:ks by 10 points with 11 games remaining in the schedule. Clinton has eight Clinton Novice maul Monkton 18-0 Hensall 6 Clinton 1 At Clinton last Saturday Hensall came to town to take on the local Atom team. When the final buzzer bad sounded the visitors from Hensall had prevailed by a 6-1 score. Jason Fleet was the lone goal -getter for Clinton, who were badly outplayed. Clin- ton's goaltender, Darryn Stevenson, made some excellent saves to even keep the score close. Clinton 2 Zurich 2 On Monday night, the Clinton Atoms travelled down to Zurich to play a game. Zurich broke on top first as Justin Scott not- ched a first.period goal. Justin Scott made it 2-0 early in the second stanza as a shot from just inside the right face-off circle eluded the Clinton goalie. Clinton's high -scoring defenceman, Jason Fleet, then went to wok and scored two goals to tie the game at 2-2. His first goal was a beautiful individual ef- fort as he skated through the entire Zurich team and deked the goalie neatly out of posi- tion before tucking the puck home. His se- cond gaol, three minutes later, was an ex- cellent wrist shot into the top right hand cor- ner. The shot came after he had interrupted a pass in the Zurich zone. The game remained tied in the third as the Clinton team tried their best to notch the winner, but to no avail. Clinton's next game is this Saturday as they travel to Huron Park for a 2 p.m. en- counter. Clinton Novice 18 Monkton 0 Monkton travelled to Clinton Monday night and were shut out 18-0 by the hosts. The Clinton Novice Squad showed ex- cellent passing skills. The goals and assists were as follows: Jonathon Huguill with three goals and one assist; Mark Rivermore with two goals and two assists; Danny Wildfong with four goals and two assists; Kris Kennedy three goals and two assists; Lee Gibbings two goals and one assist; Scott Shaddick three goals; Shane McDonald three assists; Nathan Burns one assist; Scott Wright two assists; Tyler Brady three assists. Come on out and watch excellent hockey. Clinton's next game at Mitchell Sunday at 4:00 Clinton Novice 6 Brussels 1 The Novice travelled to Brussels Friday night and defeated the hosts 6-1. It took a while for Clinton to get on the scoreboard. Kris Kennedy scored the first goal assisted by Scott Shaddick. The second goal came shortly after when Jonathon Huguill scored, assisted by Scott Shaddick. Mark Lever - more broke away and scored unassisted to make it 3-0. Clinton's Nathan Burns scored the fourth goal assisted by Danny Wildfong and Lee Gibbings. Three minutes later Kris Kennedy scored unassisted. In the third period Scott Wright stick handled the puck from the home end zone through to the Brussels goalie making it 6-0. Brussels Brad Beverman scored a goal assisted by Tim Machan. "Good Hockey" Boys, Keep up the good work. Clinton 7 Seaforth 2 On Dec. 10 the Clinton Peewee A's slamm- ed Seaforth 7-2. Devon Colquhoun opened the scoring assisted by Jason Fleet, who was called up from the Atom A's. With 43 seconds left in the period, Norris Flynn scored from Steven Vandendool. Derek Jefferson scored in the second period with an assist going to Colquhoun. Three minutes later Vandendool scored from Flynn and Colquhoun. Seaforth bounc- ed back at 4:55 when Jason Rodney found the mark. Colquhoun from Flynn and two unassisted goals by Flynn closed out Clinton's scoring. Brad Carter scored the final goal of the game for Seaforth. Clinton's next game is Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when they host Goderich. Skating news The members of the Clinton Figure Skating Club have been practicing very hard since skating began in the Fall. Their efforts are showing up in the results of some of their tests. Canskate Beginners Badges: Ta rah Anderson, Darlene Bailey, Jane Guse, Nicol Harris, Joanne Hayter, Amy .Jenkins, Rachael Jenkins, Kelli-Lyn Jerome, Robert Kemp, Sarah LeBeau, Becky LeBeau, Audrey Parr, Tessa Steenstra, Roberta Wallace. Canskate Beginners az Elementary Badges: Andrew Brewster, Jeffrey Brewster, Carla Caldwell, Dean Chrastina, Stacey Fleet, William Guse, David Hiltz, Turn to page 17 wee home games and three away games left. Clinton 3 Port Elgin 1 Last Friday night, the play of goaltender Pat Cronin was the difference as the rookie kicked out 31 shots in Clinton's victory. Coach Zimmer not only praised the play of Cronin but also the performance of his defenseman and forwards. -Cronin very seldom had to make the second save. When there's more people doing their job, he can do his job," Zimmer said. en oris, nents Port Elgin Coach Jim Tombros wasn't impressed with his club's performance. "I'm extremely dissappointed," Tombros said, "I'm not using the excuse that we were missing six players from the line-up for the loss. We hit four or five goal posts and just couldn't put the puck in the net." The game marked the inception of a new line for the Mustangs. The combination of Brent Daw, Tom Smith and Brad Armstrong was actually thrown together because of a lack of manpower. The line played fine hockey and figured in all of Clinton's scoring. Last weekend the Clinton Mustangs put together two wins and crept out of the league basement, now occupied by Walkerton. Pictured is Mustangs' Captain Brad Armstrong winning a race to a loose puck against Port Elgin. ( Rod Hilts photo) Both teams seemed content to feel each other out in the opening period as they played to a scoreless tie. Grant Garrow came the closest to scoring for the Mustangs as he had goaltender Kevin Mundle at his mercy but couldn't get the puck into the partially -vacated net. Clinton outshot the Bears 11-8 in the period. Shawn Rehbek broke the tie at the 13:41 mark of the second period when his point blast along the ice beat Mundle low to the corner. Daw did much of the work on the goal as he penetrated the Bear zone on a good individual effort. Moments after Clinton came inches from taking a 2-0 lead, Port Elgin's Paul Longpre raced ice length and took a perfect pass from Richard McClay, snapping a shot past the glove of Cronin. The Mustangs grabbed the lead back with 3:20 left in the period when Tom Smith took a breakaway pass from Brad Armstrong and deked Mundle on a beautiful goal. Clinton played well in the period as they head -manned the puck and were beating the Bears up the middle. An outstanding effort by Cronin in the third period led the Mustangs to victory. Cronin stoned the Bears by kicking out 14 shots. Midway through the period Daw scored a powerplay goal as he re -directed a pass from Tom Smith over Mundle. With 7.57 loft in the game, Port Elgin came close as they slid one off the post. As the puck was motionless against the post, two Bear players took helpless swipes at the puck but couldn't get it into the empty net. Port Elgin had a goal disallowed with 41 seconds left as the puck was batted into the Clinton net with a high stick. "We got a few breaks and when you get the breaks it certainly helps," Coach Zimmer said after the game. Clinton hosts Kincardine on Friday and Hanover on Sunday. 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