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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1995-01-04, Page 6THE NINON AAf►ANCE'$7MES—LOOKING HCKAT THE TEAII `THAT WAS.,, . ti WEWW AY:,141M'l ‘14110111r4, 1995 • Cbrist....as gifts �o�����tAtoms drop brussels in exhibition Coal for some, goals for others in Junior C action gaines over holidays BRUSSELS - The Wingham hon - men and the Brussels Bulls battled at the Brussels -Moms -Grey Com- munity Centre in a Western Junior 'Q' Hockey League contest here last Thursday evening. Despite the short trip over, the Ironmen face a, long road in the standings after losing 2-1. Veteran coach Bill Brown re- turned to the Ironmen bench for the game. It was felt that the players were not responding and after a meeting of members of the Ironmen executive, it was decided that a coaching change was the only alternative as the team tries to battle back from their fifth place standing. In other holiday competition, the Ironmen fell 7-3 to league - leading Mount Forest Patriots on Dec. 23 and dumped the cellar - dwelling Kincardine Bulldogs 9-4 on Boxing Day. The Bulls took both ends of the home -and -home series against the Bulldogs, win- ning 7-1 on Dec. 23 in Kincardine and 5-2 at home last Tuesday. Brussels ran their unbeaten streak to eight games with the one - goal decision over the Ironmen. It was the Bulls sixth straight win. The game featured tough physi- cal play with many hard checks. Despite the low score, the teams did have several good scoring op- portunities. However, the majority of shots in the game were from long range. Wingham goalie Adam Skillen made 55 stops in the contest, while Brussels netminder Ryan Fisk stopped 31 of the 32 shots di- rected his way. After a sluggish start, the Bulls opened the scoring in the game at 7:26 of the first period. Peter Mul- der picked up the- rebound'at the front of the crease and put the puck up over a sprawling Skillen. Josh Alexander assisted on the goal. The Ironmen evened the score at 1-1 with 2:24 left in the middle period. Wingham had control of the puck in the Brussels zone, but it appeared as though the Bulls were bringing the puck out. However, rearguard Deryk Has - tie picked up the puck inside the Brussels blueline and let a shot go, which was redirected past Fisk, by the Ironmen's Kyle Wheeler. Earlier in the period, Darrin Al- viano came close to putting the Bulls ahead by two, but his shot at the open corner hit the side of the net. Immediately after that play, the Ironmen enjoyed an excellent scoring chance but Fisk came up with the big save. The teams enjoyed chances in the final period, but Alexander's goal at 10:50 of the third period lifted the Bulls to the victory. De- fenceman Mike MacKay intercept- ed a clearing pass at the Wingham blueline as the Ironmen were be- ginning to break out. He then fed the puck to Alexander, who was, still behind the play, and beat Skil- len with a shot to the far side. The Bulls took 10 of the 19 mi- nor penalties assessed by referee Tom Gillespie, and were handed the lone game misconduct in the contest. The next league game for the Ir- onmen is Friday when they travel to Hanover for an 8:30 p.m. con- test against the Barons. The Bulls next game is also Friday, when they travel to Walkerton for an 8:311 p.m. , face-off against the B lackhawks. Wingham Ironmen The Ironmen found themselves trailing Kincardine 3-2 after the first period on Boxing Day, but four unanswered second period goals gave the hometown Ironmen a lead they would never relin- quish. Troy Fischer had two goals and an assist for the Ironmen with Mike Bromley netting a pair of goals. Chris Fischer, Jonathan Lane, and Justin Murray each col- lected a goal and two assists while single markers were added by Hastie, with his first of the year, and Wheeler. Brad Robinson picked up thrce. assists with Ryan Gallaher and Shannon Kerr earning a pair of as-. sists each. Single helpers were re- ceived by Wheeler, Brett Sangster, Jeremy Creeden and Brent Robin-, S011, Wingham Optimist Atoms post- ed a pair of exhibition victories over Brussels during the Christ- rpas-New Year break. Playing at the Lockridge Me- morial Arena in Wingham last Wednesday, the Optimist Atoms skated to a 5-1 decision. Craig Marks netted a pair of goals with Pat Rozendal and Gar- rett Skinn getting one goal and one assist each. Derek Marks contrib- uted a single marker with single helpers being collected by Matt Dinning, 'Jamie Chester, Kent Readman, and Jake Henderson. Chris Blake was the lone goal getter for Brussels. Scott Stapleton and Zane Da- vies each played half of the game in net for Wingham. The Optimist Atoms overcame a 2-0 deficit on Dec. 23, as they The Intrepid Snowmobiler CHECK - Brussels Bulls defender Tim Beyer checks rule Wingharer Irontnett player at tr the. Brussels net during Thursday evening's Western Junior 'C' Hockey League contes scored a 2-1 decision to extend their December unbsaten streak to eight games. e the side of N' The Bulls Jon Holmes, Kyle Boulton, Sam McKegney, and Ryan Walicki were the goal getters for Kincar- dine. Adam Skillen made 47 saves in the Wingham goal with Dennis Laschuk and Greg Nichol combin- ing for 29 saves in the Kincardine net. The Ironmen were assessed nine of the 14 minor penalties handed out by referee Lee Rodgers. Wingham and Mount Forest were even at 1-1 after the first pe- riod on Dec, 23, but then the Patri- ots outscored the Ironmen 3-1 in each of the next two periods to post the 7-3 victory. Lane had two goals for the Iron - men with Gallaher and Troy Fis- cher picking up two assists each. Creeden added a single marker with Wheeler earning one assist. Ryan Montgomery scored three goals for the Patriots with Jeff Rahn netting a pair, and Jeff Park- er and Greg Billing, getting one each, Paul Galbraith picked up four assists. Jason Reid made 34 saves in the Wingham goal and Torn Clarie stopped 27 Ironmen shots in the Mount Forest goal. The Ironmen took 1.1 of the 18 minors and two of the three mis- conducts assessed by referee L.D. Crawford. Brussels Bulls The Bulls ran their unbeaten streak to seven games last Tues- day with the 5-2 decision over the Bulldogs. After beginning the streak with a pair of ties, the Bulls won the next five games. The Bulls took a 2-0 first period lead last Tuesday and held a 4-1 advantage after 40 minutes of Piny Nate Bender had two goals and an assist with Brian Zabel getting one goal and an assist. Zack Smith and Kevin Ball netted single mark- ers with Greg McNevan picking up a pair of assists. Cory McDonald and Randy Dowler were the goal. getters for the Bulldogs. In Kincardine on Dec, 23, the teams were even at 1-1 after the first period of play. The Bulls net- ted" four unanswered goals in the second period to post the win, and added two more in the final period to reach the final score. Pete Ryter and Ball had two goals apiece for the Bulls with Bender contributing a goal and two assists, to the victory. McNe- van had a goal and an assist with Murray Kaye firing one goal. Mul- der collected three assists in the game. Jeremy Fowler was the lone goal getter for 1 cardine. Brussels Buis had their eight - game unbeaten `streak halted last Friday evening when they trav- elled to Mount Forest to take on the league -leading Patriots. Mount Forest took a 1-0 lead in the first and were ahead 4-1 after 40 minutes of play. The Patriots netted the lone goal of the third period, Kevin Ball was the lone goal getter for the Bulls. Getting the markers for Mount Forest were Curtis finder with a pair, Ian Martin, Aaron Small, and Paul Galbraith. The Bulls travel to Walkerton on Friday for an 8:30 p.m,. game against the Blackhawks and then host the Hanover Barons at the Brussels -Morris -Grey Community Centre on Sunday, beginning at 2 p.m. Bulls, Ironmen send three each to match The Wingham Ironmen and the Brussels Bulls each have three players seelcted to the Western - Junior 'C' Hockey League all-star squad. The Western Junior 'C' All-stars will play the Stratford Cullitons of the Midwestern Junior 'B' -Hockey League in Kincardine on Saturday, Jan. 7. The game begins at 8 p.m. Mount Forest Patriots and Han- over Barons had four players -each selected to the all-star team. Also having three players selected to the league all-star team"were Wal- kerton Blackhawks and Marton Wolves. Kincardine Bulldogs had two players selected to the league all-star team. The Ironmen named to the all- star squad were forwards right wing Justin Murray, centre Jeremy Creeden, and left wing Chris Fis- cher. Members of the Bulls selected to play against the Junior 'B' Culli- tons were goalie Ryan Fisk, de- fenceman Tim Beyer, and centre Nate Bender. CRAIG NICHOLSON Ontario's Grooming Challenge Recently, Ontario forged ahead of the rest of the international snowm9biling,world. Boasting the world's largest trail system and membership, the Ontario Federa- tion of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) also leads the way in safety, en- vironment, driver training and charity programs. Ontario snowmobilers are the beneficiaries of this progress: bet- ter grooming, improved signage and mapping, more trails,more connections, better accessibilitiy, and more reliable winter fun for the entire family. As Ontario has transformed al- most overnight from a disparate se- ries of local trail systems,into the world's foremost integrated net- work, snowmobiling's popularity soard. Today, almost 100 per cent more Ontarians hit the trails than in 1990. Snowmobilers from other provinces and border states are making Ontario their first winter vacation choice. But Ontario snowmobiling may become the victim of its own suc- cess. When the new TOP (Trans - Ontario Provincial) Trail System comes on stream in 1995, will On- tario be able to wave the world . class flag over its trails? Perhaps. The fly in the ointment may be a shortage of reliable grooming equipment. And without groomers, great trails bite the snow dust. The problem is simple. Ontario's phenomenal growth in trail de- velopment andparticipation is in danger of overwhelming grooming capacity. According to 1994 fig- ures published by the International Association of Snowmobile Ad- ministrators, Ontario has only 89 "industrial, size" groomers, 94 "medium" units and 152 "small" ones to groom 35,090 kms of trails. Given that the 152 small units are outdated toys thayt are fast be- coming obsoletein a modern, world-class grooming fleet, this leaves the province with 183 groomers, one per every 191 kilo- metres. Compare this to Quebec, whose 391 -strong industrial fleet covers 30,000 kms or one unit per 77 kilo- metres. and almost two and half went on to score a 3-2 decision over Brfissels in exhibition hockey play at the Brussels -Morris -Grey Community Centre in Brussels. Skinn had a goal and an assist for the Optimist Atoms, with sin- gle markers added by Craig Marks and Zack O'Kratka. Receiving single assists were Henderson, Dinning, Kent McPherson, Curtis Knight, and Jarred Riley. Skinn netted the winning mark- er with 2:43 remaining in the game. Knight and Riley earned the assists. Nolan Krotz and Andy Van Beek were the goal getters for 'Brussels. Stapleton and Davies shared'the goaltending chores for the Opti- mist Atoms. times better ratio than Ontario. Add into this equation the facts that half of Ontario"5 units are classified as "medium" whose grooming ca- pability can't compareto larger in= dustrial machines. And that many of this province's fleetareon their last Legs age-wisxe, requiring prompt replacement. Now consider that most Ontario clubs are already strapped to meet current payments and cover in- creased trail operating expenses, re- cent figures released by the OFSC indicate that the total annual oper- ating cost for clubs has reached about $343 per kilometres of trail, almost double what they net each season from selling trail permits. So few clubs have the immediate wherewithal( to fund huge capital equipment upgrades necessary to bring the Ontario grooming fleet into line with today's ride demand, Will Ontario fall flat on its face? Unlikely, if the OFSC has its way. The Federation are already talking about a long-term plan to assure that the province's grooming needs. are met into the next century, In the last two seasons alone, 86 new in dustrial groomers have been pur- chased by clubs. But the plan needs • a kick start with new dollars to lev- er even more units onto the show fast: The short term saviours could be Ontario snowmobilers. In yet an- other ground -breaking first, the OFSC has launched a member do- nation program called `The Great Grooming Plan." A direct mail ap- peal to each OFSC permit holder asks them to step into the breach by making a contribution that will help solve the immeidate problem. , Essentially, its the same as a hos- pital building fund — asking the users to fund a process from which • they will directly benefit_ Launched in conjunction with the inter- national snowmobiling com- munity's firstasnowmobiling cal- endar, the Great'Grooming Plan hopes to raise $250,000 in 1995. In return, members receive a full colour calendar both as a reminder of the need and in appreciation to their anticipated support. Con- tributors qualify for weekly and monthly prize draws and'also to purchase additional gift calendars at substantial savings. It's a unique and innovative way for the Ontario snowmobiling community to show its support for organized snow- mobiling. If Ontario snowmobilers are as passionate about their sport as the OFSC predicts, Ontario will be able to raise its flag past half mast this winter. Great trails and great grooming depend on it. To make your donation, call the OFSC. Until next time, happy trails and re- member: Sled Smnrt - Ride Safe, Ride Sober. Por information on lo- cal snowmobiling, Snowaramas and clubs, contact the OFSC at I - 705-739-7669. To plan your On- tario tour, call 1 -800 -236 -SLED. H -ii PPY Trails! • Sales/new and used sleds • Authorized service • Factory -trained mechanics Engineered ForTheWayYott Ride. • Factory parts/SnoGear/ accessories • Storage available Lynn Hoy Enterprises Ltd. 357-3435 Hwy #86 East of Wingham it