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Raider snipers fire blanks in 1-0 loss to Red Wings With the OHA Provincial Jr. A Hockey League league roster cutdown deadline falling at midnight Tuesday, the Georgetown Raiders were reminded once again about what their sore spot has been in the 2005-06 campaign. Georgetown was shaded 1-0 in Hamilton by the second-place Red Wings on Monday night at Mountain Arena, going 0 for 12 on the power play. The visitors outshot the Wings 14-3 in the third period and 28-23 overall, but couldn't get anything past outstanding goalie Cameron Talbot. Corey Stringer's opening-period marker with Georgetown at a two-man disadvantage was the only puck to get past Raider netminder Ryan Gibb. Finding a scorer or two was the numberone priority of Raiders' director of player personnel Peter Mavroudis. No new deals had been finalized by The Independent & Free Press' deadline on Tuesday. On Saturday night, the fifth-place Raiders gave up the tying goal with just 10 seconds remaining in the third period against the Brampton Capitals and had to settle for a 44 draw. Twice in the contest the Capitals came back from two-goal deficits despite being outplayed and outshot 42-27. Defenceman Ryan Lee and newcomer David Jarman netted his first goal in a Georgetown uniform to give the hosts a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. Andrew Dennis appeared to have given the Raiders all the offence they'd need with a powerplay goal with less than five minutes to go in the final frame. Eight of the Raiders' final 12 regular-season games are on the road, including a Friday the 13th matchup with the first-place Milton IceHawks later this week. The `Hawks have gone 18 games without a loss and are 3-0-1 against Georgetown this season. The 18-14-3-2 Raiders will host the Burlington Cougars Saturday at the MoldMasters SportsPlex beginning at 7:30 p.m. NOTES: Raider forward Marc Marchese needed some facial repairs during the second period and had to change his uniform, but returned to Saturday's game and scored a third-period goal after being suckerpunched by Brampton's Mark Publow, who was ejected with a roughing major. Captain Frank DeAngelis of the Georgetown Raiders looks to clear his zone with Brampton's Matt Ferreira in pursuit on Saturday evening at the Mold-Masters SportsPlex. Ferreira scored one of two late Capital goals to help the visitors earn a 4-4 tie in the OHA Provincial Jr. A Hockey League matchup. Photo by Eamonn Maher With Skate-Shoot-Score competition Minor hockey players to test their skills Local youth hockey players will get an opportunity to put their skills to the test at an upcoming competition to be held at the MoldMasters SportsPlex. The newly introduced Skate-ShootScore Hockey Skills Challenge is a program developed by former NHLer and Georgetown native Adam Bennett, patterned after similar football, baseball and golf competitions that have become popular in the U.S. The Georgetown event will take place Friday, Feb. 3 from 9 a.m. until noon. "We use the same format as the NHL's skills competition and it's something that probably a lot of the kids haven't done before," said Bennett, a former firstround pick of the Chicago Blackhawks whose career was cut short by knee injuries. "It's a light-hearted event tied in with a little competitiveness. We didn't want to make it a stressful thing for the kids-- just fun and entertaining. The great thing is that the players can go on-line afterwards and compare their results with kids in other centres," the 34-year-old Bennett added. `We didn't want to make it a stressful thing for the kids-- just fun and entertaining.' --Adam Bennett The challenge will cover five age groups, from novice to midget, and registration is limited to 25 entries per division. Forwards and defenders will vie for medals in five events-- hardest shot, shooting accuracy, obstacle course, fastest skater and breakaways. Although goalies are needed for the competition, they aren't part of the SkateShoot-Score skills challenge just yet. A "Boni" shooter, which fires pucks at the goalkeepers much like a tennis ball machine, isn't available to organizers at this point. Cost to enter is $55 per player (+GST), which includes a Skate-Shoot-Score jersey and a ticket to the Feb. 4 Georgetown Jr. A Raiders' game against the Streetsville Derbys, when the local winners will be honoured. The top three finishers in each division will have the opportunity to advance to the regional competition, and if successful again, the Ontario championships. Other Skate-Shoot-Score competitions are scheduled for Brampton on March 11 and Oakville March 19. For more info call 1-866-806-5657 or visit the Web site www.skate-shootscore.net. Entire team entries will receive a discounted regisration rate. --By Eamonn Maher, staff writer Acton Soccer Club to hold sign-up Jan. 21 he Acton Soccer Club will hold its first registration for the 2006 season on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community Centre. Despite losing its bingo revenue, which amounted to approximately $30 per player per season, there will be no registration fee increase for the club's youth program this year. Cost to sign up is $85 for the under-5&6 divisions and $95 for the remaining age groups. A $25 late fee applies after Feb. 25. Coaches and referees are also needed. For more info, call 519-853-5190 or visit the Web site www.actonsoccer.org.