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The BannerfThe Em SPORTS Thursday Feb Rested Canes face Red Wings BYIOHNCUDMORE Another series Another opponent Anoth er set of issues So goes the playoff beat as the Newmarket Hurricanes and Hamilton Red Wings prepare to open a Central Canadian Hockey League semifinal series tonight at the Ray Twinney Complex Game time is 735 pm The Hurricanes are wellrested following a week away from the pressures of playoff hockey after sidelining Michaels Buzz ers in five games The Red Wings on the other hand went to seven games before eliminating the Toronto Junior with an 82 win Monday night in Hamilton There is little separating the teams statist cally based on the regular season package Ironically the teams combined to score just 17 goals between them in splitting four regular season games each winning on the others home rink That neither team scored more than three goals in any single game may be a foretelling of the series ahead I think were comparable in every aspect said whose team lead the CCHL in defence and limited the Buzzers to just seven goals in the rivegame series We struggled with the year They seem to have the same type of style as us Goaltending is pretty similar Defence is similar The forwards arc close They score a bit more than us but we allow fewer goals I think it will come down to and special teams One area to keep an eye on is the penalty box During the regular season the Hurricanes were among the most disciplined teams in the league drawing 739 penalty minutes At 1103 the Red Wings were tied for second most in the West Division Against an undisciplined Toronto side the Red Wings were assessed 223 of minutes doled out by officials in seven games The Hurricanes special teams hold an edge based on the regular season number The powerplay which operated at nearly 30- percent efficiency into November before sagging to 19 per cent was put back together with defencemen Julian Melchiori and Joel Hanley manning the points together for the first time in three months at the points only one game prior to the playoffs its effective ness is a must for Newmarket which scored just nine times in the five games against the Buzzers and struggled all season offensively When weve had success it when weve kept it simple said Renin Against St Mikes we always seemed to be York Region Media Grot Celebration of the York Region Talent Search Here is your chance Lu be a West Division Semifinal Hamilton Red Wings vs Newmarket Hurricanes Game Tonight at Newmarket Ray Twinney Com plex Game Saturday at Hamilton Game Sunday at Newmarket 735 Game Monday at Hamilton Game 5 Thurs March at Newmarket 735 Game Sat March at Hamilton Sun March at Newmarket RTC 330 pm looking for the pretty goal The series is a rematch of an opening round Central Division series last season in which the Hurricanes surprised the talentladen Red Wings in a fivegame series Hamilton was cocky and oneman shows last year Renin recalled This year theyre more of a team Theres no comparison The series schedule gets busy in a hurry Starting with tonights contest the teams wu play four games in five days That the Hur ricanes had a week layoff may pay off in the long run Notably Hamiltons win Monday was at the end of a stretch of three games in three nights I think getting rest is good said It was a chance to make sure were ready for Hamilton Theres nothing you can do about the schedule They only give us 12 days to play a Future generations will benefit from funding from page Athletes dont strive for 35th place Or even fourth or third or second place The whole point is to strive to be the best and that has been the role of OTP all along to help Canadian athletes be in position to compete through more than in funding generated by the Vancouver Olympic Committee its sponsors and vari ous levels government As Sharons Veronica Brenner a former sliver medallist in ski aerials noted prior to the Games OTP provided Canadian ath letes with everything they could possible need for the Olympics except an excuse tor not winning In the end it comes down to the athlete who seizes the opportunity at the precise moment It is obviously much easier said and predicted done Ms Brenner herself is aware of that truth nailing the jump she needed on a mountainside in Salt Lake City Utah in 2002 to capture silver Somewhere in the world another ath lete was disappointed Four years earlier in Nagano she was ninth and very much agitated with herself But as she pointed out so succinctly during her TV analysis earlier in these Games often there is no second chance no sevengame series Sometimes it is a splitsecond result As these Games wind down the con cern soon becomes for the future Will OTP be dismantled as a source of funding for future athletes Lets hope not Yet it may indeed be expect government funding to continue to sup port amateur sports in future years without a homeland Olympics to feed Surely some funds will be diverted to the 2015 Pan Am Games in Ontario a summer enterprise but that remains to be seen OTPs website claims it has a vision in mind for the 2012 Games in London so thats good But consider this what would be so illogical with continued funding for the sports Canadians are watching in record- setting numbers on TV Surely the federal government can understand young Cana dians will be inspired to take up some of these sports thereby becoming active and getting off the couch A healthier genera tion of Canadians would seem a worth while investment Maybe we can retain a portion of the podium too Just Jawin Cant wait to see the out come of the next few months as the 36 teams of the Ontario junior Hockey League trim themselves down to between 24 and 30 teams Apparently teams have expressed willingness to participate in mergers and contraction Of course the price will have to be right The East Gwtllimbury Skat ing Club hosts a synchronized skating gala Saturday night at Sharon Arena Among the participants is Shiver the clubs intermedi ate entry at the upcoming Canadian cham pionships in Brampton The twohour gala starts at 5 pin Admission is BRICK Look for our flyer in todays paper your talent NEWSPAPER ROUTES in Newmarket Aurora Holland Landing Bradford Mt Albert Sharon Queensville and Georgina Applications are available at iavwyorkregioncomcoa or fLLl your local facial cosmetic surgery expert on DailyWebTV THEYEABN Your child will develop time management skills money management skills a sense of pride in their achievements As a Carrier your child will be enrolled In our special points program which encourages himher to do well in school AURORA Drive Ballymore Yvonne Place Court Pinnacle Trail Skipton Trail Haverhill TerraceS Gateway Turnbridge Gateway Biitehire Gateway Valemount Gateway Billingham Gateway Calmar Cres Gateway Nicklaus Drive WeslodcCres Harwell Way Wiles Crt Murray Dr Poplar KnowtesCres Child Dr Glass Seaton Drive Child Dr Simmons Cr Morning Cr AlberyCrTamarac Haskell Cres Tamarac Trail Beechbrookway 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