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The Canadian Chamnion. Tuesdav. Octobet 3,2000 - 17 Merchants sweep regional road tnp in explosive style Photo by GRAHAM PAINE Fancy stickwork Bishop Reding Secondury S<hool's Brldget Rowe (lotI) and Keisey Mountain (right) battis a T.A. Biakelock Tiger opponent for possession durlng senior girls fleid hockey competition at BR Thursday afternoon. Royals Karyn Marchment and Edyn Marahali scored goals whiie nelmînder Heather Townsend was flawieas between the pipesto iead the hometown ladies to a 2-0 vlctory and square their regular season record at 1-1. They'il look to make It two in a row thls attemoon ut home againat Oakviiie Trataigar. Game lime lB 3:30 p.m. By STEVE LeBLANC The Champion T he Merchants flexed their scoring muscles this past weekend en route to sweeping an important regional road tnp. In support of an understaffed and over- worked blueline unit, the tearas forwards took it up a notch to outdistance Halton rivaIs Burlington auJ Oakville. The back-to-back wins - number tour and Ove this season - allowed the local juniors to rejoin the top haîf of the Ontario Provincial Leagues Westem Conference. Friday, Milton got things rolling with an uncharacteristically high scoring victory as Burlington's Central Arena. An overaîl spirited attack pîus tour powerplay goals - including a pair in the final frame to seat the deal - helped theto topple the Cougars 8-5. The weekend-opening conteot was explosive from more than just an offensive standpoint. Tempers fiare early A ftrst-period slugfest in which veteran Merchant Dan DeLong .absolutely annihi- lated counterpart Jerod Wiseman lit the tuse for what would be a very confronta- tional evening filled with a number of minor skirmishes. The moot notable of which resulted in four player suspensions including ones for Miltons Ian LaBrash and James Coleman. who got two extra games for jumping off the bench to aid his teammates. The Merchants enjoyed 2-I and 4-2 peri- od leads on the way to victory - une of their most convincing in recent memory at Central Arena. Eight different visitors dented the twine in the win including workhorse captain John Nadalin - who has neyer generatcd big numbers in the past but now findo him- self averaging a point a game and lcading the team in powerplay goals witb two. Also scoring for the victors were Coleman, LaBrash, Kevin Arruda, Flavio Fagionni, Shane Remenda, Andy Rozak and Vince Laise. Chad Vindin picked up two assists while drawing a single helper and backstopping the club was Joel Cameron. At Oakville's Iceporta Sunday. DeLong recorded the team's first hat-trick of the year - leading the way to a 7-4 triumph over the youthfulBlades. The diminutive Winger delivered at even-strength, on the powerplay Dan DeLong and finally while shorthanded - also a tirst for Milton this year - to join Laise atop the team goal-scoring leader- board. Also putting his mark on the win was call up defenceman Bryan Gent. The Milton native and Erin Jr. C Shamrock notched the Merchants' ftrst goal - taking a nitty pass trom Laise and connecting on a wide angle writter - and finiahed ttte night at an impressive +3. Less than stellar showing Sophomore cager Anthony Marahali was somewhat shaky againot tl~e Blades - exhibiting indecisivenesa that coot him twice through the tirat haîf - but enjoyed a great deal of support from his defensive corp. Merchant rearguards allowed the hosto juot two dozen shots on net, and only six in the third period. Fagionni stood out with a goal and two assiats while Rozak and Dan Bognar were the other marksmen. Milton scored four unanswered goals within a span of 12:16 during the second period to put things away. Merchant notes: Defencemen Chris Rook, Steve Schentag and Vince Guiducci aIl remain on the disabled litS. Rook, cur- rently nursing a dslocated shoulder, will be sidelined for as least six weeks but Schentag and Guiducci, out with knee and elbow injuries respectively, could be back by the end oU the month ... Ian LaBrash turns 20 today ... Milton bas a stifi chal- lenge this comîng weekend, starting Fnday when they bosS the vastly împroved Buffalo Lightning. flame time is 8 p.m. Saturday tbey travel to Georgetown to face the Raidera at 7:30 p.m. at Alcott Arena. ITLA~LiP. ~ Il 876.WINE