The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Family Medicine will be seeing new patients as of August 1,52002 Please cali 905-878-8793 te bock an appointment Miltowne Medical 350 Main St. E. Photos by GRAHAM PAINE Merchent goalie Cody Spicer (above left> demis with traffic around hie net while (above right) teammate Rob Ricci gets taken into the boards by Oakvile's Kevin Harvey aitles Sports Arena Friday. Milton Iost 4-2 but rebounded the following night ta beat Buffalo 3-1. ,,Merchants sit second after two-game split on the road By STEVE LeBLANC The Champion The Merchants' third- period prowess was severe- ly interrupted in Oakville Friday. Unahie 10 extend its late-game supremacy against the opportunis- tic Blades, Milton collapsed in the final nine minutes and was doubled up 4-2. The breakdown resulted in the first loss this season and eviction from the division penthouse. It also spoiled an overail strong defensive effort - spearheaded by hard-hitting bluelmner Phil Sbrocchi - that restnicted Oakville to just 14 shots in the first two-and-a-half periods of play. The Merchants physically dominated their hosts during most of that time as well. Multons newly-completed fourth line accounted for both goals in the opening frame. Jonathan Omelas started things off with a cross-ice redireci before the gamne was three minutes old, while Dean Strong padded the lead with a top right comer deposit at 13:35. Assisting on each was dehuting Merchant Wes Clark - a lanky 19- year-old forward whn joins the tearn aller an unsuccessful bid so crack the USHL ranks with Sioux Falls. He played with Sbrocchi last year in T1hombhill. Single helpers were picked up by Rick Janco and Shawn Mole. A 0-for-S powerplay whitewash cost Milton a chance to put away the Blades. who as of last night occupied top spot in the Westemn Conference. 'Meir late rally was delivered on successive goals hy Nick Davis, Geoff Aselstine, Brad McKenzie and Nick Dodge. 'he following night in Buffalo, Milton overcame a few anxious moments down the stretch to out- duel the basement-dwelling Lightning 3-1 and boost its second- place record to 6-I1-I1. James Duhamel notched hus sec- ond hig goal of the week with the game-winner at 16:32. Justin Nattress assisted on the play. Vie Oreskovich clinched the win with an empty-netter, while sconing goal number one 22 seconds in the night was Rich Meloche - who leads the tearn with eight tallies. Back-up Alex Evans tumned away 28 shots and weathered a couple of late storms for his third win of the year. The Merchants capped a four- game road trip last night in Harnilton. Results were not avail- able as prcss time. Merchant notes: Milton is expected to announce ils new name hy laie Octoher ... Defenceman B.J. Gallant continues to nurse a separated shoulder, sustained dur- ing season-opening play in Brampton. He should he back in the lineup later this month ... Josh Vanderbreggen and Michael Fox- Higgins have recently been dealt to Streetsville and St. Michaels respectively ... Milton plays six of its seven games this month St home. beginning with tonight's showdown againsi Mississauga. The Merchants' Friday night home gaines now start at 7:30 p.m. Reding outdistanced by Lions Bishop Reding's Andrew Pepper made a number of impressive passes in Burlington Thursday. But one that fel mbnt enemy hands was essentially the difference during week two senior football action. An Aldershot Lions pick-off with time running out opened the door to a last-minute touchdown, costing the visitors to lose 21-17 and drop to 1 -1 on the year. BR's quarterback came awfully close to redeeming himself for the interception in the dying seconds of play, stninging together four passes to put his Royals on the 17-yard line with first and goal. But his nail-bit- ing drive was fmnally foiled with a knocked down pass in the end-zone. 'he dramnatic conclusion punctuated an exhilarating air show - in which both pivots' arms shone - and overall entertaining tier two confrontation. The Lions' rally camne shortly aller BR blocked their field goal attempt to seemingly seal the deal. Said Reding head coach Joe Jurus, "It was one of the most exciting gaines of high sehool I've ever seen." Pepper's 10-for-17, 165-yard performance was highlighted by touchdown passes to Rory Johnston and Kevin Hines- 25 and 16 yards respectively- in the opening haîf. Kicker David Wynne added a 39-yard field goal to the vis itors' productive start and put them ahead 17-14 ai haîf time. Overaîl. BR and Aldershot combined for 562 yards of offense- with the winners enjoying a slight eight- yard edge. For the Royals, rookie Rob Ruhino gained most of the real estate on the ground with 70 yards of rushing 10 build on a credible debut the previnus week against White Oaks. Rubino's numbers alone nearly matched the entire team's offensive output from week one. Slotback Phil Fontaine made several fierce blocks 10 aid the running gaine, while defensively it was MNke Banks who stood talI with another seven-tackle outing. BR will look to keep their offensive rolling and get back in the win column this aftemoon at Oakville's QE. Park.