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The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, October 1, 2002-27 MVacdonald already making impact with Merchants /vuilton's lone local boy s/unes car/y on By STEVE LeBLANC The Champion Craig Macdonald bas certainly taken the scenic route to playing f'or is hometown junior hockey club. But now that hc inally is. tbe al purpose forward bas made a direct beeline int the spotlight witb the Merchants. At the tender age of 14, Macdonald made a flot l00 surpnisingly unsuccessful bid to crack tbe local junior squad. wbicb althie ime was laden wilib seasoned stars and destined for provincial cbampionsbip gold. Since then, is on-ice talents bave pretty mucb been sbowcased soutb of tbe border -first a a prep sebool in New Hampsbire witb fellow Miltonian Jarrett Konkle and last year witb Division 3 Elmira College in Western New York. But in an effort Io keep bis options open and bopefully make tbe jump to tbe NCAA's Division 1. Macdonald bas put is post-secondary cdu- cation on bold for is final year of junior eiigibility. If carly-scason results and recent sebool interest is any indication, tbe move sbould psy buge dividends. Merchant bcncb boss Mario Cicebillo said in pre-season tbat is 6'0", 205 lbs. lcft Winger Wato10 good to bc playing Division 3 bockey. And 15 points in eigbt games bas servcd only to strcngtben tbat claim. Agrced linemate Ricb Mlocbc, "He's definitciy a Division i player.- Admitting be's got addcd motivation now as tbe oniy bomegrown Merebant. Macdonald bas been a model of consisten- cy so far tis season - witb a goal in cacb of tbe first five gaines and points in ail but one outing. Howcver, Multons quiet leader is quick 10 point out tbat be's got a lot of bcip tbcsc days - in paricular regular partniers Mlocbe and Vie Oreskovicb. He added, "Tbey're great to play witb. Ricb is realiy îaicntcd and Vic is awesome and b's oniy an '86. 1 cant wait 10 sec wbat bell be like in a couple of years.- Wbile Macdonald n0W leads teain scor- ing and is a strong candidate 10 finish top 10 in the Westemn Conference points race, be aiso brings a well-rounded game t0 tbe table - not unlike former Merchant cap- tain Jcff H-aydar. wbom be grew ttp just tbrce doors down from. Last Monday in Hamilton marked a prime exampie of is two-way value. Part of tbe first-line penalty kill, be belped neu- tralize the Klty Becs on îwo of îhree sbort- banded stilsîs before assisting on a big tbird-pcriod goal 10 aid in a conie-from- bebind 3-3 ic. Said Merchants' GM David Brown, -e's a complete tsso-way player. a complete leader. Tbere's definitely a lot of (scbool) interest around im.- But wbile looking forward 10 resurning is colege career. tbe Merchants' newest local standout is certainly enjoying the present - stating. "t's been great so far, it's rcally a good fit here tbis season.- -/Correction due A sports story in Friday's Cbampion con- îaincd ouîdated information. Il was reportcd that Scott Bertoli bad iandcd a tryout witb ibe AI-Ls Milwaukee Admirais, wicb ssas originaiiy truc. Howcver. due to the igb number of con- îractcd players been assigned t0 Milwaukee from Nashville, including fel- iow Miltonian Darren Haydar, Bertoli was sent back 10 tbe ECHL's Trenton Titans before the Admirais' camp began Friday. The Cbampion apologizes for the error and any inconvenience il mav bave caused. Mustangs edged Friday afternoon's sîeady downpour wasn't the only thing that dampened the Milton District High Scbool senior foot- ball team's week-two performance. A Lester B. Pearson touchdown inside the final two min- utes of play spoiied the host Mustangs' victory party. The 17- 14 defeat - which was capped with Taylor Coulombe's ast- second field goal attempt being blocked - dropped the local seniors t10 1 -1. While Pearson's winning major was delivered with an end- zone pass, weatber conditions kept both squads grounded for much of the contest. The Mustangs nurscd their slim lead for an entire haîf before finally being vanquisbed. A huge kick- off retum in the laat minute-and-a-half by Todd Arrudda - wbo delivered the first touchdown on a huge 60-yard dasb - put them in a position 10 ic it up. Brandon Bycrs scored the other TD, his third of the season, to complete an effective second-quarter drive and put thc hosts ahead 14-9. Coulombe made good on both convert kicks but was denied on the field goal - which was jusl the opposite of his week-one efforts against T.A. Blakeiock. Pearson connected on a îwo-point couvert after securing the winning touchdown and also scored a safety in the open- ing minutes of play Friday. MD's defense was sturdy for the most part and forced a couple of turnovers to factor into a thoroughly entertaining aftemoon. The Mustangs begin a two-game road tip Friday against Burlington Central. MON YOUTH BASKETBALL "IMADD DAIVGS"I Bantam Boys Rep Basketball Tryouts Open to ail boys born in 1990 First Try out: Wednesday,October 2nd at Holy Rosary Public Sehool Starting time 6:30 - 8:OOpm fée $10.0 Milton Youtb Basketball 420 Main St. E/Suite #558 Milton. ON, L9T 5G3 For more information calI John HnatiW Phone (905) 873-2407 MgI Merchant Craig Macdonald (at far been a welcome addition to the team this year with an impres- sive two-way game. Me- cur- rently leads team scoring with 15 points. Photos by GRAHAM PAINE Dr. Agnes Kucharska (FAmiiLY MEDIcINF.) is pleased to announce that she is opening ber practice bere in Milton! October lst, 2002_ To book an initial interview cail: 905-876-3843 69 Main St. E., Suite #2 A 2 Milton Mowie po Polsku Hablo Espafiol CONGRATULATIONS he ONTEACHERS! TeHalton Catholie District School Board and the Halton District Sohool Board commend you on World Teachers' Day, October 5, 2002. Thank you for your contributions to our excellent education systems. Your leadership, commitment and dedicatio.n to improving student learning are truly appreciated. As an educator in Halton, you make a significant difference to the lives of our students! AI Bailey Chair of the Board Lou Piovesan Director of Education Ethel Gardiner Chair of the Board Dusty Papke Drector of Education