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Game Sugar Kings niake" it worthwhile for Chuck If a Chuck Neisen-coached club ever sported a t-36-1 win-loss record in his dozen years behind Waterloo Minor Hockey Association benches, chances are at season's end. he would be found swinging from the end of a looped skate lace in the dressing room rafters. So how cum, here we have the handle-bar moustached mentor fashioning precisely that slate (partially inherit- ed - ed. note) in his inaugural season guiding Elmira Sugar Kings - and the only swinging Neisen appears to be doing is from the chandeliers. Surety this look of peace and contentment, outright satisfaction, is but a crafty manoeuvre delicate art of self-deception. We are talking, you realize, about a gentleman who for years if his club came out on the short end of the score, would shake, rattle and roll every garbage can, water bottle and broken stick to within an inch of its life. His players got off only slightly easier. But the Neisen who now stands behind the bench in his familiar arms-crossed pose, no longer has a reason to rant and rave, rattle and roll. Not just because his mixed bag of midget and juvenile players are expected to lose every time they don their uniforms. More importantly, because Neisen has found a bunch of kids who have supplied him with everything he has ever asked for (short of victory). Hard work and dedication. "I kept telling myself right off the bat 'you have to realize what you're getting into'," said Neisen prior to his club's ever-so-close 4-3 loss to Waterloo Siskins Sunday night. "I knew after the second or third week that hey, we Just didn't have the talent. "I'm more than happy with the dedication the kids are giving me, If! tell them to skate hard for half an hour, or an hour, they do it - with no complaints." Because of his role, obviously Neisen isn't about to publicly disparage anyone within the Sugar King organization for his club's miserable fortunes this season. But he will likewise hear none of any talk ridiculing his players for their efforts, even in 13-1 lambastings they suffered at the hands of the Siskins last Wednesday. In most locales. the success at the gate is directly related to a team's success on-ice. If that were the case in Elmira this year. no amount of cajoling could even convince family and friends to take in the action. Of course the crux of the problem all year has been the lack of adequate depth on the team -- whether through insufficient recruitment. unavailability of bodies. or a breakdown of the entire developmental system. Whaler er the case, Neisen has been forced to augment his lineup with dizzying combinations of midget and juvenile players based on availability, ABut fiook at it this way, we're part of the best Junior B league in Ontario, and that in itself gives you great satisfaction. "My anéwer to that is that if it wasn't for these kids. there wouldn't be a B team in Elmira this year." But such has not been the case, according to Neisen who praised the loyal backers of Kings for sticking through thick and this very thin. He claims the average has consistently loomed near the 250 mark. ONE HOUR . “ii ‘m universit so MEN ST‘ I . nouns W‘WWIV LOCA‘I’ED IN C WHERE PHOTOGRAPHY STARTS 35-70mm Zoom Deal! §5mm 70mm ttlik-ttttltr "I "IIIIIIIIIE, TIIIS Illill mun "VIII! Mtt tftit Ill]. m Ylllll IEEIIS. mum! W m I031 tllittBlM. SEE TIE mutual tiElll ttull " Ilk “VIII! as MS! ll $$Ul SALE ENDS FIB. 201’" ONE HOUR PHOTO, WATERLOO 160 University Ave. W., 886-8610 so QUEEN " NORTH. measles . “3-3630 "tttJets MoylmeltoI m-anilo. W“y.lo. HH" LOCATED IN CAMBRIDGE 8 HAMILTOQ if not in the “i won't be able to practise tomorrow night," a Sugar King player informs the coach after Sunday's loss. "My brother's playing and he heeds__rriy thtttes-" The outstanding play of goalies Roger BuehIer (above) and Mike Bishop between the pipes tor Elmira Sugar Kings this year has coach Chuck Neisen smiling despite the club's woeful re- cord. id/iid, "acinoaedges the, glibi: And moments later. RICK CAMPBELL $100 $52.. 55 ERB ST. E. - WATERLOO Froot Door - downturn at Ertt Contra WATERLOO CHROMCLE, 'iteDdrE_sp_AY,_rEruAet19,_1i8L2cr_'2tiE, 26 ONLY VALID UNTIL FEB. 15, 1982 chuckles about it. CHUCK. chuckling? "Now you see what things are like around here?" he asks an onlooker. In a season where four clubs, not Just one, are legitimate contenders to the Midwestern Junior B throne, the talk has focussed on the opposite end of the standings, and the plight of the Kings. Betting in backwood barbershops received an unex- pected jolt two weeks ago today when Elmira spoiled its near-perfect season by upending Owen Sound Mercurys 6-4 in the Ioop's northernmost burg. Shock waves abounded. "All season we get a riding about how we're losing all the time, then we win one game and take another riding," said Neisen with a laugh. "That's the first time this season we've won all three periods! But we had Just lost 4-3 to Stratford and 3-2 to New Hamburg, we were nnally starting to play some good hockey." Sen-sing an rope-hing to plug the obvious, a reporter questions Nelsen as to how he keeps morale up, and what the coach's role becomes at this point. "The kids aren't stupid. they know what the situation is," he replies. "We just -keep going over the basic fundamentals before each game, between periods. Ah, yeh, l blast them once in awhile Just to keep them on their toes - but I can't put them down - they're doing their best and they don't like losing any more than I do." Gloomy results notwithstanding, the season has had its lighter moments for the beleaguered Kings. Much has centered around the Elmira net, which has seen enough action in most contests to melt the frozen pond. "I have a rule with the goaltenders, that whoever wins, continues to play until he doesn't win." said Neisen. "So what happens, (Mike) Bishop wins in Owen Sound, so I tell him, you won, you keep playing - and the next time Waterloo beats us 13-1." "That's got to be one of the funniest things of the year for me, those poor kids have faced 60-65 shots many a time - and when the other team scores a lot of goals, they (goalies) come to me and ask me what they're doing wrong. Sixty-five shots, and THEY want to know what THEY are doing wrong! .. Both King netminders, Bishop and Roger Buehler, have been outright heroic on a handful of occasions. and both deserve the purple heart for valor according to their coach. The season. weather permitting, will end for Kings in a week's time. Neisen. not the masochistic type, will be glad to witness the final sunset, but indicated that he is hoping to be back next year, with bolstered executive backing. to ice a more competitive unit and reward the patience of this year's rooters. "Despite our record, I've had lots of positive feedback. complimenting us for sticking with it. that sort of thing. When you go home at night, and wonder what the hell youve doing. it's that little bit of praise that makes it worthwhile." A mellowed Chuck Neisen smiles another contented smile, and the garbage cans and water bottles of the nation breathe a collective sigh ot relief. FUBDQ’ If. no! and in walk So why ttot Hill: to work? A Vohgoteorswtttbe Lewis!) “A