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Mark Bryson Chronicle Staff Dean DeSilva is finally back where he belongs â€"skating with Waterloo Siskins. Signed by Siskins‘ general manâ€" ager Pete Brill on Friday, DeSilâ€" va celebrated his return to the Midwestern Junior B hockey league this weekend with five goals in three games, including a pair in Sunday night‘s 11â€"1 breeze over the lowly Cambridge Winter Hawks. DeSilva, 19, also scored twice in Saturday‘s 11â€"4 win over Guelph Bs at Memorial Gardens and once in Friday‘s 6â€"1 win over Brantâ€" ford Classics in Waterloo. "It‘s great to be back with the Siskins," said DeSilva at the team Christmas party Monday night. "This is a great hockey DeSilva missed the first half of Comparitively speaking, the situation is a lot like a slugger who steps into a boxing ring and decides to be a finesse fighter. One only has to look back to this year‘s super fight between Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard for evidence of that. The superior fighter (Hagler) lost to Leonard because he did not fight his fight, he fought Leonard‘s. And as unlikely as that may sound, the prediction here is exactly that. Waterloo Siskins will not lose another regularâ€"season game. That‘s if they can shake the monkey of course. Running the risk of sounding like a cheerleader, the only team in the league capable of defeating Waterloo right now is the Siskins themselves. Currently sitting atop the standings with an impressive 23â€"3â€"1 record, Siskins have a combined 19â€"0 wonâ€"lost record against Kitchener Ranger Bs, Guelph Bs, Listowel Cyclones, Cambridge Winter Hawks, Owen Sound Greys and Brantford Classics. Conspicuosly absent from the list are the secondâ€" place Elmira Sugar Kings (204â€"1) and thirdâ€"place Stratford Cullitons (19â€"6), who have combined for a 3â€" 1â€"1 record against Waterloo over five meetings. That‘s where the monkey comes in. For some strange reason, Siskins play like a group of expectant fathers against Stratford and Elmira. Instead of playing their bumpâ€" andâ€"grind game, Siskins have played into their oppoâ€" nents hands. « That‘s what has happened to Waterloo, who have reverted from their physical game against Elmira and Stratford and have paid dearly. Even Siskins‘ general manager Pete Brill can‘t explain why it happens. Waterloo Siskins are capable of going through the remainder of the Midwestern Junior B hockey schedule without another loss. Dean DeSilva "It could be psychological, I don‘t know," he said Last year‘s big gun is back the 48â€"game schedule for personal "A lot of things have happened to me in the past six months. I was hoping to go to the States (Cornell University) but the coach was released and his replacment brought his own players in. After that, I just wanted to get away from the sport for a while," said Desilva, a thirdâ€"year player who led the team in scoring last season with 36 goals and 47 assists for a total 83 points. Sure in his mind that he can now help the team, the only apprehension DeSilva felt prior to rejoining the club was how the players would respond to this ‘"new guy" coming in and potenâ€" tially taking someone else‘s spot on the roster. "You know, I was really worâ€" ried about that. But it hasn‘t happened. All the players have been warm, I just can‘t say enough about the guys on this team," said DeSilva, a firstâ€"year University of Waterloo student. Siskins‘ coach Gerry Harrigan and general manager Pete Brill have been patient and underâ€" standing with DeSilva‘s situaâ€" tion, hoping now to reap the rewards. ‘"He‘s a great asset, no quesâ€" tion," said Brill. "When Dean has his heart in it â€" which he does now â€" he‘s one of this league‘s best players." DeSilva has decided not to set any personal goals for the reâ€" mainder of the season, he just wants to help the club win. ‘"They want me to put the puck in the net and that‘s what I hope to do," he said. DeSilva was not the only Siskin to feast on the Winter Hawks Sunday. John Williams led the attack with two goals and six With that taken care of, it‘s time now to look at my preâ€"season predictions and see where I went wrong. I‘ll also take a stab at predicting the final standings. Waterloo Siskins: General manager Pete Brill has taken a good team and made it better through trades and signings. Topping the list of newcomers is forward Dean DeSilva, Waterloo‘s leading scorer last season, who in his first three games back with the club has tallied five goals. Then there was the threeâ€"way trade that brought goaltender Gary Robbins from Guelph and sent Dave Motz packing to Kitchener. Robbins‘ aquisition has not only given the Siskins a much better tandem, it has rekindled veteran netminder Scott MacDonald‘s competitive edge. Paul Kleinknecht has played well since being obtained from Elmira. Combine that with the excellent performances to date of such players as Dan Rintche, Mike MacKay and Larry Rucchin, and Siskins will win the league going away, just as I said they would in September. Elmira Sugar KingsDon‘t let their current secondâ€" place standing fool you, Elmira is simply not as good as their record may indicate. Word around the league has it that a number of players are playing unhappy in maple syrup land and it‘s only a matter of time before that will catch up with a team. Because of their current 15â€"point bulge over fourthâ€"place Owen Sound, Elmira will hang on to third, as previously predicted. Terry Hoelscher and Terry West are having great seasons. Stratford Cullitons: The onceâ€"mighty Cullitons have ‘"It‘s a possibility that the kids may be in awe of Stratford and Elmira. I really don‘t know." That‘s what makes this Friday‘s game against Elmira so important. If Waterloo can come out play its game and defeat the Sugar Kings convincingly, they will not lose another game this year. The monkey will be lifted. â€" Waterioo Siskins‘ goaltender Gaq Robbins concentrates on the action as Cambridge Winter Hawks‘ forward Neil McFarlane pays a visit. Defenceman Jeff MacLean looks on. Scott Gardner photo assists. Dan Rintche scored three goals, DeSilva two and singles went to Bob Shelp, Brad Haelzle, Shawn DuBois, Mike Gingerich and Ryan D‘Arcy. Goaltender Gary Robbins was robbed of his shutout bid as Cambridge scored from a goalâ€"mouth pileup in the final minute of play. * Forward Wade Wiggins, thirdâ€" been plagued by inconsistency all season, losing games against the league‘‘s weaker links. Should they be able to put it together â€" which I think they will â€" Stratford will finish well ahead of Elmira in second place. Greg Klym and Dave Smith are having good years. Owen Sound Greys: The bus ride to Owen Sound is hell on wheels for visiting teams and that makes the Greys tough to beat at home. That however, is all that is going for Owen Sound right now despite their 13â€"11 record. Let‘s face it, any team that loses to Cambridge cannot be that good. Greys will wind up the season in sixth place. Kitchener Ranger Bs: Kitchener (12â€"12) is one of those teams that just doesn‘t play to its capability. On paper, Bs are at least as good as Elmira and proved that last week with a hardâ€"fought 3â€"3 overtime tie with the Kings.Because of goaltender Martin Groulx alone, Kitchener will finish in fourth, up from my September prediction of fifth. Brantford Classics: Brantford (12â€"14â€"1) has relied on Jerry Thorne to do most of its offensive work and that‘s bound to catch up with him unless someone else helps out. I picked them to finish seventh, but it looks as though the expansion team is good enough to finish sixth. Listowel Cyclones: Luckily for Listowel (10â€"17), they get to Ylay Guelph and Cambridge every once in a while. I though this team was capable of a strong sixthâ€"place showing if the defence came through. It hasn‘t. Listowel will finish seventh. Guelph Bs: Guelph (5â€"23) has had its moments this year and that should be enough to slip into the eighth and final playoff spot. When I picked them ninth in the preâ€"season, I didn‘"t realize Cambridge was so bad. Cambridge Winter Hawks: Cambridge (2â€"25) is a miserable team and should consider mailing the two points instead of wasting gas. with Mark Bryson leading scorer with Elmira Sugar Kings this season, has left the team and is currently skating with Waterloo. He may be signed later this week.