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=" 32 -- Scugog Citizen = Tuesday, Mi ber, 15, 1994 Bantams run out of gas in the final game On Nov. 12th, the Country Style Bantams traveled to beloved Haliburton, to participate in the 82nd annual Haliburton Huskies Bantam Hockey Tournament. It was a very long day for everyone, having to wake up with the birds and go to sleep with the owls. Heck, some of us are used to sleeping in past noon on the weekends. Our first game was at* 10:00am against the host Huskies. After the first period, we were ready to play. Motor City Smitty walked out from the corner and tucked her home getting us started with Shane Norton picking up the assist. Scott Heffern scored next, knocking in a centering pass from Shaggy who was in the corner. This brought the score to 5-2 in Haliburton's favour. It wasn't looking top good for the Port Perry boys at this point, until Strickert scored, sending us on the comeback trail. We managed to get two more before the third was over, from Derek Tind and Shane Norton. A couple o ties, if you know what I mean. It was four on four in OT, and Shane Norton h d to 4 regula This one Was also tied at the end of ion time, sending us into our eighth period of hockey on the day. Just eleven seconds into overtime, Stricket let 'er howl from the score once again, top corner! VanSchagen got his third assist of the night. What .a generous guy VanSchagen is, always looking to make the pass. Emotions were high after this overtime victory. MWe were going nuts. Haliburton goalie, Blaze Foster, was shell-shocked after this one, as we fired 56 shots at him. Our second game was at 2 o'clock vs. the Bancroft Jets. This was another nailbiter. Adam Hobbs played a great game, scoring two gigantic goals, on one soaring through the air like Bobby Orr. Come to think of it, Hobbsy's style reminds me of hockey's great Bobby Orr. Norty assisted on the first, Tindall on the second. NHL rinks are as quiet as an interview with Jaromir Jagr and will be, apparently, for some time but it doesn't take an exhaustive search to find places where the game of hockey is flourighing. Now tell me Wheeling, West Virginia, didn't pop iato mind when you thought about hockey hotbeds. The Wheeling' Thunderbirds of the East Coast Hockey League are sold out most every night. Many of their games are on TV, the coach has his own television show and is in demand on the banquet circuit. That coach is a prairie poy from Fairlight, Sask, with the second biggest moustache in the west, Doug Sauter. (First place goes to some guy from Hanna, Alberta.) Sauter says the Thunderbirds have cashed in on the popularity of hockey in Pittsburgh, just 60 miles. nertheast, and the price tag for seeing the Penguins. "Our ticket prices are $6, $7 and $8, so you can go out to a game and have dinner with your family all on a $50 bill and that's very. attractive to the people of the Ohio Valley," says Sauter. Or anywhere else, for that matter. Now, for $7 you don't get to watch Mario, but then you don't most nights in Pittsburgh, either. You'll have you settle for Xavier Majic and Patrick Lebreque but that doesn't mean you have to settle for second-rate hockey. "I think we'd beat any Western Hockey League team," says Sauter, who knows a bit about that having coached in Calgary, Regina, Medicine Hat and Brandon. "We're a more mature league and it's really cleaned up from what it used to be. This Isn't a Slapshot league anymore and I'm pretty impressed with the calibre. Me's not alone. The East Coast Hockey League has been a tremendous success and now has 18 teams, including its new. entry in Tallahassee, Florida. They keep salaries down and ticket prices low so sales aré high and thére's a lineup for franchises. On the ice, teams can dress.only 15 skaters and two goalies so there's lots 'of ice time for the players, who are primarily former college stars and mid-to late-round junior picks on loan from NHL teams. In Wheeling - population 45,000 - where high school football draws crowds of more than 5,000 fans every Friday night, the Thunderbirds now draw the same and the minor hockey program is filling up, WAHA, the Wheeling Amateur Hockey Association, i watching the games, they're playing and understanding the spor. As Sautel points out, "the game is now the biggest attraction at the games." Yet promotions are still front and centre. Doug Sauter Moustache Night filled the. house for the home opener. Every fan got a clip-on cookie duster that made them look a bit like the coach and they were thrilled because the hockey coach is one of the most popular people in town. And that's not Carlyle, Kincardine or Grand Falls. That's Wheeling, West Virginia, a hockey hotbed. No kidding! "Jim Hughson" is Spansored by autnrc YAMAHA Sales & Service =COUNTRY AMAHA The Power ToC otis. Hwy. 57, Three miles th of Blackstock (LUIS 2 Lie = XK vd now has 700 kids including 16 girls' teams, so people aren't just blueline, beating the tender stick side. Heffy and Tindall assisted. Once again, we were letting ourselves run wild, celebrating our amazing victory. This sent us to the championship game against the Mississauga Hornets. We wanted to beat this team extra bad, as this was the championship game. We just didn't hdye enough gas in the tank to defeat them. We ended up walking home. The final score was 7-2 for the Hornets. Lairdy let a*®annan go from the point that ricocheted off someone's lumber and into the net. VanSchagen and Norton assisted. Norty got our other goal, assisted by Heffern. As I said before, we just didn't have the energy to play to our fullest. The effort was there just the same. Both Lenny Johnston, and Shane Savage played great in goal all day long. Way to go guys. The summary of the tourney was as follows: VanSchagen - 4 assists, 2 PIM; Morton - 4 PIM; Smitty - 1 goal; Tindall - 1 goal, 8 a Hobbsy - 2 goals; Norty - 3 goals, 3 assists; Froaty - 4 PIM; Heffy - 1 goal, 8 assists; H 4 PIM; points. Last season, Shane played on the Techstar Bantams, and scored an astounding 83.30uls, 4 to go along with 46 assists. Norty can score a goal from anywhere on the ice. To see weave his Tagie is worth the price of admission alone. Shane says: *I like to perform. 1 like to play. Come on out on Monday nights at 7:30 to watch me and the guys put on a show. It's great entertainment. Bring your Strickert - 2 goals, 9 PIM; Lairdy - 1 goal, 14 PIM; Skerrat - 1 assist, 2 PIM; Savage - 89 saves; Leary - 4 - 64 saves, 2 PIM. This week's player profile is on sniper Shane Norton. Norty's last two seasons have been pretty busy. Two years ago, with the Pee Wee Legionnaires, Shane scored 64 We'd like to thank our' sponsor, Country Style Donuts, and remind any sports fans who may be reading this segment for the first time today, or weekly to come on out at 7:30, Monday nights to watch a great show. There's something for everyone. Panthers lose 4-0 but pin 4-3 defeat on Uxbridge Warming up Monday night to the thunderous, thumping sounds of Guns and Roses, little did our Panthers know that the 'boys from Belleville' were already warmed up and eager to play. The first period was hard fought by both sides but' the strongest performance came from goaltender John Babcock. John not only managed to save a Belleville breakaway but kept the opposition from scoring on numerous occasions. After the flood, Belleville seemed to produce even more steam as they finally got on the scoreboard at the 13:26 mark of the second period. During this period there was a great deal of bashing, banging and bruising going on with a few 'of our players hearing the brunt of it all We were close to tying things up on a breakaway by Kenton Lefort but he was robbed at the last second by a Belleville player finally catching up. (Even with a groin injury Kenton can sure turn on, his wheels!) Later with a power play in Belleville's favour, they took advantage of the situation and added to their 2-0 lead. Minutes later showing their strength once again, they upped the score to 3-0. Not letting up, Craig, lan and Kenton were-hustling to get something going but to no avail. Our third period provides us with a few chances thanks to the efforts of the Panthers who try to assert some pressure but unfortunately the Belleville goaltender makes some brilliant saves to keep us from getting on the scoreboard. There was to be 'no joy' in Scugogville tonight as once again Belleville pulled another one out of the hat and with the wind knocked out of our sails, the final score was 4-0. On Sunday Nov. 13th, the day following their home tournament, the boys traveled to Uxbridge for a league game. With only nine skaters available for duty, due to work commitments, the Panthers put on a gritty display of hockey. Their hard efforts paid off in the first as Matt Hobbs was set up nicely by Ian Shrigley and buried it into the net. Uxbridge tied it up early jn the second but the Panthers roared back with two quick goals for a 3-1 lead. Scoring first was Daryl Bourgeois Techstar Bant assisted by Ian Shrigley and Kenton Lefort followed by Craig Laird on a deflection in front from Jeff Clarke and Kenton' Lefort. Uxbridge narrowed the gap late in the period, but Jeremy Geer restored the two goal lead with a blast from in front. Assisting on the play was Kevin Hobbs. In the third, the boys played disciplined hockey and ended up with a hard fought 4-3 win. John Babcock got the nod for goalie today and played a strong game. Chris Drury was his usual solid self on Setench: Good effort Panthers keep it extend the streak On November 9, the Techstar Bantam B team was in Lindsay looking to extend its league record to seven wins and one defeat. Techstar got off td an early lead when Dave Gainey scored with help from lan Parliament. Lindsay tied things at 6:55, but Port's Gainey restored the lead a minute later with an assist from Adam, "Bullet" Brain. Once again the Lindsay squad tied the score but Scott Sanderson made it 3-2 late in the period on a set-up from Bullet and Troy Campbell. In the second, Techstar picked up right where they left off at 13:55 as Dilan Weber scored from Glen McCready. Then a minute later, Gavin Baxter HATH CONN COOPERATNES INC. ® Feed @ Fertilizer ® Chemicals @ Custom Spraying @® Lumber and Building Supplies ONTARIO TIRE & FARM FOUIPHENT 66 Brock St. E. (same buliding as Stevenson R.V.) 852: Light Truck ATV, R\ GRAND OPENING SPECIALS 24 hour ROAD SERVICE FARM EQUIPMENT MECHANICAL and FRONT END ALIGNMENT Former for Retail in Uxbridge <4 852-1902 HHH PHP A made it 5-2 with assists from Gainey and the Bullet. That score held until the 2:15 mark when Weber got his second of the game from Campbell and Danny Lyons. But before the period ended, Lindsay added one of its own to make the score 6-3. Ryan Puckrin opened the third with a tip-in shot from Dave Kaminga to make it 7-3. Dan Lyons from Kaminga made it 8-3 and then notched his second of * the game from Kaminga and Baxter. Sanderson rounded out the scoring with under two minutes to play on a set up by Weber and Campbell. Bob Sim did a good job between the iron pipes for Port Perry. * On November 12, the Bantams were in Trenton for an exhibition preview of what could be shaping up as a playoff series. Techstar drew first blood at 12:45 when Tyler Wootton scored from Sanderson and Wyatt Park. Wootton was filling in for Campbell and Harper. Sanderson scored from Gainey and Wootton to make it 2-1 and that score held through the middle frame. Gavin Baxter was set up by Kaminga and Techstar had its two goal lead restored again. But Trenton was not about to roll over and go to sleep as they got that one back at 11:10 to make the score 4-3 in Port's favour. "wake up" call for the barrage of shots on goal with the Bullet bouncing one in off a defender's skate, and Baxter set up Puckrin a few minutes later. In the last minute of the game, McCready and Weber scored, and Weber ended things with three seconds left as he scored from McCready and Kaminga. Doug Short tended goal for Techstar in this one and came up with big stops throughout the contest. Next home game for Techstar is November 23 against Oshawa at 7:30.