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Citizen sports beat ' Second Section Wednesday, January 29, 1975 Tplking Searts by Tom Shields First of all let me congratulate the Penetanguishene Midget team for a fine showing in Sarnia in this year's edition of the Silver Stick competition, and also for placing four players on the all-star team. Also a big congratulations must go to the Penetanguishene Atom team. This team did not win the tournament, but they did represent this area. Many other teams lost out in the regional playdowns. On Sunday night both the Penetanguishene Garrisons and the Midland Flyers lost their hockey games. This is a bad time to start a slump or a losing streak. In the case of Midland, they ran into a red-hot Collingwood Blues who wanted and did clinch a first place finish by their 5-2 win on Sunday night. But in the case of the Garrisons' 9 to 2 loss to the Elmvale Mer- chants, I did not see the game, so I really can't pass too much of an opinion. But for some unknown reason, the Elmvale boys all seem to get hungry at this time of the year.....playoff time. I think this has been evident in all the years gone by involving the Elmvale Intermediates whether they were "'A"' ""B"' "'C" division or whatever. Sounding Off There have been many times when I have sounded off against the whole "'clean-up" campaign against hockey in Ontario. The Ontario Government even had William McMurtry do a study to implement changes in the rules. I was against this all along. I publicly wrote and announced my views, which back in the early fall and late summer were just pure speculation. Now I have some facts to base my views on, and those facts come strictly from attendance at hockey games. There isno doubt that the attendance is very good at the NHL games which is a little amazing considering how the Leafs and other such lowly teams are playing. But attendance does not stop at the major leagues, where in most cases and I emphasize most, they do have lots of bread, and moolah to back up any of their losses. I must admit though that I don't know for the life of me where they will get the money to pay Bob Orr a cog] million a year, let alone all of the other Bruins such as Esposito and Hodge etc. Minor Leagues suffer But it now appears that "Joe Minor League Team"' in Ontario is suffering, in at least 75 per cent of the towns, and this is from Senior '"'A"' right on down to Junior "D". The crowds are just not there anymore. The Ontario Senior "A" league is on the verge of folding. It has to be, as it is almost impossible to operate that type of team when only 400 paying fans attend the games. The Midland Flyers' attendance is down,considerably from a few years ago. The same is true@ or the other teams in that loop. In the Inter- pte "C'"' rank, the Garrisons have one of the hig jt attendance figures in their league at about 200 to. ¢ per game. Where are the fans? Why are the fans not turning out? Is it the cold Arena? Is it too muclryockey on the colour TV? Is hockey losing its hold on fans because of so many major league clubs? Or are people fed up with wat- ching watered down product of hockey, cleaned up so much that the local fans can't even watch their big defenceman take a poke at the nose of the aggressive forward on the other team. I would be extremely in- terested in the comments of: my readers as to your feelings on why our national sport seems to be rapidly becoming extinct in the spectator category. Maybe we've just seen too much Russian wizzardy with the puck to watch our own local boys. But I'll still bet that those who went to Sarnia with the youngsters on the weekend enjoyed watching our local boys, even though they did have hoarse throats. If you have any comments on the lack of fan enthusiasm, please sent or drop them off at the Citizen's Office on the Main Street in Penetanguishene. If we get some good answers, I'll see if I can twist the editor's arm and get some of them published in the paper. Tom Shields is the sports director at the CKMP radio Station. Midgets sweep first all-star team berths eve " Larry Cowan Brian Pilon The Penetanguishene Midget all-stars swept four of the six berths in the first all-star team selections following their victory in the North American Silver Stick Championship in Sarnia over the weekend. The first all-stars are pic- tured here: Mare Duquette, Dave Dupuis, Larry Cowan, and Brian Pilon. Midgets clinch Silver Stick Championship The Penetanguishene Midget all-stars can lay claim to being one of the best midget hockey teams in North America following their Silver Stick Cham- pionship victory in Sarnia on Sunday. The home town midgets clinched the championship by edging Bowmanville 5-4 on Saturday and downing Garson 5-2 on Sunday. Teams from _ across Canada and the United States had to qualify to compete in the tournament by becoming area cham- pions as the Pene- tanguishene Midgets did when they won the West Central District Silver Stick Hockey Tournament in Midland at the end of December. The strength of the local midgets was demonstrated when they swept four of the six first all-star team berths at the Sarnia tournament. Defenseman Larry Cowan, goalie Dave Dupuis, centre Mare Duquette and right wing Brian Pilon were elected to the first: all-star team. Defenseman Peter Roi of the Penetanguishene Major Atoms also made the first all-star team. The major atoms also competed on the Sarnia tournament but failed to win their division championship. However, their performance was nothing to be ashamed of as they bombed Dayton Ohio 8-0 in the opening game before losing 3-1 to Ancaster. The performance of the Major Atoms however, was overshadowed the Midgets victory. Parents, friends, and a scattering of fans gathered at the Penetanguishene Arena to welcome the champions home and to stage a party in the upstairs arena lounge. Coach Martin Robillard Peter Roi credited the victory to hard work saying "they never gave up."' Even though the Midgets had to come from behind a second period one goal deficit against Bowmanville and a two goal deficit against Garson Robillard said '"'we had no doubt we'd win cause the boys were really up for the game." Parents who went to Sarnia to see the tournament praised the midgets for their team effort but one player was singled out by almost everyone as one of the most outstanding of the midgets at the tournament. That was Larry Cowan who played Sunday's game despite a badly injured knee which hampered his movement. Sore knee and all he still managed to make the first all-star team. Captain Marc Duquette led the Midgets with two goals against Bowmanville. Andy Lacroix and Brian Pilon picked up a goal and an assist apiece while John St. Amant notched a single goal. Three players; Larry Cowan, Ken Marchildon and Mike Orser earned single assists. Garson jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the championship game. Brian Pilon started Penetanguishene's come- back by popping in a goal with 58 seconds left in the opening period. Ken Marchildon evened the count at the 12:21 mark of the second period and put Penetanguishene in front early in the third with his second goal of the game. Andy Lacroix and Ken Cowan rounded out the 5 @@Q ay ih i ye iW ye Penetanguishene. Pilon, Marchildon, Lacroix, Ray Cote and Greg Arbour picked up assists in the game. In Sunday's Major Atom game David Robillard scored Penetanguishene's only goal in a 3-1 loss to Ancaster. On Saturday goalie Raymond Hook picked up a shutout as the Penetanguishene Major Atoms bombed Dayton Ohio 8-0. Dave Robillard, Paul Robillard (his brother) and Albert Gignac blasted in two goals apiece for Penetanguishene. Peter Roi and Jerome Ladouceur scored single goals Balancing on tippy toes Despite the ballet by two Penetanguishene against Barrie Eastview on Wednesday. For Secondary School defenders, the local high details read Pat Fitzgerald's report. school cagers dropped all three games Staff photo PSS cagers drop three games by Pat Fitzgerald All three Penetanguishene Secondary School 'boys' basketball teams _ lost against Barrie Eastview last Wednesday. Midgets lost 44- 41; juniors 54-45; and the seniors also lost by the score of 57-52. In midget action PSS lost 44-41. It was a hard fought battle between the two teams. Lloyd Cascagnette paced PSS with 11 points, Terry Tessier had nine; Pete Maracle nine; Norm Zwicker, Mare DeCourcy and Pat Fitzgerald had four each. Wall and Carr had fourteen and eight points respectively for Eastview. During the game Barrie took first quarter lead 17-11. From then on, the two teams didn't take more than a six point lead. In the second quarter, Barrie's lead was cut to only one point (22-21). The two teams were still locked in a close battle going into the final quarter when the score was 33-30. The final quarter of play saw Barrie take a six point lead (44-38) with only about one minute to go. PSS popped in a basket and with 15 seconds to go the score was 44-40. Lloyd Cascagnette netted a foul shot with only 12 seconds left to make the score 44-41. Despite Ken Quesnelle's 15 point performance the PSS juniors were unable to grab a win. Frank Berdan had ten points; Greg Quesnelle nine; Mike Vaillancourt and Chris Robitaille had four each. Sturrup and Waldron paced Eastview with 11 and 14 points respectively. The PSS juniors took a 14-5 opening quarter lead. They were unable to hold back Eastview for the remainder of the game. In senior action PSS lost another game. They still have a chance to catch a playoff berth. Their record is six losses and three wins, The seniors compiled the worst record of last year's PSS basketball teams but to date they have won more games than their midget and junior counterparts. PSS wins three games Local girls volley The Penetanguishene Junior girls and the Midland Senior girls performed well in a three school volleyball tournament at Penetanguishene Secondary School last Thursday. The PSS Junior girls swept their two game series against Midland winning 15-4 and 15-11. Earlier Parkstreet Collegiate had downed the Midland Juniors 15-10 and 15- Gp Against Parkstreet the Penetanguishene juniors won one and lost two. Penetanguishene took the first game 15-1 but lost the next two by scores of 15-5 and 15-8. In Senior volleyball action the MSS girls proved to be in a class by themselves. Midland swept both games against Parkstreet 15-6 and 15-4. The Penetanguishene seniors downed Parkstreet 15-3 and 15-6. In the showdown between PSS and,MSS Midland emerged victorious. The MSS senior girls downed PSS 15-2 and 15-8. The Penetanguishene Garrisons played their first losing week of the season dropping a 7-4 home game decision to Bradford on Wednesday then taking a 9-2 thrashing in Elmvale on Sunday. But the Garrisons' first loss to Elmvale in two years wasn't the worst news. Centre Connie Maloney may be through for the season as a result of a penalty called for spearing the referee. Maloney wasn't the only one who ran foul with the game officials. Waxy Gregoire will sit out the Garrisons' next two games as the result of a matched misconduct penalty he picked up in the third period. A hearing with league officials will be held early in February (probably on February 5) to determine if he speared the referee in- tentionally. If league of- ficials rule that Maloney deliberately speared the referee they may decide to make an example of him by suspending the Garrison centre for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. Garrison manager Mare Dahmer said Maloney did not spear the referee during the third period faceoff as charged. Apparently the referee claims that Maloney Downs Marine 5-3 es a i or cop, ei: ee The Silver Stick Champions The Silver Stick Champion Penetanguishene Midgets, front row left to right are: Martin Quigley, Joe Rankin, Grant Quesnelle, Kenny Parent, Raymond Cote, Ken Cowan, and Bert ge aver Mat uh 20h around the shoulder as he was dropping the puck. Dah- mer suggested the opposing centre may have lifted Maloney's stick up causing Maloney to hit the referee while the two battled for possession of the puck. The Garrisons played the Elmvale game without the Connie Maloney caught him with his stick up Ken's Esso leads Ken's Esso won the battle of the league leaders in Penetanguishene Industrial Hockey on Sunday downing Penetanguishene Marine 5-3. Sunday's game marked the third straight win for Ken's Esso which pushed them three points ahead of runner-up Penetanguishene Marine. While Ken's Esso stret- ched out its modest win streak, Penetanguishene IGA kept their losing streak intact by dropping its seventh game in a row losing 8-3 to last place Emery's Electric. IGA, the league leaders at the halfway mark of the Industrial Hockey League season is threatening to push Emery's out of the cellar. Currently a single point separates IGA and Emery's in the standings. Ken's Esso received single goal performances from five players. Paul Loughran, Steve McDonald, Rick Desjardins, Bob Larmand, and Jim Pollard all popped in single markers. Ken Morrow notched a pair of goals for Penetanguishene Marine. Don Maurice picked up a single to round out Marine's scoring. Things seem to be going from bad to worse for the mid-season league leaders Penetanguishene IGA who were bombed 8-3 by Emery's Electric. The loss marked the second time in the last four weeks cellar dwelling Emery's has beaten IGA. Jim Martin picked up two goals to lead Emery's scorers. Jim Dagenais, Ken Popple, Bob Ruston, Brian McConkey, Larry Dion, and Jim Lethbridge notched single markers. For IGA Mike Puddicombe picked up a pair of goals. John Bell scored IGA's final goal. Standings (as of Jan. 26) Team WLT Pts. Ken's 940 18 Marine 75115 IGA 580 10 me s CLI aboot) Back row left to right: coach, Martin Robillard, Larry Cowan, Mike Orser, Mare Duquette, Ken Marchildon, Brian Pilon, Andy "Red"' Lacroix, Greg Arbour, James Dahmer, John St. Amant, Dave Dupuis, and Aime i at Garrisons lose two games and two players services of Mike Dubeau, Alvin Robillard, Ken Scott, Brian Lemieux and Terry Dubeau. The Elmvale Merchants beat the Penetanguishene Garrisons 9-2 at the Elmvale arena last Sunday night. Two goal efforts by Stu McKenzie and Paul Marley sparked the Merchants to the victory. The Merchants outshot the Garrisons 31-20 in the game in which the Elmvale club was never behind. The Merchants tock a 3-0 early first period lead with the Garrisons coming back to make it 3-2 before the period ended. John Brown opened the scoring for the Merchants with Robb Sutherland and Doug McMann assisting. Bruce Burnett made it 2-0 on a pass from Doug McMann and then Stu McKenzie got his first goal of the game with Bill Player assisting. Gerald Laschappelle made it 3-1 with a Garrison goal on a pass from Tom Gignac and then Andy Parent closed the gap to 3-2 with Peter Dubeau assisting. In the second period, Elmvale scored two goals to open up a 5-2 lead. Carl Edwards scored with Doug McMann assisting while Stu McKenzie con- nected for his second goal of the game with Carl Edwards assisting. The Merchants then scored four unanswered goals in the third period to make the final score 9-2. Doug McMann scored with Bruce Burnett and Paul Marley assisting. Then Paul Marley connected for two straight Merchant goals with Doug McMann and Rob Sutherland picking up assists on the first one. Bill Player then rounded out the Merchant scoring with Paul Marley and Bruce Burnett assisting. Penetanguishene _ picked up 11 penalties in the game while Elmvale got six penalties. The Garrisons penalties included a game misconduct to Waxy Gregoire and a match penalty for spearing to Connie Maloney. Both these penalties were given in the third period. The Penetanguishene Garrisons are enjoying one of their best seasons ever in the senior hockey league, but they can't seem to break the Bradford jinx. Bradford has the Garrisons' number and last Wednesday night at the Penetanguishene arena for the fourth time in five meetings between the two clubs this year, Bradford came out on top. At the end of the first period Bradford led 4-1. The Garrisons looked like they were coming back in the second period when they managed to narrow the gap to 5-4 but Bradford popped in the only two goals of the final period for a 7-4 victory. D. Pollack and H. McEvoy netted two goals apiece to pace Bradford's attack. Industrial scoring race Top 15 scorers as of January 19 Name i el) GavAvarts: Ken Edgar IGA 12 14 26 Larry Leroux Marine 1012 22 Peter Arbour Ken's 10 11 21 Ken Popple Emerys 15 4 19 Larry Marchand Marine 14° «5 «(19 Paul Loughran Ken's 12 7 19 Dennis Lemieux Ken's 4 15) 19 Bill MeQuaig Marine avy sh Mike Puddicombe IGA 11 415) Rick Desjardins Ken's OF De 14) Bob Larmand Ken's 5 8 13 Brian Merkley IGA LV fi} gb} Don Maurice Marine Kathe 3b) Jim Pollard Ken's Gree shi Edge Mansfield 4-3 Perkies coming alive Playoff time is ap- proaching and the defending Elmvale and District Senior champion Perkies are coming alive. In their fourth last game of the regular season the Perkies edged league leading Mansfield 4-3 last Thursday night at the Elmvale Arena. The Perkies' leading point getters Richard Lafaive and John McGowan sparked the village team to victory. McGowan collected a goal and two assists including an assist on the game winning goal by Richard Lafaive with exactly one minute left in the match. Lafaive earned a goal and an assist in the game. Gary Preston opened the Perkies scoring on a play set up. by Andy Maheu and Sandy McKillip. Lafaive and Doug Webb drew assists on the Perkies second goal by McGowan. Raymond Parent banged in the third marker con- verting a pass from John McGowan. The game was a fast and hard hitting affair. As usual Mansfield picked up the most minutes in penalties 27, 1 { compared to seven for Perkinsfield. Next week the Perkies play Wyevale at 10:30 p.m. Last Thursday's victory gives the Perkies a record of six wins, five losses anda tie, good for 13 points. That puts them somewhere around second, third, or fourth place in the six team league. Official league statistics were unavailable. For a feature on the Perkies turn to the inside sports pages. to