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Don Lawrence * Sports editor * strangers on the street. ; A person you might not otherwise acknowledge as being there suddenly takes form and becomes a person worth talking to. Everyone says '"'Merry Christmas" as they end conversations and kisses on cheeks become common place. Yet, no one really knows what causes this phenomenon. Don Lawrence sports editor pie But what is Christmas? As everyone knows, atChristmastime the It could be the Salvation Army's heart grows larger and all the love that one representative on the corner ringing bells or feels grows and extends itself to even jtcouldbethe group of children singing carols It just seems that the days become special and love appears as if it had never existed before. in the street. It might even be the excited faces of the children as Santa Claus rolls by in the annual Santa Claus parade. . It's all these things and more. Christmas is that special feeling you get when you're sitting in your living room, surrounded by family members you haven't seen for nearly a year. It's a time for people to be together and to share that love that spans distances great and small. But most of all, it's the celebration of one Man's unselfishness and how much He gave SO we may all be stronger. When the three magi followed that star that Christmas comes from the heart appeared in the sky almost 2000 years ago, they knew what it was they were seeking. But it was a discovery that would shake the world and change the course of time itself. That single Man shaped the emerging world in one single lifetime to the point where fewer and fewer people go hungry because of the feeling we get this time of year. Because of this Man, loneliness vanishes, even if only for a little while and differences are quickly forgotten. Those moments become so precious because of one man and they are so important through His influence. Christmas comes from the heart and the warmth felt there and it's all because of one Man who wasn't afraid to care. Goaltending wonder Dave Sarson displays one of the dramatic saves that had everyone talking at Midland Athletics Intermediate A hockey Starts at blue line club's game Friday night against Collingwood Shipbuilders. superb goaltending by this newcomer to Despite the the Athletic squad, Midland lost 13-2 because of a weak defence. Silver Stick schedule set.. Midland Centennial Arena is the site of the Regional Silver Stick Hockey Tournament which will take place Dec. 26, 27, 28 and Jan. 2 and 3. The tournament will take in 50 games in the five days of play. Play will begin at eight a.m. Dec. 26 with the last game being played at 9:15 p.m. Dec. 27 play will get underway at nine a.m., the last game also starting at 9:15 p.m. Tourney starts at 1 p.m. On the third day of play, Dec. 28, hockey action will begin at one p.m., the last game being played at 8:45 p.m. Both Jan. 2 and 3, hockey will start at nine a.m. and the last game will begin at six p.m. Entered in the tournament are 10 midget teams from Penetanguishene, Midland, Base Borden, Collingwood, Acton, Aurora, Owen Sound, Hunt- sville, Parry Sound and Orangeville. Bantam division In the bantam division are eight teams from Base Borden, Midland, Owen Sound, Collingwood, Huntsville, Aurora, Parry Sound and Penetanguishene. Teams from Base Borden, Sharon, Collingwood, Aurora, Midland, Cobourg, Penetanguishene and Lindsay are entered in peewee competition in the tournament. Two teams In the atom division of the tournament, Midland will be represented by two teams, the minor and major atoms while teams from Base Borden, Thornhill, Barrie, Collingwood, Aurora, Hunt- sville, Penetanguishene and Orangeville will also A's goaltending no problem be present. eter bv Don Lawrence One thing Midland Athletic Intermediate A hockey club knows for sure is that there are no problems between the pipes for their team. Despite the out- standing play of their new goaltenders, Sean McGuirk and Dave Sarson, the Athletics let Collingwood = Shipbui- Iders skate away with a 13-2 win Friday night in Midland Centennial Arena. McGuirk and Sarson could not be held to blame for the loss by no stretch of the imagination as the pair faced in excess of 50 or 60 shots in net for Midland. Where the problem came in was on the defence in front of their own net. McGuirk and Sarson had very little help around the front of the net and eventually Sarson's play broke down as he was pelted with shots. He was replaced in the third period by McGuirk who had an equally difficult time. There were some shining moments for Midland though, all of them in the first period and very early in the second period. At the end of the first period, the score was tied at 1-1, Collingwood only scoring their first goal with one minute to play in that time frame. Midland came out strong in the second period and scored their second goal but at the six-minute mark something fell apart. Collingwood pumped in nine goals in the second period. Team play _ disin- tegrated on the Athletics' squad as they seemed to lose all co- ordination on their lines and their defence was simply not taking the man in front of the net out. By the time the third period rolled around, Midland had stopped trying as they just seemed to be going through the motions of skating and passing but didn't have any heart left. The fans were no help either as they started to ride the players, stating that a_ recreational hockey team could beat them. One fan even went as far as to say he would put up $100 if the Athletics would match that in a winner take all contest between his rec hockey team and the Athletics. If the Athletics keep getting this abuse, it's apparent that their morale is going to go down and their play is Storey, Gary Lizotte and John St. Amant all affected. played well but also With these new showed that same goaltenders, the disheartening felt by the Athletics could get _ rest of the players. themselves back All it will take is for together, given a little more time and patience. Their three new forwards, Dwayne the players to get used to playing together after so many new faces have joined the team. Championship games will be played Jan. 3 with midget champions being decided at 1:30 p.m, Bantam champions at three p.m., peewee champions at 4:30 p.m. and atom champions at six p.m. Admission for the tournament is set at/50 cents for children under 12, one dollar for students, two dollars for adults and one dollar for senior citizens. Children under six years old will be admitted free. Spiker drops in scoring race As of Wednesday, ferry Spiker of Midland Athletics Intermediate A hockey club dropped in league scoring after leading that race for several weeks. He is now in a three way tie for second place with Vytas Urbas of Orillia Terriers and Myles McCauley of Collingwood Shipbuilders. All three players have 35 points.. Les Burgess of Collingwood Shipbuilders is now in first place with 36 points. However, Spiker still has the most goals with 20 while Burgess moved into first spot with his assists totalling 23. That's the second highest number of assists in the league, Steve Lyon of Georgetown Raiders getting the most assists with 26. Lyon is presently tied for third place with 33 points with one other player from the league. Lyon also has the least goals of anyone in the race with seven. a Top five spots in league scoring stafidings look like this: # Les Burgess, Collingwood Terry Spiker, Midland Myles McCauley, Collingwood Vytas Urbas, Orillia Ron Twiss, Georgetown Steve Lyon, Georgetown Murray White, Collingwood Frank Sheffield, Barrie Lance Kealy, Owen Sound