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Winless in Britain, but tnp no waste In claiming the East Region title, the Tigers will face the University of Wisconsin in one semifinal at Detroit’s Ford Field April 8 at 5 p.m. The winner of that tilt will face the other semifinal victor featuring Boston College arkd the University of Miami (Ohio). “ ‘ “It certainly hasn't been an offensively productive year for me,” said Spivak. a sec- Especially since Spivak and the rest of his teammates at the Rochester, N.Y.-based school will make their first-ever appearance in the coveted National Collegiate Athletic Association Frozen Four championships. Capturing their Atlantic Hockey Con- ference title for just the first time in the five years since competing at the NCAA Division One level, the Tigers won last weekend's NCAA East Regional in Albany, NY. where they defeated the University of Denver 2-1 in their semifinal tilt and the University of New Hampshire 6â€"2 in last Saturday’s final. BY MICHAEL HAYAKAWA mhayakawa®yrmg.com Daniel Spivak’s scoring statistics reveal he has no goals nor any assists in 31 games played this season with the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers men’s hockey team. Nor is the Tigers' coaching staff or any fol- lowers of their hockey program. But the 21-yearâ€"old former Stoufiville Spir- it junior A defenceman and Thomhill native isn't the least bit concerned about his lack of production at the offensive end of the ice. SPORTS: Stouflville Secondary teams open pre-season Wednesday But the lessons learned from that expedition are expected to elevate the team's performance once the York Region Athletic Association campaign kicks olf, predicted Spartans head coach Jamie Hewitt. “Our kids played well,” the veteran Spartans head coach said of his 33-player contingent. “We learned a lot about (rugby) systems play and we saw some play- ers who jumped up during the tour and will probably start for us once our (YRAA) season starts.” The Spartans played friendlies against St. John’s School in London, Kingsmead in Somerset, mhayakawa@yrmg.com The Stoufl‘ville District Secondary School Spartans mgby team failed to win a game during its 12-day March break tour of Eng- land and Wales. BY MICHAEL HAYAKAWA Spirit grad scores trip to NCAA Frozen Four The Spartan senior, junior and bantam rugby teams will play their first exhibition games of the high school season at Pineridge (Pickering) April 7 starting at 3:30 “The Hip was fantastic. Not just in the kids’ level of play, but their behaviour was something the coach- ing stafl and school should be proud of," he said. Mth Millfield field- ing one of the top athletic schools in Great Britain, the Spartans played them close before falling 29â€"14. England, Millfield in Street, England and Brecon in Wales. Noting the rugby teams in England and Wares are winding down their seasons while the Spartans are just gearing up for their out- door campaign, Hewitt said his club's best outing was against Millfield. end-year business and finance major. “But I’ve settled in and found my role at the back end in preventing opposing players from put- ting up points." A four-year member of the Spirit from the 2004-05 season through 2007-08, Spivak's role has certainly been instrumental in what success the Tigers have attained thus far in their Cinderella-like campaign. Reflecting on the club's ascent up the NCAA Division One ranks, Spivak said it's been a case of the team meshing together at the right time with each player executing DANIEL SPIVAK: Rochester defenceman played four seasons with Stouffville Spir'rt. Mac Colasimone' (left) gets set to receive the ball with teammate John Colley behind him as the Grade 9 students practise at the Stoufl'ville District Secondary School parking lot on Tuesday. re “Our team has been an underdog from the start of the year. We weren't expected to win (the East Region) let alone come out of the top 16," he said. “When they bracketed the teams for the NCAA tournament there was With the team riding a lZ-game winning streak in preparation for the school’s first- ever Frozen Four appearance, Spivak insists there’s no added pressure placed on them. In fact, he said this will continue to work in their favour. And it suits him and the rest of his teamâ€" mates just fine. While elated with what the team has accomplished to date, Spivak was quick to concede reaching the Frozen Four wasn’t exactly their immediate goal at the start of the season. Rather, it was a case of taking baby steps. “You start by attaining other goals at the start like winning the league title first which the team had never done before, then you set the bar higher,” he explained. "So far it's been great." Upon returning from Albany after win- ning the regionals, Spivak said the entire RH" campus has been caught up in the euphoria surrounding the club's recent feat. “Once we got off the bus there were lots of people cheering us. I've only seen this in the movies." he said. their defined responsibilities to near perfec- tion. “Each person knows their specific role and is executing it well," he said. A Newmarket native, McCann played for parts of two seasons with the Spirit in 2007- 08 in which he was acquired in a trade with the Orangeville Crushers and 2008-09 before he was dealt that year to the Peterborough Liftlock Stars. Playing in 19 games this past season in his freshman year with the Norwich, Vt.-based Cadets. McCann. 21, compiled one goal and 11 assists. Matt McCann, a former forward with the Stoufl’ville Spirit junior A hockey club, was part of the Norwich Academy Cadets team that captured its third National Collegiate Athletic Association Division Ill title with a dramatic 2-1 double overtime win over St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wrsc.) in Lake Placid, NY. Saturday. Stouffvllle alum helps Nonvlch Ice NCAA Division III hockey title “I’ve gotten to the point where I feel we can compete with anybody. If everyone does what they’re supposed to do, anything can happen." “Most of the big schools have never heard of RIT. For us, I like our role. No one knows what to expect. plenty of talk about teams like the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin and even the University of Denver and what an awesome program they have. They just said RIT once. STAFF PHOTOISJOERD WITTEVEEN