The Canadian Champion, Friday, March 30, 2007 - Al19 SPOR enTSa SPOrtS LLIIIVII WtVL L t~sp~l., oo~ ~ '-i~ Milton rink shows strongly at Grand Masters Wins three offour draws at inaugural 70-plus event Jusi being pari of an inaugural provincial championship is noteworthy in itself. However, a local nink refused to seule [or merely heing participants last weekend in Thornhill. Rallying from a firsî-round loss to eventual overaîl wînner Peter Parker of Dixie, the Milton Curling Club contingent - skipped by Oakville's Tony Anîomiuk - strung together îhree sîraight victories to win the third event of the newly-esîablished Grand Masters of Curling. Milton may, well have gone unbeaîen ai the Diversicare-sponsored 70-and-over bon- spiel had il not been for a cosîly sevenîh end againsi the would-be champs, who wenî on to win the opening round encounter 7-4. Milton curlers (from Ieft) fd Stefan, Bertram Stewart, Doug Ptolemy and Tony Antoniluk ai the Grand Masters of Curling. "We had a chance to tie it but wound up trailing by another point," recalled second Bertram Stewart, whose team included fellow Milîonian Doug Ptolemy at vice and Ed Stefan of Georgetown as lead. "The ice was much heavier than we're use to i Milton. They (Dixie) picked up on thai and jusi oui- played us." Quickly distancîng lrom the early defeai. the local foursome - sporting well over a century of curling experience - hamînered Thornbîll 10-O. Subsequent wins over Kincardine (9-5) and Londor-Highland (8-4) cemenîed a decîsive thîrd-event triumph for Milton. Coing 3-1 ai the Grand Masters was no doubt satisfying for the local nink, which booked passage îo the provincial champi- onships with a recent 2-0 showing ai the Zone 9 qualifier. 'Once we got accustomed îo the ice, we were on our way" said Stewart, who was part of a îeam that feil just shy of winning the Legion's provincial championships a few years ago. "We were pretty pleased with how we did." IceHawks to be sold Officiai transfer of ownership to business duo expected Apr 12 By Steve LeBlanc CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF T he ceHawks are poised to fly under new ownership. In a move thaîs still pending a rub- her stamp by the Ontario A ssocialtio n (OHA), Miltons Ir. A hockey club lias - for aIl intents and pur-poses- been sold to couple of area business- mcil. Wîshing to remaîn anonymous until ihe actual transfer of ownership, the duo has purchased the îeam from for- mer NHL puckstopper and longîime hockey school operalor Rick Heinz, wbose tenure as lceHawks owner and presicleni is cxpected io officîally end Aprl 1 2, the day afier 011A approval is granted.- This will come jusi unie montbs alter be bought the îeam from Mario Forgione lasi july The sale received a green lîgbî by the Ontario Provincial jr. A League March 21, chairînan Charlie Macoun con- lîrrned earlier ibis week. "We feli good about the meetings witb ibese guys," Macoun said of the soon-to-be lceHawks owners. "Tbey don't seem to bave any kind of axe to grind in terms of promouing their busi- nesses or sons. Thev jusi seem to want to develop Milton hockey" The new owners said îhey didn't feel comforî.able discussing the still-îo-be- finalized sale, wbile Heinz was unavail- able for comment ai press lime. its not known yeî if general manag- er Keith Pandovski or assistant coach Rich Gobbatto - the lone holdover from lasi months coaching overbaul, followmng Miltons firsî-round exit - will be staying on board. '~fiELiVER