Editor: Norm Nelson Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: nnelson@haltonsearch.com w i l l ) \ i ; s i ).\Y . M A Y 7 . 2 < X U · l Y i g r I )| SPORTS Adam Vankoeverden Glen Thiessen · Oakville Beaver HE SH O O TS! Kyle M e rsto rf o f Q .E . P a rk takes a shot at Hlakelock goaltender M ike M cM urich in the first ever high school roller hock ey to u rn am en t in O n ta rio , hosted by the O akville Coyotes roller hockey organization. See story and m ore photos, page 1)3. Vankoeverden starts season with Meloche put up big numbers for Milton despite having scholarship secured By Rob Andrusevich SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER World Cup Silver Adam Vankoeverden provided a big shot in the ami to the men's flatwater kayak program Saturday as he won silver in the men's K-l 1000 m etres at the World Cup season opener. On Sunday he placed 7th in the 500 metres. Vankoeverden. a Loyola grad now at M cM aster University, was one o f two Canadians competing at the event. The other was Olym pic m edalist Steve Giles, o f Lake Echo, NS who was 4th in the Men's C1. 1000 metres. "W ith the World Championships this summer an Olympic qualifier, this result for Adam couldn't have happened at a better time." said Graham Barton the High Perform ance Director of the CCA. " He is definitely one of our up and coming stars." Vankoeverden, a long time Burloak Canoe Club member, enjoyed a strong junior season and last season raced at senior worlds and the world university cham pionships. He also won the Canadian senior title in K-l 1000. O akville resident Rich M eloche is looking forw ard to a hockey scholarship at O hio's Bowling Green State University. Meloche has been a scoring sensation for the past two sea sons for the M ilton M erchants tier two ju n io r hockey team . This year the 18-year-old right w inger scored 49 goals and 105 points in 49 gam es, second in team scoring. "H e's a natural goal scorer. L e t's put it this way, Richy loves to score g o a ls." said Milton coach M ario Cicchillo. Both his slap shot and wrist shot are deadly, thanks to a quick release said the coach. "H e co m p etes hard and works hard in practice, ju st as hard as he does in gam es. Bowling Green knows they're getting a good player." Big nam e program s like M ichigan State w ere m aking offers, but a trip to Bowling Rich Meloche Green sold him, with 6.000 fans packed into the Falcons' rink, `i t was ju st rocking. I ju st can 't wait to get there. It's insane - people painting their bodies in team colors. It's ju st crazy." M eloche is a m inor hockey product of the O akville Rangers, where he played from novice to peew ee. He first moved to junior hockey when he was 15. accepting an offer to play for the W elland Cougars junior B team with good friend Jamie Tardiff. Tardiff was a first round pick in the O ntario Hockey League draft, while M eloche went in the ninth to London. M eloche decided to play for Milton and consider his options, and m id way through the season both London and American universi ties were knocking at his door. "Professional hockey is an aspiration but my num ber one priority was education. I thought that was the best way to go. get a degree in case I didn't make it," Meloche said. The coaches in Milton have had a great impact he said, espe cially Dave Gagne and Brett Shepley in his first season. On top o f great instruction to improve his game they gave him the confidence. " You think you're pretty good until you play junior. They gave me some confidence and helped me find my scoring touch." Bowling Green signed him after last season. Instead o f rest ing on his laurels, he took a dif ferent approach. "M y biggest concern was that I didn't want to look past this season. I knew I could contribute to the team ." Now the five-foot 11-inch. 185-pounder is preparing for the next step to play in the National C ollegiate A thletic Association. On top o f training in every facet o f the game h e'll spend the sum mer playing with and against area players who have returned hom e from playing NCAA hockey. " You can always shoot more pucks. I think I still need more work to improve. I'm just put ting m yself into the routine of being an NCAA player, skating at that tem po every day." Kyle Jones wins USA Triathlon event in Florida Oakville Tri-athlete and Q.E. Park student Kyle Jones finished first at the USA Triathlon series in C larem ont. Florida on Sunday. As one o f two Canadians in the com petition. Jones was racing U.S. ju nior national teams and develop ment teams. "You always go in hop ing to do well and I felt good during the training camp, but you never really know what to expect," Jones said, adding the firstplace finish at the USAT is one o f the biggest races he has won. He finished fourth at last year's Junior Nationals and then 43rd at the Junior World C ham pionships in Cancun, Mexico. Jones is hoping to steadi ly improve his performance McGrath makes all-rookie second team centre Evan M cG rath was selected as second team centre for the Ontario Hockey League's all-rookie team. McGrath suited up for the Kitchener Rangers last night (Tuesday) in game three o f their OHL final with the Ottawa 67's which was tied at 1-1 with both games going into overtime. Game four goes in Ottawa Thursday night and game five is back in Kitchener on Saturday. The OHL's first team centre was Rob Schremp from the Mississauga Ice Dogs and he also got the nod as the OHL rookie of the year. The Fulton. New York native had 74 points (26g. 48a) in 65 games. McGrath fired 47 points ( 16g, 31a) in 64 games. In the post season. McGrath has 7 points (5g. 2a) in 18 games. O H L DRAFT The OHL 2003 priority selec tion draft was held on the weekend with a number of Oakville players scooped up. D im itri Sem enov o f the Oakville Blades went in the sixth round, taken by the Kitchener Rangers. Mike G albraith, who played with the minor midget Oakville Rangers, went in the eighth round, taken by the St. Michael's Majors. Zack Shepley. who also played with the minor midget Oakville Rangers, went in the 10th round, taken by the Plymouth Whalers. Goaltender Josh Disher. who saw plenty o f action with the Burlington Cougars junior A team this past season, went in the 12th round, taken by the Erie Otters. Oakville has a three-player con tingent in the OHL. Besides McGrath, who is playing in the OHL championship with the Kitchener Rangers, there is Matt Bacon who made it as far as the semifinals with the St. Michael's Majors and Rob Hisey who led the Erie Otters in scoring, although they didn't make the playoffs. He had 74 points (28g. 46a) in 73 games. Kyle Jones and placing until reaching his goal o f competing in the 2008 Olympics. He's sup ported by the Running Company in Oakville. Evan M cG rath Canadian T ire 's A th le te of th e Week Canadian Tire and Oakville... A Winning Com bination! 400 Dundas St. East · 257-TIRE STORE H O U RS: Mon. -Fri. 8:00am-9pm · Sat. 8:00am-6:00pm Sun. 10am-6pm D U N D A S & TR A FA LG A R ROAD O A K T O W N S H O P P IN G P L A Z A 5 5 0 K e rr S tr e e t · 8 4 4 - 0 2 0 2 STORE H O U RS: Mon. -Fri. 8:00am-9pm · Sat. 8:00am-6:00pin Sun. 10am-6pm ADAM VANKOEVERDEN Kayaker Adam Vankoeverden earned a silver medal in his kayak at the W orld C u p opener this past w eekend. Way to go !!! Visit your local Canadian Tire Store to receive your Gift Certificate.