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18 economist swntriunejsrorts wriiasdayjan 18 2001 r hiijn- in smalltown junior hockey it was good to know you thats what many fans are undoubtedly saying following word several outstanding players with the provincial jr- a stouffville spirit will jump ship next season theyll take another step up the hockey ladder and who can blame them for prestige big salaries and scholarships await theyre only- a skate stride shortof their goal r but for resolute supporters its difficult pill to swallow for theyve come to know their boys over the past two or three sea- sonsevenon afifsthame basis and while t few live in stoufiville theyre still for fans hbmetbwh hockey heroes te netminder- george eu6poulos-forc-etfarhple- hes a mainstay betweenthe pipes for diestoutryille squadconsidered one of the best puckstoppers in the league butgeorge doesnthide his expectations v i could be back next year but i want to be gone he admits he hopes to catch a spot with colorado or clarkson college or notre dame university- v tjie same applies to forwards jon smyth michel bond and jim thomas michael tiicciarone hockey scouts are training eagle eyes on all three although spirit management is well aware this level of play is only a stepping stone to further accomplishments the fans at least many fans see it differently 4 they- consider them ours unmindful of the fact hockey b6ys grow into hockey men sooner or later they take wings and fly l t such was not the case 50 years ago thefi towns stouffville included advanced up the ladder with their players rather than staying- put without them it produced hockey and rival- ry unlike wythingseenbefore orsince- j- it was a love affair an infatu- ation that filled rinks to overflow- true not all players lived in stouffville or markham or newmarket some worked and boarded in the communities where they played but they were as much a part of the populace as the corner store baker or butcher because they stayed back in the 1940s stoufiville iced an excellent jr c club later the town went intermediate c then intermediate a then senior b players at least many players remained on board this union of talent resulted in a senior b championship in 1952 hockey was the talk of the town while it cost money lots of money to ice a competitive team back then expenses were noth ing compared to today plus the fact television was still in its infancy and the term couch potato hadnt yet been con ceived but more importantly players werekeepers theycame and they stayed why because as the players came of ageso did stoufiville todays juniors are champing at the bit to move on but stouffville isnt atom stars ice gold stouffville the stouffvillemarkham stars atom girls selects skated home with the gold medal at the recent ray morris memorial hockey tournament in brampton with a 31 victory over london in the tide game the stars advanced to the final after posting wins over the thunder 41 taylin services 53 zellers 70 and 71 in its semifinal contest scoring for the stars in the final game were stephanie seggie one goal three assists tressa moncado vanessa mound and katherine wilson one goal one assist danielle henderson christine macdonald and sarah bradshaw one goal lindsay leung two assists and katelyn cartwright and linda mccabe one assist other team members that con tributed to the clubs success were amanda frechette laura faulds and kristen henderson coaching the teanv were ken moncada vince henderson and neil macdonald minor novice clippers advance the stouffville minor novice rep clippers had litde trouble in their first- round playoff series against the newmarket redmen as they swept their sixpoint series saturday the clippers opened the series with a 52 road win and followed that with a 51 win at the rec complex backed by sports digest strong goalkeeping front harrison radersma the clippers finished off the series with a 20 win scoring for the clippers in the series were peter lebuffe four goals one assist darren zimmermann two goals two assists jessie godin two goals three assists lloyd davis and andrew leger one goal one assist james mcleod two assists cam macmurtry and joshua king one goal kevin stevens scott miller and russell zarzeczny one assist at the recent markham waxers christmas tournament the clippers brought home the championship tro phy with a 121 win over the ajax knights in the title tilt the clippers reached the final after defeating the pickering panthers 41 barrie flyers 91 the scarborough young leafs 52 and the panthers again 62 in their semifinal encounter scoring for the clippers throughout the tournament were davis 10 goals three assists lebuffe eight goals five assists zimmermann five goals four assists godin two goals four assists macmurtry two goals two assists king and zarzeczny two goals one assist miller one goal three assists peter wideman one goal two assists stevens leger and ryan brown with one goal and one assist each mcleod anchored the blue line with excellent defensive play strong goaltending was provided by eric lee and radersma see minor page 19