Saturday, January 4, 1992 @

@ Saturday, January 4, 1992

FastLANE

THREE
CHEERS
FORA
GREAT

“YEAR!

Castlegar :
athletes can take
a bow at the s
conclusion of
another super
year in sports at
the crossroads.
Page 27

REBELS’
COACH
CALLS IT

-QUITS

Citing financial
problems,
Rebels rookie
coach Kevin
Cheveldave
handed in his ©
resignation to
team _
management on
Boxing Day.
Assistant coach
Kevin Koorbatoff
will take over the
helm of the
KIJHL team for
the rest of the
season. See
stories, page 26.

REBELS

The Rebels are
back on the ice
after the
Christmas break
with-a weekend
series-that began
Friday night in
Nelson against
the Maple Leafs.
The Rebels are
home Saturday
night to take on
the Grand Forks

Border Bruins.

ocallSPOR

Livi
th

Ed Mills

SPORTS EDITOR

_ Whatever you do, don’t pinch
Steve Junker — he doesn’t want
to wake up just yet.

The 19-year-old Castlegar na-
tive is living a dream right now
playing hockey for his country at
the World Junior Hockey Cham-
pionship in Fussen, Germany.

“Of course I’ve sat down and
laid in bed or whatever and said T
can’t believe I’m here with all
these guys right now,” Junker
said Tuesday from the Canadian
team’s hotel just outside Fussen.

“But I think hockey’s the first
thing. [think we do more think-
ing about hockey and what we
have.todo at hand right now then
kind of sitting in awe of the other
players,” he said.

*  -Junker isn’t just playing for the
team, he’s playing on it it’s top line
along side‘Eric Lindros and Kim-
bi Daniels, as well as seeing time
on the powerplay and penalty
killing units. -

In five games he has two goals
and two assists.

Despite the initial euphoria of
making the team and playing well
personally, Junker said it won’t be
satisfying unless the Canadians
come home with—their third
straight World .Championship
gold medal.

“This is great, but now, I guess
how it works is if you have all
these goals and you reach them,

dream

e

you have to set another goal, and
right now it’s a gold medal. You
can’t be satisfied with everything
you have, you have to set new
goals,” said Junker, who is mak-
ing his first visit to Europe.

A happy ending to Junker’s
dream was put in jeopardy early
in the championship when the
Canadians.tied Sweden and Fin-
land in two of their first four
games, while the U.S and Com-
munity of Independent States —
formerly the Soviet Union— each
won all four of their games.

A5-3 loss to the U.S. Wednes-
day — in which Junker set up
Daniels to tie the game at one in
the first period — makes three-
straight.a longshot, though still
possible. =

Junker, who was leading the
Western Hockey League’s
Spokane Chiefs in scoring before |

making the National team, said “~

playing on what is basically an
NHL team — it has-10 NHL first-
round draft picks, three second
rounders and two from the third
round — is an experience in itself.

“They’re great players, they
make things happen, especially
Lindros, he attracts a lot of atten-
tion.”

But when it comes down to it,
Junker said he’s there to play
hockey, not get autographs.

“I think it was really neat at
first, when you sit down and ac-
tually think about it. But once you
really get going, it’s still hockey

Steve Junker

and you still have to go out there
and think about what you, your-
self has to do and what your team
has.to do to win a hockey game.”

Despite the team’s disappoint-
ing performance so far, Junker
said there’s no way the Canadians
aren't into the games.

“Everybody here is a great
player in their own way, every-
body wants to win. It’s really easy
to get up for these games, it’s a
World Championship.

“Every game is a gold medal
game. We know we have the tal-
ent on our team, we just got to go
out and work hard. Everybody’s
got to want it and everybody's got
to believe in the same things.”

As for playing and hanging out
with Lindros-—a person about
whom so much has been said and
written — Junker said he’s just a
regular guy. f
“I don’t know if people think
he’s stuck up or anything, but I
don’t think he is by any means.
He’s a great guy, he’s a really
friendly guy and he’s fun to be
around.” — :

As of Thursday, the Americans
and CIS led the eight-team tour-
nament with 4-1 records, while
Sweden was next at 3-1-1. The

U.S. could have wrapped up the

gold medal Thursday with a win
over CIS.

The Canadian team plays its
final game today against CIS and
will leave Germany tomorrow.

Bantam
Reps
for real

News Staff
If there was any doubt the

Castlegar Bantam Rep team is for

real, it was erased in a-10-team
Christmas tournament in Kelow-
na.

The Reps, technically classified
an A team but playing in AA, won
four of six games to finish second
in the AAA tourney, which had
them playing against teams from
cities many times larger than
Castlegar.

It didn’t take the Reps long to
prove they belonged at the tourney
as they beat Kelowna 12-3 in their
first game, blasted Penticton 7-0
in their second game, then han-
dled Prince George 10-2 to make
it three straight.

Kamloops proved to be Castle-
gar’s stumbling block, beating
them 6-2 in the round-robin por-
tion of the tourney, then 9-3 in the
final. s ~

Reps coach Vince Antignani
said his was a tired and beat up
club at the end of the tourney and
it showed in the final-game loss to
Kamloops.

In what Antignani called the
best game of the tourney, the Reps
scored—_in overtime: to beat”
Cowichan Valley 6-5 in the semi-
final. ; =

Darren Pottle scored the over-
time winner for Castlegar, tipping
in a pass from Teddy Hunter.

Craig Swanson led the Reps in
scoring with 11 goals and seven as-
sists in six games, while Bryan
Yackel had 10 goals and six assists
and Vince Antignani Jr. had sev-
en goals and seven assists.

Ray started all six games in net
for the Reps though Ryan
Stoochnoff saw action in the win
over Kelowna.

The Reps, who are undefeated
in 12 games in'the West Kootenay
Minor Hockey Association this
season, play league games in
Cranbrook and Kimberley this
weekend.

Talk to us today.

Kootenay Savings