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Pepper
The dearth of sports news
around our town these days is
made all the more pronounced
by the fact that we have no
representative team in the
local hockey playoffs.
The Warriors falling by the
wayside early this season is a
fact of life which some of us
find hard to cope with.
So what do we do to fill up
the void they have left us
with? It~s too early for soccer
and ball and the ice is still in
the .arena so there will be no
lacrosse for awhile yet; our
retirees' curling is about to
end - we are just one game
away from the end of our final
competition and we have only
a visit from the Trail club to
look forward to an then our
wind up which will put the
season behind us for another
year.
With two teams tied at the
top of this last competition,
Phil Bateman and George
Dyson have each 6-1 records.
Phil lost his game to George in
the regular schedule and
George bowed to Arnie
Vanness yesterday for the
only blemish on his record.
There will probably be a
playoff if they finally wind up
in the position they find
themselves in now.
I imagine the men's and the
women's clubs find themselves in a like position. There
are a couple of events which
will pretty well put paid to my
bown curling for the season;
one is the ever-popular Legion
ontHlay 'spiel which will take
place March 30 with a pretty
full day· of curling, etc.; the
other is a two-day affair slated
for March 22-23, a mixed tossup 'spiel in which they pull the
nam from a hat wi th

would have wrecked had the
sweepmg not been on such
high calibre.

get out of the province this
season. North Delta HurryKings look like the class of the
other league. Being composed
of a number of ex-Canucks
they will really test the mettle
of the winner of the WIHL if
they· do represent the other
senior league in the pice.

The Hackner rink gave an
excellent account of themselves but I think in the end it
was the experience of Rick
Folk and his mates which
made the difference. Once
+++
could appreciate the everI was figuring on a
rt on
colorful Gowsell's irritation
the local lacrosse scene for
when his mates failed to put
the brooms to his attempted this week but it will,.MBv_e to
double-takeout and left it to wait. Roy Grant con~ me
~.·in the
hang on in the twelve-foot ' to attend a practi~ce.
Cominco Gym but
· eek I
circle.
am scheduled for · Lions'
We shall be seeing a lot meeting on their
ctice
more of this calibre of curling night so I will have to wait
in the coming weeks. It makes until Wednesday night of next
for some dandy watching but I week.
do wish they would dispense
with those individual stats; for
me they are a very unimportant part of ·t he show.

+++

With the absence of the
Warriors from the play off
picture I ✓went down to the
Cominco Arena to watch the
Junior playoff final opener
between the Junior Smokies .
and the.Kimberley Knights on
Tuesday night. They are two
very evenly-matched teams
and this contest could go right
down to the wire before a
winner is declared.
The Trail team has certainly come a long way since
the early part of the season
when I saw them against the
Warriors, and the Knights .
seemed to have gained considerable stature since they
last visited Rossland. I
thought both goalies were
excellent, particulary Steve
Handley, as he came up with
some terrific saves. The overall team play on both sides
was above the calibre of that
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Apparently they have a
number of new acquisitions
from out of town for the
coming season which they
would like us to see in action.
A lot of groundwork has been
done along this line during the.
past winter with the idea of' ·
improving the Redmen's
image in then- league. We
would like to see it pay off in
some pretty good lacrosse
games this summer - the
league is one of the best of its
class in the country and it is
hoped that the Redmen can
become a viable factor in it.
So, as the Two Ronnies
would say, it's "Goodnight
froDl me and it's goodnight
from him" until next week.

'

• •
other Is a two-day affair slated Handley, as be came up with
for March 22-23, a mixed toss- some terrific saves. The overup 'spiel in which they pull the all team play on both sides
names from a bat with the was above the calibre of that
idea of getting two men and generally seen in 'B' class
hockey.
two women in each team.
When this is over of course
While I'm on the subject of the team which wins in the
curling, I'd like to pass along a north will visit here for the
thought which struck me while provincial playoff. Seems to
I was watching the Brier me I heard the Northern final
playoffs on the tube. The ideas bas'Kitimat and Quesnel in it.
that kind of bugged ·me was This matchup, whoever wins,
why they need to note should provide us with some
statistics of the separate pretty good hockey to watch.
players on the screen.
We'll be looking forward to
From my way .of looking at Trail winning this one so that
it, I . think it Is absolutely ~t; games will be played here.
pointlea.' Curling is one pme ·'·:-- ' ,. +++
in which playing as a team is ·,"Over ffi-1 the Seniors the
an absolute must, and why Spokane Flyers are into the
suggest that one player is final having beaten Kimberley
letting his team down by not while the·Smoke Eaters are at
curling up to par? There are present in a tie with the
so many facets of the game Cranbrook Royals for the
that depend 1,1pon team work; other playoff spot. I'm told the
weight and delivery are, . of Smokies bad a pretty rough
course, up to the individual, trip to the East Kootenay, took
but the sweeping and how it is them six and a half hours ~
controlled by the non- they had to face the long trip
. sweepers bas to be an absolute via the ferry as the Salmofactor in the outcome of the Creston is closed because of
games which are played under slide troubles. That could have
the terrific amount of bad something to do with their
pressure which builds up in loss in Cranbrook.
games of this calibre.
There again, the Seniors will
In both the Hackner-Gowsell have to do battle before they
semi-final and the ultimate
final between Hackner and
Folk, there was some excelent
curling. They seemed to make
almost impossible shots
become .common-place by
their execution, and we got a
prime chance to compare the
two different types of
sweeping, the long straw
brooms and the short
· European type of scrubbing
broom. Both seem adequate to
do the job but I certainly like
the latter for the fact that they
are on the ice continually and I
believe they are less liable to
shredding as the straw type
gets with age.
The sweeping on both
clJampionship teams was as
good as anyone could expect,
no doubt resulting in a number
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