‘The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, March 29, 1995 Sports Centre wins title for not taking a commercial break Castlegar Sports Centre goaltender Barry Grunerud was under constant attack all night in the Commercial Hockey League final held Saturday night. SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert JEFF GABERT Sun Sports The KUHL season came to an unfortunate end for the Rebels on Friday night but not all was doom and gloom in the Castlegar Recreation Complex last week- end, The Castlegar Commercial Hockey League final was played Saturday night between Koote- nay Computers and Castlegar Sport, Centre and although the awards weren't as grand as in the KUHL, the rewards of victory certainly were. This year the league only had four teams but that didn’t stop them from having a good time. The season was a long one with Kootenay Computers eventually finishing in first place despite 4 late rush by Castlegar Sports Cen- tre which finished in secon ‘ place The two teams met up in the final which featured the two best goalies in the League in Rick Rogerson and Barry Grunerud. Both proved their worth through- Out as the game was characterized by'more offence than defence. Castlegar Sports Centre received two goals from Clay Martini and one from rookie Derek Kazakoff in the first period to take’ a 3-2 lead into the dress- ing room. Mills and Frank Costa scored for Kootenay Computers. The second period saw Kaza- koff complete his hat trick and Lonnie Schmitt also added a goal to give Sports Centre a two-goal cushion going into the third period. Kelly Keraiff scored his first of two on the night to bring Kootenay Computers within two goals, but vote The Champs - Sports Centre was too strong. They went on to score three more goals in the third period and walk away with the 9-5 win Keraiff had four points in the loss as did Frank Costa. Kazakoff led the winners with five points . “It's a team game and winning the ch i ip is fulfilling for Castlegar Sport Centre “Call me at midnight, and say there's ice time and I'll be out there to play. I'm a Canadian through and through. To me {winning the commercial title) is like winning the Stanley Cup.” Mercer also won his second League MVP award, which was “all of us,” " said Castlegar Sports Centre forward Chief Mercer. “With our team, we're a bunch of plumbers out there. We skate hard and wear down the other team. We just keep coming at you in waves,” Mercer has been playing com- mercial hockey for 19 years and this is the fifth championship he has shared. This is only his sec- ond with Sports Centre since teams are always randomly selected in the off-season. “T love the game,” said Mercer. 7 SIZE { d Queen Size Chiropractic Mattress a BLowourT Sat 39" Mattress & Box Spring Sets re 179 & 4 oe areas & Box Spring Sets $2290 (> 54" Chiropractic Mattress & Box Spring Sets, from ....... fb, & Box Spring Sets, from ............... BLOWOUT PRICE! Sofa & Love pena Good selection of fabric in two styles. ¥ Double BLOWOUT PRICE! Sofa Hide- A- =f rye ren it i La-Z-Boy ‘\ Recliners Good Selection! Price From BUNK BEDS Complete with mattresses. SE PRICE "8399 BLOWOUT BLOWOUT PRICE! ded at the end of the final. “I'm one of the older players out there and I’ve been playing now for 19 years,” said Mercer. “It takes a lot of hard work and it’s paid off.” Mercer also gave credit to his line-mate, Kazakoff, who ended up second in the ‘league scoring race behind Niki Hyson. He also pointed to the much improved play of Grunerud between the pipes as a key to Castlegar Sports Centre winning the title. After the game Grunerud picked up trophies for most improved player and playoff MVP. Kootenay Computers received recognition for being the ‘regular season champion: and their goaltender.Rick Rogerson was named as the top goalie. The most inspirational aWard went to Hyson and Alan Ceccone won best defenceman. Kazakoff easily won the best rookie prize and Frank Costa took most sportsmanlike. All awards were voted on by the league referees. The runner-up awards were given out by the league statistician with Glen Campbell géttifig MVP, Dave Terhune named most sports- manlike, Lonnie Schmitt and Dave MacKinnon were the best defenceman and Darcy MacKin- non was the most improved. @ Heartache .—_ son eluded a surprised Moore in net and the score was tied. And when the red meat was out, the wolves came and got it as Andrews scored orrathree-on- two break to put the Eagles out front for good. Appropriately enough, Downes and. Alves got the assists. From then on, Ray shut the door and sealed it. The champagne flowed to the boys from the Shuswap. “TI thought we played well but we didn’t get the bounces and we ditin’t come through on our scoring chances,” said Sauer. “If you want to point to one thing in this series, it's that we just didn’t get the goals when we had the chance.” ‘The Rebel players left the ice dejected and most really had no answer for the loss. “We could've been hitting them more but we just didn’t get any bounces,” said Rebels for- ward Casey Grant. “Nothing was going our way.” “L told the guys we were bears looking for fish in a pond,” said Rebel defenceman Mike Kneza- cek. “But they [Sicamous] were just hungrier than us. They had a helluva team and I think they'll win the Western Canadian Wednesday, March 29, 1995 The Castlegar Sun Page 3B West Kootenay karate enthusiasts welcome Shotokan master The Cominco Gym in Trail was the scene of some mantertal Shotokan karate action as top B.C. instructor and fifth-degree black belt Andy Holmes (left performing a perfect leg sweep) taught the Trail-Castlegar club a few new moves. SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert JEFF GABERT Sun Sports he is coach'of the provincial karate team and director of athlet- Trail's Cominco Arena has seen a lot of hard-hitting hockey action this year but it is unlikely it could compare to the simple demonstrations put on down the hall by fifth-degree Black Belt Karate master Andy Holmes, in the Cominco gym last weekend. Holmes was invited to the West Kootenay by the Trail- Castlegar Karate Club which likes to bring in a special instruc- tor at least once a year. The club has been in existence for 12 years and currently boasts a membership of 30-40 persons of all ages and skill levels. The style practised is Shotokan Karate which is the most common tech- nique worldwide In the most basic sense, karate is self-defense but it goes much farther than that “It's hard physical work so you have to keep at it and in doing’so you build character,” said club member Bruce Robinson. “You feel better about yourself and you become more confident as well.” The Spring Seminar held last weekend in Trail brought out 30 karate enthusiasts from as far away as Salmon Arm and Revel- stoke to learn from Master Holmes. Holmes is a 10-time B.C Karate champion as well as a for- mer Canadian and British cham- pion. He has been teaching the sport for 14 years and is head of the karate program at Simon Fraser University. Furthermore, Baseball season: the search for diamonds begins SUN SPORTS STAFF It is spring, the season of love ‘and that means everyone is going out looking for diamonds. Pat Metge isn't a jeweler but he knows more about Castlegar’s best diamonds than anyone else. Metge is Director of Recre- ation at the Castlegar and District Recreation Department and he has had more than his fair share of controversy over the last year. The main one was a small field nestled in the corer of Kinnaird Park known as the Pony field. That field was upgraded last year to accommodate Babe Ruth players this year and was subse- quently damaged after an unfor- tunate incident involving a fastball tournament. In order to avoid similar problems this sea- son, Metge recommended to city council that “the Pony field for groups other than baseball be used for tournament situations ommendations and all fields for softball, baseball, slo-pitch, fast- ball, soccer and field hockey were allocated last Thursday in a special meeting of all the user groups with Metge. Some non- baseball tournaments have. been scheduled on the Pony field but Guy Bertrand, who was part of the fastball contingent, said fast- ball will stay completely away from the field. According to Minor Baseball President Doug Hickey, this year is muuch different than last year and he expects very few problems. “One of the things that has come about is that we're [the user groups] all more open and we're able to deal with our problems better,” said Hickey. “We've been meeting for six months now and we are all going to make sure we look after any problems.” Although the Pony field con- troversy is over, it seems the pro- posed new ball field at Kinnaird only” and “that all org: s of tournaments be required to sup- ply a $500 damage deposit” before using the field. City council passed those rec- We weld anything... Anytime ¢ Anywhere icE METAL WORKS 5-811 ag SURGENOR & ROGERS CERTIFIED GENERAL ACCOUNTANTS « Personal Income Tax ¢ E - File Services ¢ Direct Deposit Options « Capital Gains 365-7208 800-1444 Columbia Ave,, Castlegar has taken up the torch. Every- thing has come to a head lately with a public meeting scheduled for tonight at Kinnaird Middle School. The meeting gets under- way at 7 p.m. with a pre-mecting walk-through of the forest affect- ed by the new field at 4 p.m. In other ball news, Castlegar Slo-pitch is preparing to start the season jvery quickly. April 3 is the deailline for registration and team rosters can be dropped off at Castlegar Sports Centre or at Dexter's in the drop-off box marked treasurer. ic de for Karate B.C. Holmes has many awards from his career in the sport but the real rewards are in teaching itself. “One of the biggest rewards is to help the child understand and see their confidence develop,” said Holmes. “The biggest thing is having people come up after they have progressed and say how much better they feel about themselves.” Holmes likes the sport because he sees it as different from all others. “It's a sport you can do and progress in from the age of four to 0,” said Holmes. “It’s a physical skill that leads to the development of the body and the mind. Plus, it will teach you self-defense.” “Our main battle is with our- selves. We try and challenge our- selves constantly, pushing further and further each time, And because of that, karate can give you the drive to succeed in any~ thing in life.” Holmes is currently a fifth degree black’ belt but the hurdles ahead get bigger with every level. The highest degree is a 10 and there are only a handful of those in the world. Holmes expects to make level six eventually and thinks a realistic estimate would be six or seven years Which isn’t bad, considering karate is’ a lifetime commitment for him and thanks to the sport he certainly has a lot of life left Please recycle The Castlegar Sun PRESERVE KINNAIRD PARK f you believe that Kinnaird Park should [remain a multi-purpose park for the use and enjoyment of all citizens f you believe that live, healthy trees in Kinnaird Park... should not be sacrificed for a fourth ball diamond at the cost of some $79,000 voters money. Please come and voice your opinion at the public meeting on March 29, 1995, 7 pm at the Castlegar recreation centre. Kinnaird Residents Committee B-Series 4X4 C Clearout discounts up to $2,000 off MSRP!* D) Check out the price, then compare the B-Series 4X4 to Nissan and Toyota. Double Size Simmons Hide-A-Beds With Beautysleep $ Mattress q Cyc mee. $1149 Blowout Price HOT POINT & MOFFAT RANGES & REFRIGERATORS ALL TAXES INCLUDED IN-STOCK UNITS ONLY Championship now, just because they beat us. The win was especially satisfy- ing for the Sicamous franchise which won the title in its inaugu- ral season in the league. In fact, it is the second year in a row an expansion franchise has won the title. 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LC eTSN, In-House Movies Y It’s a great day for a test drive! mazDa *Roll Top Desks Curio Cabinets IT JUST FEELS RIGHT Wing Back chairs Inventory, Great Selection The Eagles now go on to the Complimentary Continental Breakfast Cyclone/Taylor Cup but will -KELOWNA SLUMBER LODGE: have an automatic trip to the Western Canadian Champi- i 2486 Highway 97 North Kelowna, B.C. V1X 4J3 onships since the coast teams have declined participation Participat re (604) 860-5703 7 (604) 861-8610 ia Central Toll Free Reservations The Rebels next action was last (/1-800-663-283 s. oh MSRP. apply to all new 1994 B-Series Trucks purchased and delivered from participating Mazda x2, $1,500 off 4x4 Base regular cab, $2,000 off all other 4x4 vehicles Otfer may not be combined with other of 18 stock from March 3, 1995 for # limited time $1,000 off 4x2 Base’ s *Clearout dss : J participating dealers for details. 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