212 Saturday, November 28, 1992 @ FastLANE Win or lose, it’s in The News. Jonathan Green 365-7266 BETTER WITH AGE Both local arenas will be the places to go and see some really good oldtimers hockey tomorrow. Sixteen teams from the Kootenays and the Okanagan will be competing for the big prize, with action getting underway at 8 a.m. and winding up at 1:45 p.m. O SAY CAN U SKI Rossland’s Red Mountain has a deal for you and your co-workers. On Dec. 13, Jan. 6 and 25, you and your fellow employees can ski at Red for just $10, which will get you a lift ticket and rental equipment among other things. Call 362- 7115 for more details. QUOTE OF THE WEEK “That really broke our hearts” — Castlegar’s Travis Green on the news that Philadelphia Flyers’ superstar Eric Lindros wouldn't be in the lineup for games against Green's Islanders last night and tonight. LocdSPORTS Van Vliet puts on a sweet performance to earn spot on B.C. Winter Games team @ Local beats out 25 others at last weekend's regional skate-off Jonathan Green SPORTS REPORTER Winning a trip to Kitimat may not thrill most of us, but Meghan Van Vliet is more than looking forward to visiting the northern industrial city. Competing for a spot on the regional team at the B.C. Winter Games skate-off Sunday at the Community Complex, the Castlegar Figure Skating Club member stood out from all others in the Juvenile Ladies group, finishing first. By doing so, she earned herself a trip to Kitimat to compete at the February Games. Going into Sunday, the 12-year- old Van Vliet didn’t know what to expect but went in thinking positive. “I wasn’t sure,” she said, ‘but I felt good. I was confident.” And confident paid off, as she beat out 25 other competitors for a spot on the team, one of only two available, with the other going to Grand Forks’ Shera Weaver. Van Vliet said the key to victory was her ability to incorporate jumps into her routine. She said while other competitors go for color and flash, she went for what works. “Some skaters are more artistic and some are more jumpy,” she said. “I’m not very artistic, I’m more of a jumper.” A six-year figure skating veteran, Van Vliet said things will be a little quiet for her over the next little while. She said that her two-hour-a-day, | * Sunday to Monday practice sessions BOYS WILL BE BOYS will continue, giving her plenty of| *- time to look at things that need work and to correct them. But following the holidays, things will pick up with what will seem like a different competition in a different place each week in preparation for the Games. “Right now, it’s a bit of a break,” she said. “But there’s a time in January where it’s weekend after weekend after weekend.” The Games run from Feb. 25th to the 28th. Saturday. No injuries were reported. Ignoring the city’s first snowfall, Duane Donald and a couple of buddies hit the field by the Complex for a little football last ” News photo by Jonathan Green @ Saturday, November 28, 1992 13m Everybody gather ’round as it’s time for the second Semi-Annual Jon- ny On The Spot Awards, so don’t push and shove since there are seats for all. A lot has happened since the inau- gural JOTS back in July, when the Canadian Soccer League and Major League Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent were among those honored with commendations for what they represented. Vincent stood up to the Chicago Cubs when they protested a move from the National League East to the West with the addition of the expan- sion Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins. Unfortunately, Vincent has since been replaced as commissioner, large- ly in part because of his defiance to- ward the Cubs. Trying like heck in its sixth year to work in a country devoted to hockey, the Canadian Soccer League earned a tip of the hat for its determination to exist in the Great White North. But when things became clear the league couldn’t survive into next year, the plug was pulled a week after Win- nipeg beat four-time defending champ Vancouver in this season’s final. So, with the tribute to the late-CSL and dearly departed Vincent, it’s time to switch back to the present, military style. Commendations: To all the peo- ple who’ve been coming out in the hundreds to support the Castlegar Rebels this season. A team that had trouble giving tick- ets away last year, the Rebels are Maple Leafs humble Rebels in penalty-filled Thursday tilt ll Defending champs from Nelson come to town and destroy hosts in a contest that has coaches from both teams seeing red With Rebel Mike Hunter serving a double minor, the Leafs turned up heads-and-shoulders above the 1991- 92 squad, and the fans are eating it up. Court martials: To all those bone- heads attending the games who can’t make out the words ‘Fire Lane’ on the signs running along the driveway di- rectly in front of the Aquatic Centre. Regardless of what time of day or day of the week, it is still a fire lane, and the little stop sign with a slash through it means go park somewhere else and walk the extra 50-or-so feet. If you don’t believe me, ask Castlegar Recreation director Pat Metge. Commendations: To Rebels coaches Garry Sauer and Gordie Walker. Working with pretty much the same team as last year, the two have somehow transformed the second worst team in the KIJHL last season to one that could theoretically be in top spot come Christmas. Whether it be with smoke and mirrors or what, it’s working. Court martial: To Spokane Braves head coach George Talotti. It doesn’t matter if he’s sitting be- hind the home bench in the Lilac City or occupying the visitors bench at the Complex, Talotti always has more than enough to say to the referees, and 99 times out of 100 you can bet it isn’t complimentary. Sure, baiting the officials is part of the game, but when you lace it with obscenities and it’s an ongoing thing, maybe it’s time to sit back and realize it isn’t life or death out there. Commendation: To Travis Green, on the Spot JonathanGREEN local hockey star with the NHL’s New York Islanders. Biting his tongue and persevering with the Isles’ American Hockey League affiliate in Troy, N-Y,. the last two seasons, the 21-year-old got a phone call from the big club last Tues- day and has been with them since. My folks were right, patience is a virtue. Court martial: To Vancouver Canucks product Jiri Slegr. A rookie who surprised a bunch of people, including himself, by sticking with the big club to start the year, Sle- gr was whining like a little kid Wednesday when he was sent down to the farm in Hamilton to make room for veteran Dave Babych. Knowing that a lot.of Canadian kids would donate a vital organ if not several to even be one step away from the NHL, along comes this Czech-born baby who thinks he’s too good to play in the minors. It’s time again to hand out some hardware Maybe a quick reminder of what the old country is like these days fol- lowed by a phone call from Don Cher- ry will remedy the problem. Commendations: To Pat Bozek and Dorothy Martini. Although the letters they wrote about the Steve Bozek column in the Oct. 10 issue of The News were any- thing but complimentary, at least they took the time to sit down and let their feelings be known through the media. Court martials: To all the other people in town who weren't too thrilled with the Bozek effort. I must have heard close to a dozen people tell me that there’s an awful lot of you who didn’t exactly love my let- ter to Bozie. Yet, unlike Pat and Dorothy, you just sat and grumbled amongst your- selves about what a nasty piece of work it was. Anybody can sit and whine about something they didn’t like, but doing something about it gives that com- plaint a lot more validity. Commendation: To my boss, Scott David Harrison. A year ago yesterday, Harrison took a big chance when he offered his brother-in-law’s youngest brother a job in a place called Castlegar. This kid hadn’t finished journalism at college, nor had he any other expe- rience than writing for the college newspaper, but the news reporter job was his. A year and a day later, he’s still here, but now he’s writing sports. Thanks Scotty. Computers continue to slide in CRHL LORDY, LORDY LOOK WHO'S 40! the heat just under two minutes later with some nice puck control in the Castlegar end and made it 2-0 on Rene Trozzo’s goal from Rob Comeau NEWS STAFF With the holiday season now upon us, don't be surprised if the Castle- gar Rebels and Nelson Maple Leafs forget to exchange Christmas cards. Meeting for the fourth time this season at the Complex Thursday, the Leafs were looking to break the spell the Rebels had cast on them so far this season, as the Queen City squad had yet to win in three games with Castlegar. But whatever power the Rebels had possessed over the Maple Leafs must have been forgotten somewhere, as the defending champs came out and humiliated the hosts in a penalty-filled contest, 9-1. Admitting the Rebels were overpowered by the visitors, coach Gar- ry Sauer couldn’t help but look to the officiating as one of the reasons for the blowout. “They outplayed us, but the reffing didn’t help us any either,” he said. “It was (expletive) brutal.” Nelson came out flying in the first period, killing off several man ad- vantages the Rebels were unable to capitalize on while scoring two pow-_r er play goals of their own. Ex-Rebel Kevin Dewar opened the scoring at 8:46 when a Castlegar clearing pass ended up on his stick in the slot, a gift he gladly accepted with a shot that beat Vaughn Welychko low to the stick side to make it 1-0. and Dale Bonderud at 6:48. Still with the man advantage, Nelson increased the lead to three at 5:01 when Shawn Gendron got Welychko where he wanted him, tuck- ing the puck between the goalie’s pads to close out the scoring for the pe- riod. Coming out of the dressing for the second, the Rebels got an unex- pected emotional boost from defenceman Chris Postnikoff and forward Kevin Leiman. The two dropped the gloves with a couple of Nelson players at 19:35, with all four ending up with fighting majors and game misconducts. The fracas seemed to fire up the home team as Corey Flodell took a pass from Jerry Holz 25 seconds later, broke down the left side and zipped one through Leaf goalie Pat Gris’s legs for his third goal in two games, narrowing the gap to 3-1. ; Unfortunately for the home team, though, they might just as well have called it quits then and there and started getting ready for Grand Forks tonight, as the Leafs scored the next six goals en route to victo- y. In all, the two teams shared more than 300 minutes in penalties, a statistic that was noted by both Sauer and Leaf coach Ed Cooper. “How do you get they guys into the game when they’re spending so much time sitting on the bench?” Sauer asked. Game time tonight is 8 p.m. at the Complex. NEWS STAFF Looking an awful lot like the Canadian dollar these days, the Kootenay Comput- ers continue to slide in the Castlegar Recreational Hock- ey League standings. Occupying first for the bet- ter part of the CRHL season, the defending champs have slumped lately, losing four straight to sit third heading into Tuesday’s action. Things didn’t improve for the Computers that night, and they didn’t even play. Scoring three times and adding as many assists, Mike Flegel led the way as Castle- gar Sports Centre climbed over the Computers into third with a 13-4 shellacking of Shell. Garry Sauer chipped in with five points while Steve Simonen, Dean MacKinnon and Wayne Kinakin each scored twice. Clay Martini and Kelly Keraiff each had three points in defeat while Lorne Ander- son notched a pair of assists. Contrary to the final score, the two teams played pretty even hockey for the first 25 minutes, with Kinakin putting Sports Centre up 4-3 with 1:35 to play. Building on that, the win- ners scored three more in the second to make it 7-3, but Martini scored No. 2 with 34 seconds left in the period and Shell still had a pulse. Recognizing that, MacKin- non read the last rights on the power play at 15:52, the first of six third-period goals Sports Centre would score as they cruised to victory. Taking the weekend off, the CRHL resumes action Monday when Shell meets the Computers. Binnie competes with Mother Nature @ Kinnaird Middle School student battles the elements at provincial cross-country championships NEWS STAFF Some 12-year-olds might enjoy a day of run- ning through puddles and mud, but Nicole Binnie isn’t one of them. Binnie said the weather wasn’t as much a factor as the sloppy terrain. “It made your feet heavy so it was harder to run,” she said, adding that things could actu- ally have been worse. “It wasn’t as bad as last year. Last year we ran in the snow.” Like most competitors, Binnie said she DAIRY QUEEN FAMILY NIGHTS Mon.-Thurs. 5-7 p.m. We treat you right!” OUR ACTION AD PHONE NUMBER IS 365-7266 DINNER SPECIALS NIGHTLY $9.95 “British Night” Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding, Vegetable, Potato and English Triffle for desert $9.95 CHEESE DELUXE & FRIES All beet patty with lettuce, 75 Topped with cheddar and served with home made fries ... All Our Prices include G.S.T. would have liked to have finished higher, but was happy with her performance nonetheless. A member of the Trail Track and Field Club, Binnie said she'll take competing at in- door meets through the winter over outdoor meets like the one in Abbotsford any day. - “I got really, really dirty,” she said. “It was seat: poh seeried hve. 300-4308 gross.” Call Ahead Drive Through Service Need a Christmas loan? The Kinnaird Middle School student was in Abbotsford last weekend competing in the B.C. Cross Country Championships as Castle- gar’s lone representative. Up against runners as much as six years older than her, she did the city proud, finshing the 5.5 kilometre course 155th out of 250 ina heavy rain. Reservation Appreciated Lunch Specials Tues.-Sat. Choose from 3 different melts, } includes Caesar or gréen salad. 646 Baker St. KS. Kootenay Savings Where You Belong We'll make it happen.