SPORTS Sports Dept. Jeff Gabert 365-5579 The Castlegar Sun WEDNESDA’ September 20,1995 A10 Welcome to the KIJHL JEFF GABERT Sun Sports Mr. Price, Mr, Bucci, and all new Rebel players, welcome to the Kootenay Junior Hockey League Those words weren't contained in a grand welcoming address by the head brass of the KUHL or anyone associated with the league but by the end of the Rebels’ Sun- day afternoon exhibition game with the Braves in Spokane, it was implied The Rebels lost the game 8-3 and everyone jpamned a lot in the process. The game was filled with a lot of penalties (many question- able and disputable), a lot of frustration and few fans. But there was also a glimmer of tal- ent in the mix as well as some hope for the future. Spokane opened the game with a goal by KUHL all-star Darrin Talotti who beat Rebel goalie Robert Stock. Stock is competing against returning Rebel goalies Mike Kooznetsoff and Les Barry for spots on the team. Castlegar returned fire a short time laster as Eric Zalins- ki from Taber, Alberta followed up his hard blast by getting to the rebound and popping the puck through the legs of the Spokane goalie The Rebels then took the lead early in the second period as Castlegar native Bill Phillips took a pass from fellow Castlegar player Darren Belanger and shot it home. Jamie MacLeod also picked up an assist. Spokane scored a short time later in what turned out to be a penalty-filled period. It ended with the score tied 2-2 thanks to the Rebels’ penalty killing. Bu that penalty killing soon fell apart as the parade to the penalty box continue: Yin the third period. The Spokane power play and Brandon Whitberg took full advantage scoring six goals in the period, three with the man advantage, Whitberg picked up a hat trick. The Rebels lone bright spot came from the stick of Francis Bedard who placed a feed from Jason Zupp behind the Spokane netminder at the halfway point. The biggest problem for the Rebels was a lack of experience on the ice, and that situation wasn't helped any by the expul- sion of four players. Zalinski left the game for checking from behind while Casey Grant, Chad Stadnicky and- Denis Nolette were all tossed for fighting. Grant, Nolette and Stadnicky are all older players from outside the province and are all compet- ing for veteran roles on the club. “Exhibition games are there to vent some frustration, make a point or be noticed,” said Rebels head coach Pat Price. “If you're noticed [for fighting] you’ve made some sort of an impression anyway. “Overall, the penalties were merited. They were just the right calls but the wrong penalties at the wrong time. But that'll change.” Jason.Zupp is a Rebel hopeful SIDELINES future. Castlegar, B.C., VIN 1G8. Who Comment of the Week BCJHL sera sera Dance Queen Refuses Coronation Last week it was reported in this column that dance instrucotr Carol McKay-Bonin was preparing to take the reigns of the McKay Dance School. Unfortunately, that will no longer be the case. After long discussions with the school, McKay-Bonin has decided not to teach there after all. However, she still plans to live in Nelson and has not ruled out opening her own school in the Enlarging The Sporting Mecca Castlegar has turned into something of a Sporting Mecca over the last year and it seems there is an increasing interest from people outside the community. A coastal, businessman is looking into the feasibility of a multi-sport facility in the Castlegar area and wants your input. The facility would house such activities as-indoor ten- nis, soccer and floor hockey but could be expanded for many other activities. If you have an interest in such a facility write up your suggestions and send them to Box 547, 465 Columbia Ave., Rossland Braces For Half-Pint Hilarity s basketball players have to be tall? Certainly not the Canadian Half-Pints Miniature Basketball Team. The team is a group of players from across Canada that is touring the country displaying their own unique brand of the sport which is Canadian in origin. The Canadian Half-Pints will be in Rossland October 23 and they want everyone to come out and see them take on the Trail Professional Fire Fighters Celebrity Basketball Team in the First Annual Mini-Hoops Basketball Benefit. This family oreiented event is sure to be filled with fun and humor for basketball fans of all ages. From each family ticket sold money will be donated to worthy charities in the area. It's a good coase, it's a good time and it would be a good idea id you planned to attend the game at the Rossland Secondary School starting at 7 p.m.. For more informa- tion on the game or to get tickets call John Thompson at 364-1737 or Cathy Sproule at 1-800-661-0178 With Bryan Bucci's sudden shift from the BCJHL to the RMJHL one has to wonder how former Rebels president Robin Tomlin is taking all this. Tomlin has never been a big fan of Rocky Hockey and one of the main reasons the Junior ‘B* Rebels were sold to Bucci was under the understanding that he would pursue the And if you think Tomlin is the only one, you're wrong. The RMJHL's entrance into junior hockey in B.C. saw a lot of teams including Trail and Nelson leave the KIJHL, a league that has meant a lot to young hockey players in the Castlegar area. One gets the feeling that Bucci’s biggest battle won't be on the ice but in the stands, making skeptical fans respect a league they believed never showed them any respect when it began. Bottom’line - que New hockey teams are expensive but sidelines are free. If you want one call Jeff at 365-5579. Braves forward Brandon Whitberg (#9) was a thorn in the Rebels side throughout their first exhibition game in Spokane Sunday afternoon. Francis Bedard (#11) tried to catch the crafty Whitberg ‘but just fell short. Bedard isa Rebel import from Levis, Quebec and has impressed throughout camp. from Vernon who spent some time with the Rossland Warriors last year. This is his third season in the KUHL and he downplayed the. Rebel loss. “It was just the beginning of the exhibition season,” said Zupp, who hopes to grab a role as a vet- eran with the club. “Players were getting used to the style of play The penalties killed us but we've got a lot of systems that will be successful once we get them down pat.” The Rebels left more than 10 players at home for the game Most were local players who will see a fair amount of ice time in Castlegar’s next two exhibition games with Rossland. The first will be tonight in Castlegar fol- lowed by Rossland on Thursday. Price's battle right now is try- ing to establish his system before the home opener Friday night versus Beaver Valley. “We're trying to establish a generic system but it's. going to take time for them to get a better understanding,” said Price. “When they did use it [in Spokane] it went fine “It's going to be boring and repetitious but it has to be done.” Price has already established conditioning and now it’s on to the system. His system is actually a complex web of.systems that form an entire style of play. Each action on the ice is governed by a system in the larger generic sys- tem. It’s composed of two things: plays and positions. According to Price, some of the systems are simple, like lining up to take a face-off, while oth- ers, like defensive zone coverage and offensive strategies, are much more complex. “The stuff I'm teaching them right now works, they just have to execute it moré,” said Price They have to have a working sys tem in place to react to different situations.” “Hopefully by the end they'll be as familiar with bréakouts and power plays as they are with lin- ing up to take a Bx Right now the Rebels rying too many players to proper- ly teach tems but that will change after tonight's exhibition game when the coaching staff is expected to make the final train- ing camp cuts. The team on Thursday night will pretty much be the team that will start the sea- son on Friday. Bucci submits t JEFF GABERT Sun Sports Castlegar Rebel owner/ gener- al manager Bryan Bucci rocked the hockey world of Castlegar last weekend with a final announcement outlining his plans for Junior *A’ hockey in the city next season. Most people believed the announcement would feature the acronym BCJHL but instead everything came up Rocky Hockey. Despite ongoing discussions with the BCJHL, Bucci decided last week to make a commitment to the Rocky Mountain Hockey League rather than wait for a deci- sion by the BCJHL Board of Gov- ernors on his relocation of the Kelowna Spartans franchise Bucci also became concemed with the travel time associated with the BCTJHL and enamored with the recent changes to the RMJHL, like the removal of the red line. “Please be assured that this decision was not arrived at easi- ly,” said Bucci. “Our number one goal is to provide quality hockey to our fans and our com- munity. To accomplish this goal while keeping in perspective the needs of our players, their safety, and their educational opportuni- ties, and remembering that most of these young men are here to have fun, I believe we have made the right choice.” Bucci's original deal to pur chase the Kelowna Spartans from Brent Parker included stip- ulations regarding the Rebcls playing in the BCJHL next sca- son. Since the shift to the RMBHL, that deal has now fallen through. The franchise fee for a RMIHL franchise is $25,000 and it has already been paid. The RMJHL also officially accepted the Rebels into the league Friday morning after a unanimous approval by the Board of Gover- nors and an official welcome from League President John “Bronco” Horvath “Mr. Bucci and the Castlegar Junior Rebels. along with the other member teams will bring the action-packed, high-calibre of Junior ‘A’ hockey Bencrated by the RMJHL to the dedicated and deserving hockey fans of Castlegar and the surrounding h Bucci is looking forward to the challenge of playing hockey in the new league and doesn’t believe the BCJHL is necessarily a better brand of hockey. “Is one league a step below the other? I don’t know,” said Bucci. “I'll find out. But they meet in-the playoffs every year and, I'll tell you right now, we will get the cup.” We feel we will be able to compete with any junior hockey team in this province. Our opera tion will be second to none.” Bucci further added that the Rebels operation will further include Junior *B* hockey next season. Discussions have becn SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert Price's plan is simple for the home opener, “I'll tell them what I tell them, teach them what I teach them and turn them loose,” said Price “Things will have settled down by then and we'll play some good ol’ fashioned Rebel hockey,” One person ready to start the season is Bryan Bucci, who has been one of the hardest working. retired men in the province over the last couple weeks. “We've got a bright, young group of kids and there is defi- nitely some Surprises in store for the Rebel f * said Bucci. “The hockey we W play this year will be synonymous with the Rebel tradition and it will be for years to come.” Game time for all games is 8 p.m. at the Complex and Rossland Arena. punch vill Can bus and players handle the Rocky Mountain highs... and lows? Two Rebel hopefuls show off their new uniforms and the newly painted bus. SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert made at an opening level for a possible move of the Castlegar KUHL franchise to Osoyoos to begin operation next season. Those discussions are expect- ed to continue in earnest with a formal proposal sent to the league by the end of the season. Despite the bold move to the RMJHL., Bucci still contends that anything can happen “Eve cast my lot for right now with the RMJHL,” said Bucci But one thing I've found in my business career is never say ‘no’ I suspect that one day all Junior A’ clubs in the province will be in one league Wednesday, September 20, 1995 The Castlegar Sun Page A11 Stalin meets Italian Stallion in the name of hockey The good ol’ hockey game may be the best game you can name but the best game T can name is taking place in the front offices fall the hockey arenas in B.C. The Junior level controversy raging in the B.C. Amateur Hockey Association between the B.C. Junior Hockey League and the Rocky Mountain Hockey League has turned into a war with little peace in sight I'm no Stalin and there really are no Hitlers in this feud but you had better believe Castlegar reminds me of Poland. We're KIJHL but we've got a chance to go BCJHL. Then we're KUHL needing only a vote to go BCJHL. Now we're KIHL going RMSJHL. Don’t know about you but I'm feeling a little JHLed-out Bryan Bucci is’too. That's why he decided to forge an alliance he knows will stick. Who cares if the group he's {vith isn’t as strong 9° the Opposition, at least he has an ally to stand side and an enemy to point his guns at Many people in Castlegar are going to be Aisappointed in his shift from the BCJHL to “Rocky Hockey” and they \hould be. Upon burst- ing on to the Castlegar sports scene Bucci led hockey fans on a pil- grimage G d would lead.to the holy grail of junior hockey (otherwise known Subway Cup). He spoke and people listened: The more people listened, the more they believed. And, to his credit, Bucci truly believed it too. That is, until his feet got tired and he started coming across road blocks not easily passed The biggest was Trail’s entry into the BCJHL. The league took a risk letting in a small and remotely located community.- Trails track record with the RMJHL was not totally impressive off the ice and the travel for all the teams in their division (Penticton, Vernon and Mer- ritt) is horrendous considering most games begin at 8 p.m. at night and few junior level teams are afforded the luxury of immediate accommodation after a game. Understand though, the BCJHL Board of Governors does want to put another team in the Kootenay region but Castlegar is a bad choice right now. It's too close to Trail, nobody has heard of it and they want to see if the BCJHL is even viable in the region, which they hope to find out from watching Trail. However, they are in a feud with the RMJHL right now in trying to be the only Junior A league in the province so they don’t want to give up too quickly on Castlegar and Bryan Bucci. That's because the Nelson Leafs off to fast start RMJHL has been desperately trying to get a team into Castlegar tor the last few years and the last thing the BCJHL wants to do is give up a potentially strategic piece of property that also contains a potentially strong army. They've been telling Bucci all along that he’s got a good chance at getting a team and allying with the BCJHL, it’s just a matter of time They want to have ameeting in January There are a lot of things Bucci has a lot of but time isn’t one of them. One of the largest is plans, and they call for big things in the future. But all his plans require a Junior ‘A’ franchise in Castlegar to start the 1996-97 season and all the BCJHL was offering him was time and a lot of lines with no end. He wasn't buying but the RMJHL was ready to give him what he wanted, Heck, they were practically camiped out on Bucci's front lawn. : They've been trying to get a team in’ Castlegar for a while but were always thwarted by people who were quite satis fied with KUHL hockey. But Bucci's about as Satisfied with Junior *B’ hockey in Castlegar as a kid with a single french fry So now he's made a commitment to RMJHL hockey. It’s still Junior ‘A’ arid the best teams in both leagues always meet up in the provincial finals to decide who goes to the Centennial Cup. Bucci says he'll bring in a team that will be just as good if not better than the BCJHL teams and he'll do the best he can to rock the province with “Rocky Hockey”. Maybe they'll play “Eye of the Tiger” at all the home games. Problem is, why does B.C. have two leagues in the first place? Why can’t there be one big league with two conferences and a bunch of divisions? Seems to me they've done it with a bit of success in baseball, hockey and football over the last 20 years. Believe me, I'm not the first sports guru to ask this little question (although I believe I am the first to compare myself to Stalin). And finally the BCAHA is listening The association which governs all minor hockey in the province THE GAB has formed a committee to look into zoning in Junior ‘A’ hockey Basically it means having one league with divisions situated accord ing to geographical locations. Obviously, somebody at the BCAHA offices has been reading some sports columns But, when will it happen? Probably anywhere from two to five years depending on how receptive the members of the BCJHL Board of Governors are to the idea, which they won't be, considering they believe they are the Aryans of hockey leagues If and when the move to a single Junior ‘A’ league comes you can expect a high amount of attrition and Only the strong will survive Bucci believes his Junior *A’ team will be strong and he also isn’t afraid of battles. Nether are the BCJHL or the RMJHL, So let them play “Eye of the Tiger” and let the war games begin Because when the final bell tolls, Rocky may be down for the count but the Castlegar Rebels should find themselves part of the new order. Maybe Bryan Bucci will then be able to satisfy Castlegar’s thirst for the true holy grail of hockey That's the idea anyway og. CASTLEGAR REBELS ABN GO Sum day, Sent. a tlegar Arena C Double ups and 12 up pkgs. rary Bird 6 p.m. ee * ASTLEGAR REBELS $1000 Jackpot All proceeds to $500 Bonanza Rebel Scholarship and Minor Hockey License #794046 20th Anniversary Celebration 20th ANNIVERSARY STERLING SPORTS The Nelson Leafs started their second season in the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League in a thunderous fashion. The Leafs started on Friday with a 5- 0 win over the Cranbrook Colts at the Nelson Civic Centre Arena and followed it with an 8-2 thumping over the Fernie Ghostriders in Fernie More than 800 fans were on hand Friday night to see Curtis Atkinson’s stellar performance in net. It was the Nelson native’s * ChanneLock™ Digital Remote (23-Button) * Multi-Language On-Screen Display * On-Screen Clock, Sleep And Alarm Timers © Commercial Skip * CaptionVision Closed Caption Capability * AutoProgramming/181- Channel Tuning Capability +349" In Celeb of the Rebels 20th S in Junior Hockey, you could win one of 20 RCA 13" color TV's to be drawn at 20 of the f RCA 13" Color TV's TO BE WON! 21 Home G; this =O first real test in front of the home crowd after a one-year stint in the B.C. Junior Hockey League with the Nanaimo Clippers. “You couldn't have asked for more out of Curtis,” said Leafs coach George Cochrane. Atkinson faced 42 shots and received three minor penalties in a scrappy performance. The last * 21 Home Games * Senior & Adult Season Tickets Hospitality Room Privileges Preferred Section Seating TONIGHT! 8:00 pm Face Off time Atkinson was between the pipes in Nelson was in 1993-94 when the Leafs were junior B The 17-year-old welcomed the pressure of the return. “It's nice to have people with you and being supportive but it does add a little more pressure...but the pressure is what makes you play better I guess.” Along with Atkinson's perfor- mance Cochrane said the rest of the team lived up to his ex] Dustin Kersey opened up the scoring for the Leafs in the sec- ond period getting one short handed goal. Nolan Robertson followed with two in the same period to help the Leafs build a comfortable lead. The Leafs added two more in the third. “I'm extremely happy with the win, to get the home opener and start on a positive. This is a big Family Pass +130" Adult Pass $70” Sr./Students "55" Child (6-11 yrs.) $350 VS Exhibition Game Rossland Warriors Wed., Sept. 20th Adults - $3.00 Seniors/Students - $2.00 Under 6 - FREE win for us,” said Cochrane Saturday's game in Fernie saw the same strong Leafs defence with a highly charged offence Available at Pete's TV, Mallards, The Monte Carlo, His Place Hair Styling & The Rebels Office. Child-(6 - 11 yrs) FRIDAY Sept. 22nd 1st Home Game 20th Anniversary Opening Ceremonies vs BEAVER VALLEY NIGHT HAWKS 8:00 pm Adults $5.00 ¢ Students/Srs. $4.00 $3.00 ¢ Under six FREE The Castlegar Rebels 20th Anniversary 20 TV Draw Is Brought To You By: for craft supplies SEE OUR WEEKLY SPECIALS P just Ey's Cuoco.ate & Girt SHop 185 Columbia Avenue Open 10 am - 5 pm RS I Ke The East gar Sun is ‘The weekly newspaper with a daily committment’ Ss PETE'S TV uta. Castlegar You Could Also Win One Of Many Other Lucky Program Draw Prizes Let's Talk... More Results