SPORTS Sports Dept. Jeff Gabert 365-5579 The Castlegar Sun WEDNESDAY, M h 1, 1995 Wednesday, March 1, 1995 The Castlegar Sun Page 9A Swept up JEFF GABERT Sun ts The Castlegar Rebels have ‘a message for any team who is excited about making the playoffs and playing them - “Don’t get Swept up in the moment or you May get swept away.” That's exactly what happened to the Spokane Braves over the last week and it is a warning to all future challengers that the Rebels have a broom and they know how to use it. of the dominance the Rebels had hoped to achieve over the Braves, Captain Todd Doyle led all scor- ers with three goals while Mike . Kooznetsoff came up with his first career shutout at a perfect time. The game was a combination of good offence supported by an effective forecheck and steady goaltending. The special teams also proved strong as Doyle scored both on the power-play and short-handed. If anyone was wondering if the Rebels could put their complete game together for the playoffs, last Saturday was certainly a good indication. However, Rebel head coach Garry Sauer still had some con- cerns involving intensity. “The first game was not what I was looking for and I think a lot of that was the inexperience of some of the players,” said Sauer. “But the intensity level came up and I think we're going to get Tr cach game out.” Game Two wasn’t played until Saturday night but the two-day layoff only positively affected the Rebels as they cruised to the 4-1 win in front of 516 fans. The Rebs came out flying in the first period, peppering Braves goaltender Brain Power with 28 shots while Rebel netminder J.C. Moore only faced seven. The first goal came from Rebels star for- ward Jesse Oldham who received a short pass from Doyle and If you can’t beat ‘em... Castle: anything past him in Game One made no mistakes. The Rebels continued their assault in the second frame as Dar- ren Pottle found the twine for his first playoff goal. Oldham then increased his scoring touch and completed his hat trick with just under 20 seconds left in the period. Spokane finally found their way onto the scoreboard after over 110 minutes of action in the Playoffs as a hard blast from Darin Talotti found it's way past Moore. It was a case of too little too late and that phrase would serve to haunt the Braves as the Series progressed. Game Three continued much the same way as the previous game except that the Braves only had about 70 fans out to watch their first playoff game in Spokane on Sunday afternoon. “T talked before the game and I said it was a must win for us,” said Sauer. “The Braves were having troubles getting motivated so the opportunity was there for KIJHL PLAYOFFS '95 Round One NORTH DIVISION 1 GAME 4/5 SICAMOUS 7 GOLDEN | 4 | 5 [— 3)]— NORTH OKANAGAN COL. VALLEY 5 id SOUTH DIVISION 4 us to come out and dominate.” The Braves played the first three games of the series with only 13 players and the exhaus- tion was evident in the third game as they went down to defeat 5-1 Doyle scored first but the Braves came back to tie before the first period ended. Then the Rebels Pushed their dominance button and pulled away with goals by Mike Hunter, Jeff Moffat, Grady Moore and another by Doyle The key to the game was ‘ constant assault on the Braves net, once again occupied by Power. Power faced-46 Rebel shots and stood strong once again despite a lackluster defence in front of him. “They’re goalie was outstand- ing,” said Sauer. “He's 16 years old and he’s just been unbeliev- able.” And then came Game Four, Monday night at the Eagles Ice- A-rena in Spokane The Rebels knew going in it would be tough to win but they didn’t know how tough until they looked across the ice and saw two more players on the Spokane bench. Those players gave the Braves extra gas and they used it to drive with the Rebels and ‘ventually take a 3-2 lead late in the second. The Braves looked strong and may have been able to hold their lead in the third -period-if-it wasn’t for the “miracle minute.” Two-Rebels goals in the-final minute of the second period gave Castlegar the lead and left the Braves demoralized, beaten and, CASTLEGAR 1 | 4 | SPOKANE 0 6 ROSSLAND | 5 | § GRANDFORKS 10 5] 3/1 Rebels reap recog JEFF GABERT Sun Sports The Castlegar Rebels swept the Spokane Braves in the first round of the KUHL playoffs last week, so it seemed only appropriate for them to Sweep the South Division awards as well, ‘The individual award winners for the South Division were released last Wednesday and the Rebels saw five of the six awards come their way. However, unlike the Braves series, the awards were not cut and dried. Of the six awards, three were split between two players including the Division MVP, best I and most sp ¢ player. The MVP award was split between Rebel forward Jesse Oldham and Spokane 's Darin Talotti “For me, it shows I'm one of the best in the leaguc in my last year,” said Oldham who credits hard work and aggressive play for the recog- nition. “That's a great compliment because there's a lot of great players in the league and a lot of great players have won the award before me.” The best goaltender award. was a tie between Rebel Mike Kooznet- soff and Chris Gauthier of Beaver Valley. Kooznetsoff combined an excellent Soals-against-average with an awesome winning percentage ly, swept. The third period saw the Rebels score three more times and pull away to a 7-4 victory. Some may have celebrated but the mood on the Rebel bench was a collective sigh of relief. “We didn’t want to come back gar goaltender Mike Kooznetsoff wasn’t about to let as he earned the 4-0 shutout. ‘SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert to Castlegar and play Game Five,” said Sauer. “The guys Played hard and Spokane had a few more bodies out there. We made a few mistakes that they capitalized on and that cost us, but in the end we came out on top.” Now the Rebels must wait for the winner of the Grand Forks- Rossland series. Sauer doesn't have a favorite between the two and feels confident against either club. The sweep gives the Rebels a few days to heal some nagging injuries and to collect their thoughts for a good run at the jJeague championship. But the key is always intensity. “The Spokane series wasn’t as intense as I would have like,” said Sauer. “The players know that the next series will be three or four times as intense. We're going to try and make the prac- tises more intense over the next week . I know we'll be ready for the next round but the intensity has to come up.” Rebel Rousings: Injuries and goaltending are big keys to the playoffs. One you don’t want, the other you want as much as you can get. In the injury column, Darren Pottle only played one game in the Braves series and continues to be hampered by a sore ankle Vince Antignani blocked a shot with his big toe and has pledged to be-in-action-even ifthe toe turns black and falls off. Brent Neumann has a sore thumb and Kevin MacGillvray continues to battle shoulder trouble but both are guaranteed to rise above and Play in the next series. Goalie Mike Kooznetsoff has also been hampered by nagging injuries but they don’t seem to affect him. He’s given up only one goal in two games during the first round and should start in the first game of the next series. niton and reward because of injuries. Even still, he’s not unaccustomed to playing defence. “Throughout minor hockey I've played centre, wing and defence,” said Hunter. “I do whatever it takes for my team to win.” “I think I add a little speed back pass. Puck control is a always big thing. there and I'm pretty good at the The Rebels also picked up the honors for the best coaching staff which shows the kind of respect the tremendous trio of Garry Sauer, John Phillips and Randy Kirby have garnered throughout the league It's the second year in a row the Rebels staff, led by Sauer, have won the coveted award “Our coaching staff Spent a lot of time at the rink away from their families and it’s nice to be recognized for those kind of sacrifices,” said Sauer. “We've made a lot of changes, but that’s our Job and we want to have-the best-team we can get. The bottom line is we met our goal and we had a great season.” The final two awards were the best rookie and the most sportsman- like. Brian Power, the Spokane Braves 16-year-old netminding phenom, picked up the rookie prize while Rebel defenceman Darryl Fischer was extremely congenial in sharing his sportsmanship award with Yanik Gagne of Grand Forks. to solidify himself as one of the top goalies in the league “It's a big boost for my confidence,” said Kooznetsoff hardest every game and it’s a nice reward.” The biggest surprise in the awards was the naming of Rebel all-pur- pose man Mike Hunter as the Division’s best defenceman. Hunter is known for his scoring touch after leading the league in points last season but was moved to the blueline just before Christmas by the Rebels “I try my The unassuming Fischer doesn’t like to talk about his exploits as a rock solid defenceman but you can bet he won't be too congenial if the Rebels meet Grand Forks in the next round. “I'm taking a lot of buggin’ but it’s worth it,” said Fischer. “I figure I get more ice time when I'm not sitting in the penalty box.” Now there is only one more award the Rebels would like to see in their trophy case and it has the KUHL Championship seal on it. Sidelines Around the World in an Afternoon The Castlegar Figure Skating Club has figured prominently in a number of competitions this year and now they hope to display some of those figures to the general public in the annual Castlegar Figure Skating Carnival coming this Saturday March 11 to the Complex. The club will be performing two complete shows at 2 and 7 p.m. featuring the theme of “Dancing Around the World”. The show is non-competitive in nature but that doesn't mean Jen- nifer Chant and her crew haven't been practicing for weeks in prep For more inf ion on the Carnival call Corinne at 365-7074 or the Castlegar Community Complex Catchin’ a Curve at the AGM One of the most interesting Annual General Meetings held in Castlegar every year is the one dealing with the intricate inner- workings of the wondrous world of slo-pitch baseball. This year’s exciting agenda includes things like rule changes and the election of new ini but don't be ised if a few o items find their way onto the floor. The meeting gets underway at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Marchi 2 at the Recreation Centre. Be there or be a square... when you should be dreaming of diamonds. Not the Scott..... But Closer Who says ladies don’t know what to do when they have a hammer or the hammer? The Barbee Ladies Bonspiel is the largest womens curling event of the year in Castlegar and it will be gracing the Castlegar Curling Club this weekend Mar. 3-5. The Lady Bonspiel- ers invite all interested curling fans to come out and see the action. Winning the Road War Being a road warrior in Castlegar doesn't necessarily take a lot of weaponry, All you need in a sturdy hockey stick and a surly dispo- sition. The Castlegar Ball Hockey Federation is always active and is looking to start up a league. They already have two full teams and scrimmage play goes on every Sunday afternoon at the Castle- gar Museum parking lot. Each team consists of a minimum of five players and individual players without a team are also encouraged to come out. The league is still in it’s preliminary Stages but all interested persons are strongly advised to start forming their teams now. For more information call Jeff at 365-5579 or come by the museum parking lot from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. So join the fun and maybe you too could find the joy in getting hit in the head by a wiffle-ball Fe Junior Curling Rings Out Castlegar Junior Curling wrapped up Sunday with a family bon- spiel followed by a dinner and awards presentation. The most improved curler for the year was Wesley Greep. The winning teams in the various leagues were: Fall Thursday - Ben St John, Shawn Crawte, Brett Geotting and Nathan Roussy, Fall Tuesday ~ Elizabeth St. John, Travis Henne, Nicole Virgin and Jordan Bar- low; Winter Thurday - Amber Harper, Chris Robinson, Marta Koczan and Ashley Maddocks; Winter Tuesday - Ryen Howe, Brandon Howe, Stephen Ferreira and Aaron Boehme. Castie Bowl Results, Feb. 20-27 Mon. Morning Coffee LHS. Brenda Zoobkoff 326 LH.T. Brenda Zoobkoff 652 Mon. Golden Age L.H.S. Mary Gemmill 206 LH.T. Irene Flynn 529 M.H.S. Walter Kinakin 294 M.H.T. Walter Kinakin 649 Mon. YBC Seniors LHS. Val Kosowan 207 L. Stacey Planidin 534 MHS. - Derek Handley 259 M.H.T. Emmanuel Sequeira 655 Mon. Mixed 7-9 L.H.S. — Tima Donofrio 294 LH.T. June Rourke 743 M.H.S. Bill Arment 297 MET. Bill Amett 767 Tues. Ladies Coffee LHS. Polly Marosoff 245 LH.T. Polly Marosoff 665 Tues. Mixed 7-9 LH.S._ Michelle Szkica 264 LH.T. Emma Pigeon 603 M.H.S. Collin Berdusco 248 M.H.T. Collin Berdusco 645 Tues. Mixed 9-11 LH.S. Lynda Wood 269 LH.T. Lynda Wood 740 M.H.S. Marvin Wood 304 M.H.T. Marvin Wood 811 Wed. Golden Age LH.S. Vera Raponi 218 LH.T. Beulah Wright 596 M.H.S. Nick Bonderoff 334 M.H.T. Nick Bonderoff 815 Wed. Mixed 7-9 LH.S. Marilyn Friedrich 262 L.H.T. Zoyia Moreau 692 M.H.S. Bob Branning 323 M.H.T. Bob Branning 741 Wed. Mixed 9-11 L.H.S. Trisha Medeiros 269 L.H.T. Trisha Medeiros 652 M.H.S. Alfred Adshead 277 M.H.T. Rod Gritchen 751 Thurs. Morning Coffee L.H.S. Lorraine Hoskins 273 L.H.T. Lynda Wood 738 Thurs. YBC Juniors L.H.S. Alana Pion 213 LH.T. Alisha Pion 489 M.H.S. Curtis Van Yzerloo 269 M.H.T. Curtis Van Yzerloo 557 Thurs. Mixed 7-9 LHS. Velda Handley 305 LH.T. Velda/Handley 823 M.H.S. RolandHandley 330 M.H.T. Roladn Handley 940 Fri. Mixed 7-9 LHS. Mila Vigue 232 LH.T. Mila Vigue 596 M.H.S. Garry Poznikoff | 289 M-H.T. Bob Branning 739 Fri. Mixed 9-11 LHS. Velda Handley 388 L.H.T. Velda Handley 912 M.H.S. RolandHandley 355 M.H.T. Roland Handley 816 YBC PeeWee/Smurf L.HS. Hailey Salekin 141 L.H.T. Hailey Salekin M.H.S. Paul Oslund M.H.T. Paul Oslund YBC Bantam L.H.S. Natasha Trubetskoff L.H.T. Natasha Trubetskoff M.H.S. Lachlan Frost M.H.T. Lachlan Frost Sunday Classic L.H.S. Joanne Fenner L.H.T. Joanne Fenner M.H.S. Larry Webster M.H.T. Larry Webster Key: L.H.S.- Ladies High Score L.H.T.- Ladies High Total M.H.S.- Mens High Score M.H.T.- Mens High Total L.H.4.- Ladies High Four M.H.4.- Mens High Four Read the Sun sports pages. Nutrition for the sports mind. The beat continues to reverberate for ‘One-of the-dominant forces for the Rockettes last Satur= JEFF GABERT Sun Sports day afternoon was the aggressive play of Shannon Gienger (#11). G' -nger helped SHSS to a 51-35 win and it's 12th straight Championship. SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert KMS girls continue to impress after Cranbrook tourney JEFF GABERT Sun Sports Nobody said it was going to be easy running a successful basket- ball program in the shadow of the success at Stanley Humphries but that has never frightened Cheryl Closkey and her Kinnaird Middle {. Schoot girts team: They proved their courage once again last weekend when they travelled to Cranbrook for a weekend tournament and left behind a wake of devastation. The combined team of grade 7 and 8 students has been punish- ing all opposition in the West Kootenay for months and that trend continued as they crushed Parkland 52-15 in their opener. The trend continued in the next game as they bounced Spar- wood 59-12 and then they dis- patched Laurie 39-10 to garner the tournament victory. “They're getting pretty strong,” said Closkey. “They all played well and we're getting to the point where our bench comes in and can maintain the play of the starters. “The girls are heads and tails above the competition. They work really hard, they take it seri- ously and they don’t look down on the opposition.” The team MVP for KMS was Jennifer Datchkoff who proved once again why she is one of the best basketball prospects in the Kootenays. But right behind Datchkoff was Tamara Rilkoff who has always stayed a short step behind. “Tamara is just a hair under Jennifer,” said Closkey. “It's one of those things where there is no substitute for Jennifer but Tamara is awfully good for such a young ” The girls finish off their season this week with games against Salmo and Beaver Valley. The West Kootenay playoffs will be held in Trail on Mar. 8 and KMS will certainly be the odds-on-favorite to win it all CASTLEGAR MINOR SOCCER - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MARCH 9, 1995 ¢ 7:30 P.M. Kootenay Room, Rec. Centre All Equipment To Be Turned In ¢ Everyone Welcome 1995 REGISTRATION SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 1995 ° 10 A.M. -2 P.M. Rec. CENTRE SHOE Swap Starts 9:30 a.m. Registration also accepted at Rec. Complex during business hours or at Castlegar Sports Centre until March 18th Fee: Under 7 - Under 10 $30.00 Under 11 - Under 18 $45.00 « After March 18 add $5.00 FOR MORE INFO CALL 365-7122 OR 365-5632 The drums of basketball in Castlegar continued to beat last weekend at Stanley Humphries. A winning tradition has always been important at SHSS and that continued over the past weekend And, also as usual, the Senior Rockettes are leading the percus- sion section by earning their 12th Straight trip to the ‘AA’ Provin- cial Championships being held this year at Brittania High School in Vancouver, Mar. 8-10. The Rockettes earned the West Kootenay title by beating L.V. Rogers at the SHSS Gym on Sat urday afternoon 51-35; The game was never in mich doubt as the SHSS senior girls just overpow- ered their opposition. Leading scorers for the Rock- ettes were Shawna Harshenin and Dionne Birch with 12 poin “We didn’t play wel “but I have to give LVR credit because they sure did. They'll certainly be a tough team to beat next year. “We just ground them down because we had too much over- all talent. They took stuff away but they couldn't take every- thing away.” The Rockettes made it to the final with a 66-27 drubbing of J.L. Crowe on Saturday morning Lisa Datchkoff led with 17 points. The outcome of Saturday's contest wasn't much of a sur since the Rockettes took a 3 overall record into the weekend along with an undefeated string in West Kootenay play. The next action for the team will be at the Provincials and their first opposition in that tour- nament in Ladysmith High School from Vancouver Island. If the Rockettes win that game they must face Duchess Park from Prince George who are ranked number one in the province Closkey doesn't expect mira- cles at the tournament but he has set firm goals. “If we can win ouft_opener we'll be pretty happy,” said Closkey. “If we play ball like we have over the last-few- months we could win three games we're tough.” According to Closkey, a team has to be tough to compete in the ‘AA’ division because all the teams have become much tougher in the last few years. In fact, Closkey believes the play in ‘AA’ is better than in ‘AAA’ “It is definitely significantly tougher than *‘AAA’,” said Closkey. “The overall talent pool is tougher and that’s the way it has gone over thé last couple of years.” In other SHSS hoop action, the senior Rockers ended their seson on a losing note as they bowed out in the first round of the playoffs last Friday in Nel- Senior Rockettes son, L.V.R. proved too tough for the young Rocker team. Coach John Ritchie wasn't happy with the loss but he has never hidden the fact that he considers the 1995 edition of the Rockers as a very young team. “We didn't play well and we showed our youth,” said Ritchie “But we've got a lot of retuning players for next year so we're not unhappy for the result because we have something to build on “The team, for being so young, exceeded our expecta tions and we should see'the Progress next year and get | shot at a provincial c npionship.” The only graduating senior on the squad is Grant Mosby who gave everything he had leader throughout the s “He showed great leadership and he's going to see some time in the upcoming all-star game,” said Closkey, who also sees Mosby in a university uniform somewhere. “He »was a big part of our team this year.” With the West Kootenay senior titles being handled down last weekend that only leaves the junior ranks to sort themselves out. The Junior Girls Champi onships will be held this Friday and Saturday at the SHSS gym The first game features SHSS against Trafalgar at 5 p.m. on Friday followed by Rossland ver- sus Trail at 6:30 p.m., The final is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday. The junior boys will be trav- elling to Grand Forks in an effort to attain champion status. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 7:30 p.m., Rec. Centre” Arts & Crafts Room AGENDA ELECTIONS © RULE CHANGES CASTLEGAR SLO PITCH Thursday, March 2nd, 1995__/ * All ball players - please attend f eet A yy ~~ le NOTE: Model 6072 is available as a sectional suite. Sofa & Matching Love Seat $899. Sofa & Matching Love Seat 2-Piece Sofa & Love Seat[OR]90° Sectional Chesterfield Suites YOUR GHOUGE E NeE-TIM OFFER DON'T MISS THUS OFFERS HOME GOODS Furniture Warehouse & Floor Covering Cent MasterCard ~~ Rie 5899 At China Creek Halfway Between Trail and Castlegar Ph. 693-2227 Fax 693-2388 Open 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Tues. through Sat WE DELIVER!