> TT eee ena me Sg SPORTS 82 tlegar News Jonwory 10, 1988 PIONEER ARENA ICE TIME CUT BY ONE-THIRD By BRENDAN NAGLE Staff Writer In the last 18 months, the Castlegar and District Recreation Commission has cut ice time at Pioneer Arena by 33 per cent. Since September 1986 the commission has pared 24 hours of ice time at Pioneer. The arena now is available 48 hours a week. Recreation director Pat Metge says a major factor in cutting back Pioneer operations wa3 the declining number of minor hockey ice bookings. “The number of kids playing minor hockey in Castlegar has dropped significantly within the last 10 y * Metge said. “Minor hockey was much larger in ‘78 compared with now.” When the Community Complex opened in 1976, it was due to an increasing demand for quality ice space. “There was a community desire to have a better facility,” said Metge At that time there were more than 400 kids — aged five to 17 — involved in minor hockey in Castlegar, along with coaches, parents and officials. This year, there are about 282 kids registered in the Castlegar and District Minor Hockey Association, “Minor hockey is still the largest user of ice time in Castlegar,” Métge said. (“But) the closures are directly attributable to the fewer minor (hockey) bookings.” Metge said the decreasing number of minor hockey bookings has not been as much of a problem as it could have been because of increased bookings from other users. “Adult hockey has picked up where minor hockey left off,” he said. “But the adult hockey league hasn't taken up enough time to keep the arena from cutting back.” And the reduced i¢e time at Pioneer Arena is saving the recreation commission money. The 1986 figures — the most recent figures available indicate the commission is saving about $90 an hour from the weekly 24-hour closing period at Pioneer Arena, Metge said Because of the ice time closures, the Recreation Commission has been able to balance its books. As well, the bookings at the more expensive complex are filled before the Pioneer ice is rented Minor hockey pays $30 an hour to rent the ice at the complex compared to $28 at Pioneer. Adults pay $34 at Pioneer and $41 at the complex Despite fewer bookings, Metge said the commission isn't suffering any il! effects. “It's (the closures) not a major problem,” he said. “Presently we're adapting.” Zurbriggen captures first race of season VAL-D'ISERE, France (CP) — Reigning World Cup downhill champion Pirmin Zurbriggen of Switzerland won his first race of the season Saturday to take a strong lead in the overall standings. Zurbriggen covered the 3,390-metre-long Oreiller-Killy course in one minute 57.10 seconds, more than half a second ahead of Anton Steiner of Austria. Steiner was timed in 1:57.64, followed by Mare Gir- ardelli of Luxembourg in 1:57.67. Brian Stemmle of Aurora, Ont., was the top Canadian, placing ninth. Although -Zurbriggen started eighth, just after Girardelli, the course got faster in sunny, clear, crisp conditions as the skiers came down, knocking many in the first seed of 15 out of contention. Only three of the top seed placed in the first 10. “I didn’t have any pressure on me since I came second in the two preceding downhills,” Zurbriggen said. “I knew Girardelli was fast on the top part but I thought: the times would be a bit tighter.” Zurbriggen now has 65 World-Cup~downhill points, followed by Italian Michaeb Maier with 37 and Rob Boyd of Whistler, B.C., with 36. WELL BACK anucks edge Nords QUEBEC (CP) thing you have to have to succeed away from home. “Discipline,” said Tambellini, who scored twice to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 NHL triumph over the Quebec Nordiques on Saturday night. “You've got to have that if you want to win away from your own building We had that tonight — except for those few minutes.” Those few minutes lasted actually only 12 seconds late in the third period when the Nordiques scored twice to make it 3-2. “They really started coming on fast,” said Tambellini Steve Tambellini believes there is one Tambellini had opened the scoring in the second period, and tallied again in the third after Barry Pederson had made it 2-0 for the visitors. But then the Nordiques roared back with Michel Goulet connecting for his 25th marker at 15:01 before Anton Stastny cut the lead to one goal at 15:13. FLYERS 3 CANADIENS 3 MONTREAL (CP) — Ilkka Sinisalo beat Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy with a 30-foot slapshot with 7:43 to play in the third period to lift the Philadelphia Flyers into a 33 tie against the Canadiens Roy, who seemed to be uncertain when handling the puck throughout much of the game, yielded the tying goal — the 13th by Sinisalo— when the shot from just inside the left face-off circle skipped through his pads Roy redeemed himself with an game-saving glove grab of Scott Mellanby’s blueline blast in the overtime period Sinisalo's goal capped a comeback by the Flyers, who managed to stay within striking distance largely because of the 33-save performance by goaltender Ron Hextall HARTFORD 5 PITTSBURGH 4 HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Kevin Dineen scored 55 seconds into overtime to give the Hartford Whalers a 5-4 NHL win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dineen scored the winning goal on a 10-footer off a pass from Joel Quenneville The Whalers let a 3-1 lead get away in the third period as the Penguins forced the extra session on Mario Lemiuex’s sixth-attacker goal at 19: John Anderson scored twice while Ron Francis and Tom Martin each hit once for the Whalers. Mike Millar collected three assists OILERS 5ISLES 1 EDMONTON (CP) — Craig Simpson's two goals and another strong defensive effort carried the Edmonton Oilers WANT THE BEST CHICKEN IN TOWN? ONLY DIXIE LEE SOUTH CAN GIVE IT TO YOu, WITH OUR UNIQUE BLEND OF HERBS AND SPIC*” CALL US TODAY 365-5304 («ca Daielee 2816 COLUMBIA AVE. * SOUTH CASTLEGAR COMINCO & WESTAR VOUCHERS ACCEPTED BE yourR OWN BOSS *6000 aliows you to OWN & OPERATE your own business. Call or write . . . JOHN MADSEN, CA President. W@ INTERCHANGE Box 82008, North Bu VSC SP2 (604) 420-5559 toa 5-1 National Hockey League victory over the struggling New York Islanders. Simpson scored in each of the first two periods, giving him 16 goals in 22 games since being acquired from Pittsburgh in the Paul Coffey trade. Mike Krushelnyski, Steve Graves and Jari Kurri also scored for the Oilers, playing their fifth straight game without the injured Wayne Gretzky. In ‘that period the Oilers are 2-1-2. Brad Lauer scored the only goal for the Islanders’ anemic offence that managed only half a dozen good scoring chances. DEVILS 4 NORTH STARS 3 BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Kirk Muller scored two goals and Bob Sauve had 37 saves to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 NHL victory over the Minnesota North Stars. Muller's goals, his 16th and 17th of the season, came as part of a four-goal New Jersey rally in the second period The victory was New Jersey's first in its last three games Minnesota's loss is its 14th in 21 home games this season The North Stars outshot New Jersey 17-5 in the first period, but couldn't score until early, in the second period. A slapshot by defenceman Franti9sek Fusil deflected off the stick of New Jersey's Craig Wolanin into the lower left corner of the net to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead 3:30 into the period BRUINS 2 BLUES 1 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cam Neely scored on a backhander with 53 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 NHL victory over the St. Louis Blues. The victory gave the Bruins undisputed possession of first place in the Adams Division by one point over the Montreal Canadiens. Boston and Montreal entered the night tied for the lead and the Canadiens tied the Flyers 3-3 Neely beat St. Louis goalie Rick Wamsley to the glove side from about 25 feet for his 21st goal as the Bruins raised their unbeaten streak to six games. Boston also avoided being swept in the season series by the Blues, who won two. of three games. St. Louis Gaston Gingras and Boston's Ray Bourque exchanged power-play goals in the second period 7 7 Tour package has few takers CALGARY (CP) — There are few takers for a Winter Olympies tour package that includes tickets to the best plus a $2 per-ticket booking fee. They have the eption of buying additional _ tickets where available out of a le, 21, who started 12th, was timed in 1:58.11, 1.01 seconds back of the winner. Boyd, who won last month at Val Gardena, Italy, drew the third starting position and wound up 2ist in 1:58.83. “All week it's been really hard trying to get up for a race on a course that almost puts you to sleep,” Stemmle said. The Val d'Isere course is not known for being particularly challenging, with long flat sections at the top. “Because we're fairly good technical skiers, we seem to do better on the tougher courses, and courses where skis don't play such a major role,” Stemmle said. The race was originally scheduled to take place at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany, but a lack of snow in many parts of the Alps forced World Cup organizers to move the race. Val-d'Isere was also the site of the season-opening men's downhill in December, a race won by Switzerland's Daniel Mahrer with Zurbriggen second. ACHING NECK Boyd, 21, said he made a few mistakes on his run but that his neck was still feeling the effects from a bad spill last Sunday while training at Are, Sweden. “That may have been a slight factor,” Boyd said. “It may have been in the back of my mind, subconsciously making me hold back a bit, sliding where I should have been carving. “I didn’t really think it was going to bother me.” Felix Belezyk of Castlegar, B.C., who had the best time in Friday morning's training session, ended up 31st with a time of 1:59.30. “The conditions were just a little bit drier and about the same temperature as Friday we figured, but I guess it was different enough that my skis didn’t run,” Belcyzk, 26, said. The start of the race was delayed by 30 minutés after a snow cat knocked over a ski lift tower beside the course. The driver of the snowcat was killed and three persons in a gondola were injured when it crashed to the ground. SKIERS AIRLIFTED Skiers stranded in other gondolas, including racers Peter Mueller of Switzerland and Kyle Rasmussen of the United States, had to, be rescued by helicopter or ladders. “I think the thought of those people getting injured really threw some of us off,” Stemmle said. “It's really tough to see so many people enjoying skiing and then something terrible like this happens.” Don Stevens, 24, of Rossland, B.C., was 32nd in 1:59.36, while Michael Carney, 21, of Squamish, B.C., was 36th in 1:59.45. Daniel Moar, 22, of Revelstoke, B.C., was 50th with a time of 2:00.17, Ralf Socher, 20, of Fernie, B.C., was 73rd in 2:01.56, and Rob Bosinger, 21, of Banff, Alta., was 75th in 2:01.61. Rebels eke By CasNews Staff Sandy Renwick, Lorni Kanigan and Dave Terhune Warriors in KIJHL hockey action Friday night in Rossland. The Rebels took an early lead in the game when they got two goals within 17 seconds~in the first period. Renwick scored at the 4:36 mark. Jeff Adams and Taylor Harding got the assists. Walter Sheloff got the Rebels’ second goal at the 4:53 mark in the first from Terhune ~ and Dave