'Lacrosse Was My Love' Ex-NHL goalie Doug Favell being inducted into Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a Forward
By Bill Potrecz: St.Catharines Standard
Photo by Blair Gable
Wednesday August 24, 2005
ST.CATHARINES -- Doug Favell earned his living and became famous
stopping pucks as a National Hockey League goaltender, but it’s lacrosse
that’s always been nearest and dearest to his heart.
“Lacrosse was my love, my passion,” Favell said. “All the time, all the
years, I never made a nickel. It was for the love of the sport.”
Favell, who tended goal for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs
and Colorado Rockies from 1967-68 through 1978-79, was able to walk away
from hockey easily enough, but that wasn’t the case when he was forced
to quit playing lacrosse while with the Maple Leafs.
“It was really hard,” said Favell, who looks much younger than his 60
years. “When I quit hockey I could always go to a game, I never had a
problem. But I could never go to a lacrosse game.
“You always wanted to play and I never went to a game after I retired
until I went and saw the Junior A’s play in the Minto Cup 20 years
later. Hockey didn’t matter, but lacrosse was just a game you wanted to
play all the time.”
Favell’s success in the sport — he played junior A for the A’s, won a
Minto Cup with Oshawa in 1964, and then went on to play pro in Detroit
and Philadelphia — will be honoured Oct. 15 when he will be inducted
into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame at the St. Catharines Museum at
Lock 3.
“To join my dad (Doug Sr.) is wonderful, that’s really part of it,”
Favell said while briefly stopping to compose himself.
Doug Favell Sr. is a member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and
was automatically inducted when the Ontario Hall of Fame opened in 1997.
Favell gives his late father a healthy dose of credit for his success.
“He was a great influence,” Favell said. “He never made me play goal. He
just told me to go out and play and have fun. He could talk to me about
things and his background genetically was there.”
Favell admits his love of lacrosse at times interfered with his NHL
career. One April he had his back operated on after the season, but was
back playing forward for the Philadelphia Wings by the end of June.
During one training camp with the Maple Leafs, Favell remembers being on
the ice for two workouts a day, then sneaking off at night to play for
the Wings against Rochester in the league finals.
“Physically, I was in the best shape of my life but mentally, playing
lacrosse all summer and I’d been in the NHL seven years at that point, I
realized it wasn’t a good idea.”
In fact, Favell vividly remembers the point when he realized being a
two-sport athlete had finally caught up to him.
“I was going to a game one night in Toronto — I had already been in for
the morning skate — and I realized I didn’t even know who we were
playing that night,” he laughed. “I was driving up Jarvis Street with
Borje Salming and I said to him, ‘I know this is a stupid question, but
who are we playing tonight?’
“That’s when the bell went off, I was so mentally tired I couldn’t
focus. I had a bad year because I was mentally fatigued. It was
wonderful and I enjoyed it, but it was just too much.”
Favell has fond memories of playing lacrosse growing up in St.
Catharines.
“I’ve been playing since I was six years old,” he said. “We always
played outside at the Haig Bowl, and it was a wonderful atmosphere on a
summer night.
“It’s too bad they never went back to playing outdoor lacrosse. To me,
the game wasn’t the same went they moved indoors. It’s an outdoor game
and when they moved it indoors, it lost a lot of its appeal.”
Favell spent nine years in Colorado following his playing days including
a stint as a coach at Denver University. He’s also coached with the
Buffalo Sabres, helped out at Brock and was the head coach of the
Thorold Blackhawks
“It’s easy not to play, especially goal,” he smiled. “You don’t realize
until you’re out of the game how much pressure you’re under.”
When he’s not golfing or overseeing his wholesale car brokerage
business, Favell loves to golf, hang out at his cottage in Muskoka, and
spend time with his daughter Rhegan, son Corey and five young
grandchildren.
Other inductees this year are Chuck Baldwin of Mimico, Ray Broadworth of
Gloucester, Nelson Bally-Huff of Seneca Nation, Chuck Martin, Jr. of Six
Nations, Miro Martinello of Windsor, Janice Mt. Pleasant of Six Nations,
Alexander Roundpoint of Akwesasne, Joe Tomchyshyn of Etobicoke and David
White of Akwesasne.
Tickets for the dinner honouring this year’s inductees can be obtained
by calling Ken Croft at 905-988-5931.
THE SCOOP
Doug Favell
Born: April 5, 1945 in St.Catharines.
Duel sport athlete: Played 12 seasons in the NHL with Philadelphia
Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Rockies. Was also an
outstanding lacrosse player, suiting up for the St.Catharines Athletics,
Oshawa Green Gaels and Brooklin Redmen before turning pro with the
Detroit Olympians in 1968.
Good shot: Was a forward in lacrosse. Holds the record for the fastest
three goals in Minto Cup history, potting a hat trick in 11 seconds for
the Minto Cup champion Green Gaels in 1964. Also led the Niagara Falls
Flyers to a Memorial Cup the same season.
Family affair: Will be inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame
Oct. 15 joining his father. Doug Favell Sr. Is already a member of the
St.Catharines and Oshawa Hall of Fame.
Quote: “Lacrosse was my love, my passion.”
Secore Has Last Laugh As
Arrows Fly To Edmonton
By Ed O'Leary: Brantford Expositor
Wednesday August 24, 2005
OHSWEKEN -- Andy Secore wears a smile from ear to ear on his round face
these days.
The 21-year-old from Hamilton might be the happiest member of the Six
Nations Arrows as they board a jet this morning in Toronto to fly to
Edmonton to prepare for Thursday’s start of the Minto Cup tournament for
Canada’s junior A lacrosse championship.
“It’s the best organization I’ve ever played for from the fans to the
guys (teammates) to the coaching staff to Curt (Styres, director of team
personnel) to everybody,” Secore said Tuesday.
“They’re always looking out for everybody. If someone’s down, Randy
(Chrysler, head coach) and Curt will do anything to try to pick him up.
It’s like a big family in that dressing room. It’s perfect. You couldn’t
ask for any more.”
Secore has first-hand knowledge of what Chrysler and Styres will do for
their players.
Secore played five seasons with the Brampton Excelsiors and at the
conclusion of last season he asked to be traded to the Arrows so he
could finish his junior career with a winning organization.
The Excelsiors, who missed the playoffs in Secore’s first three seasons
and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in his next two
seasons, complied and made a deal with the Arrows last winter while
Secore was playing for the Brantford Golden Eagles junior B hockey team.
Tragedy struck Secore shortly after the trade was completed.
“I was going around the net and I had the puck,” Secore recalled. “I was
going to do a quick circle and (an opponent) tugged my skate out from
underneath me. I went into the boards awkwardly. I knew I hurt my knee
but I didn’t think it was that severe of an injury.”
Unfortunately, the injury was much more serious than Secore thought.
“I saw different doctors and they told me different things,” he noted.
“When I finally got my MRI done, the first doctor I saw said I’d be done
for a whole year.
“Then Randy and Curt took me to the States and we saw a doctor down
there who said he could get me back in four months. He said it wouldn’t
be perfect but I could play on it so I had to go for it.
“I owe a lot to Curt. He put gym equipment in there (Iroquois Lacrosse
Arena) so I could work on my knee every day. I was on crutches for four
weeks to a month and I lost all the muscle in my leg. It’s hard to get
it (muscle) on but it’s easy to lose it.”
Secore was on the sidelines for 4 1/2 months before returning to
competition.
“I only played a couple of regular-season games as I just wanted to get
ready for the playoffs,” he noted.
Secore played well in an Arrows golf tournament and his teammates were
quick to tease him about it.
“They said my golf game was good because I’d never made the playoffs
until I came here,” he joked.
The Arrows defeated the Ottawa Titans in a quarter-final playoff before
facing Secore’s former teammates, the Excelsiors, in a best-of-seven
semifinal.
When Brampton went up 3-1 in the series, Secore was tortured by the
Excelsiors.
“They were teasing me and hitting me pretty hard on the floor. I was
getting some cheap shots. We were down 3-1 to Brampton but I told the
guys I knew I made the right decision by getting traded here.
“They (Excelsiors) were laughing when they were beating us but at the
end when we were shaking hands I was the one with the big smile on my
face.”
The Arrows went on to defeat the Orangeville Northmen 4-1 in the Ontario
Lacrosse Association’s best-of-seven championship series to earn a berth
in the four-team Minto Cup tournament, which includes the British
Columbia champion Burnaby Lakers, the Alberta champion Calgary Raiders
and the host Edmonton Miners.
The teams play a round robin with the first-place squad advancing to a
best-of-three championship series. The second-and third-place teams will
play a sudden-death semifinal game.
The Arrows open the round robin against the Miners on Thursday at 9 p.m.
(Mountain time). They’ll play Burnaby on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
(Mountain) and Calgary on Sunday at 2 p.m. (Mountain).
The semifinal game is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. (Mountain). The
best-of-three final is set for Sept. 1, 2 and, if necessary, 3.
“There’s one goal and that’s to bring back the Minto,” Secore said.
“We’ve all got to be focused out there. We can’t think about anything
else.”
Rough Ride For Young Ojibway
By TOM CONAWAY: The Record
Tuesday August 23, 2005
KITCHENER-WATERLOO -- Sagkeeng Ojibway coach Mike Gilbert knew his young
team would take a pounding at this week's Presidents Cup national Senior
B championship tournament.
But after a tiring 27 1/2 hour bus trip from Winnipeg with a badly
depleted lineup, it was difficult to shrug off the kind of flogging
Edmonton's Sherwood Park Outlaws handed out.
The Outlaws romped 33-1 over the outmanned Manitobans, and forced them
to seek immediate help from the Canadian Lacrosse Association.
As a result, Ojibway will be bolstered by four or five players for
tonight's 8 p.m. start against the host Kitchener Kodiaks at the
Waterloo Recreation Complex.
The team hopes the new additions will enable them to offer stiffer
competition. But Ojibway now has no chance of advancing to medal play.
Their games have been declared exhibitions, which is fine with the
Manitobans who entered the event to provide their young players with a
learning experience.
"We let the CLA know we needed help," said the 52-year-old Gilbert, a
fill-in for regular coach Paul Guimond who's with the Manitoba juniors
at the Founder's Cup in Regina, Sask.
"They said they'd find us players, but our games would be exhibitions.
We're hoping to be more competitive for our last two games. We'll likely
get some players from the Six Nations and some from here.
Ojibway is one of three senior teams in the four-team Prairie Lacrosse
League. It finished second, but lost to the first-place Manitoba junior
all-stars in the championship final.
Since no other team in the province wanted to organize a team to compete
for the Presidents Cup, Ojibway captain Roland Bruyere organized the
trip.
"We have a lot of good players, and expected everyone to jump on board,"
said Gilbert, a high school vice-principal and teacher with the Sagkeeng
First Nation, 90 miles northeast of Winnipeg.
"Roland's brothers Trevor and Brunson (Bruyere) couldn't come. They're a
big part of our offence. And Julian and Marty Guimond, a couple of good,
young offensive players, got picked up by Team Manitoba for the
Founder's Cup."
Two other Guimond brothers and a few others didn't want to go. So
instead of 23 players, the Manitobans arrived with 13, including
47-year-old goaltender Glen Kerlin, who faced 88 shots in the opener.
Ojibway's other goaltender Mike Granovne couldn't come because of an
injury. The Manitobans lost another player in the opener when Jason Bunn
aggravated a sore ankle.
"We had money tied up in bus and hotel reservations, so we had to come,"
Gilbert said. "We wanted to leave at 9 on Saturday morning, but had to
call around for players and didn't get away until nearly 11.
"We had two drivers and came straight through. It's a long way bouncing
through Northern Ontario.
"It was hard to sleep. We watched TV and played cards. We arrived
yesterday (Sunday) at 4:30 p.m., and played in the morning. We needed a
practice to get the kinks out."
Not that it would have helped. Gilbert admits his club lacks skill and
is messed up because it's so shorthanded.
"A lot of coaches would have said forget it," said tournament convener
Jim Price of Thornhill. "It shows good character that they came. It's a
credit to them and the game of lacrosse."
'Dubie' Gets The Job Done
By CHRISTINE RIVET: The Record
Tuesday August 23, 2005
KITCHENER-WATERLOO -- Canada's best Senior "B" lacrosse teams are in
Waterloo this week; The gold-medal matchup goes Saturday at the Rec
Complex; Jamie Dubrick is the heart of the Kodiaks - to his opponents,
he's a pain in the neck.
He towers over most of his teammates and commands a sizeable chunk of
the crease when he sets up to defend his goaltender.
Admittedly, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks defenceman Jamie Dubrick is hard
to miss.
So the 28-year-old sales rep for a soft drink company was conspicuous by
his absence during most of the Ontario Lacrosse Association championship
Senior B final series and for much of the regular season.
Even so, Dubrick, who sat out to rest a long-injured Achilles tendon,
was a constant presence in practices and on the team bus despite having
to commute regularly from his home in London.
Some of the Kodiaks consider the mountain of a man they've dubbed
"Dubie" one of the team's unsung heroes.
He has, after all, guarded their backs for years.
To the general public, though, Dubrick, who has gained a reputation as
one of the game's most ferocious fighters, is a tad misunderstood.
"People think of Dubie as this big angry man," said Kodiaks defender
Charlie Parsons.
"But that's the furthest thing from the truth. He wants to be friends
with everyone."
With everyone on his own team, at least.
"Nobody really wants to do that job (team enforcer)," explained Kodiaks
goalie Steve Dietrich.
"Nobody likes to do it, anyways. But Dubie has always been the guy to
step up and protect his teammates. It's hard to do that job because
nobody is ever protecting you.
"He's probably the glue that keeps us together," Dietrich added.
Dubrick said it's been years since he dropped the gloves. Clearly, his
reputation has preceded him.
Dubrick who has been operating at about half-speed said he intends to be
on the floor for as much of this week's Presidents Cup national senior
lacrosse championship at the Waterloo Rec Complex as his body can
endure.
THE TEAM TO BEAT?
Most of the teams at the Presidents Cup have not had the luxury of
seeing each other in action before this tournament. That has made for
some anxious last-minute strategy changes.
"That's the hard part about this tournament. We don't really know what
we are up against," said Tri-City Bandits head coach Tony Delmonico,
whose squad from B.C. claimed a 14-6 win over Valleyfield, Que.,
yesterday.
"What you see is what you get. You have to feel each team out," he said.
Still, the word is already out on the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks.
"From what we understand, both teams coming out of the OLA (Ontario
Lacrosse Association) are both real good.
"The hosts from K-W dominated their final series, but we like to think
we are in there, too," he added.
RADIO-FREE KAHNAWAKE
The he-said/she-said radio announcer team of Kyle Zachary and Karlie
Goodleaf will broadcast all of the Iroquois Lacrosse Association
champion Kahnawake Mohawks' games at the Presidents Cup this week from
Waterloo.
The duo's broadcasts will be transmitted back to the Kahnawake Reserve's
radio station, CKRK, located just outside of Montreal, and beamed to
listeners in the Montreal region.
CKRK, which plays everything from hip hop to country, was recently voted
as Montreal's fourth favourite radio station.
The reserve has also dispatched a television crew from a production
company which will send tapes back to the Montreal area and plans to
televise them a couple of days later.
PRESIDENTS CUP AT A GLANCE
Yesterday's results
Sherwood Park (Alberta) 33 Sagkeeng Ojibway (Manitoba) 1
Tri-City Bandits (B.C.) 14 Valleyfield Warriors (Quebec) 6
Kahnawake Mohawks (Iroquois Lacrosse Association) 13
Mohawk Stars (Six Nations) 9
Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks 12 Onondaga Redhawks (Can-Am League) 6
Today's games
(All games to be played at Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex)
Tri-City Bandits vs. Kahnawake Mohawks, 9:30 a.m.
Sherwood Park vs. Onondaga Redhawks, 1 p.m.
Mohawk Stars vs. Valleyfield Warriors, 4:30 p.m.
Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks vs. Sagkeeng Ojibway, 8 p.m.
Tomorrow's games
Kahnawake Mohawks vs. Valleyfield Warriors, 9:30 p.m.
Sagkeeng Ojibway vs. Onondaga Redhawks, 1 p.m.
Mohawk Stars vs. Tri-City Bandits, 4:30 p.m.
Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks vs. Sherwood Park, 8 p.m.
Thursday's games
No games scheduled.
Friday's games
Semifinal, 4 p.m.
Semifinal, 8 p.m.
Saturday's games
Bronze-medal game (semifinal losers), 3 p.m.
Gold-medal game (semifinal winners), 8 p.m.
Tuesday August 23, 2005
WHITBY -- The Brooklin Redmen players, coaches, staff, management,
executive and fans gathered for the final time this season on Saturday
August 20, 2005. The occasion on this overcast Saturday was the annual
Redmen golf tournament and player awards ceremony at the Columbus Golf
and Country Club. Those in attendance agreed that it was far too early
to be holding an end of season party but that was the fact in this
disappointing season for the Redmen.
The team finished with a record of 4-14-0 for eight points. That placed
the Redmen in last place in the seven team Major Series Lacrosse loop,
two points out of the final playoff spot. Fans would have to take their
memories back to 1976 as the last time that the Redmen did not play in
the post-season.
There were some bright spots this season amongst the challenges that the
team went through. General Manager, Barry Johnson handed out the
following awards after the round of golf was concluded:
For The Love Of A Game
Presidents Cup Event All Set To Go
And 50 Volunteers To Make It Tick
By JEFF HICKS: The Record
Monday August 22, 2005
KITCHENER-WTERLOO -- Mark Cormack is a good volunteer.
So naturally, the director of volunteers for the Presidents Cup national
senior B lacrosse championships, which begin today in Waterloo, knows
what all good volunteers know.
"Good volunteers know that without them, things don't get done," said
Cormack, a 47-year-old millwright from Waterloo who has gathered plenty
of experience as a local sports volunteer over the last 20 years.
"If you don't have people there who give their time, then what I would
call amateur sport just doesn't fly."
With 50 sets of hands under Cormack's direction at the eight-team
tourney, the host Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks are confident things will
get done and spirits will fly by the end of the weeklong event with a
$50,000 budget.
There's much work to be done. Four games a day go at the Waterloo
Memorial Rec Complex today through Wednesday.
On Friday, there are two semifinals. On Saturday, the bronze and gold
medal games cap it all off as the Kodiaks battle the top senior B teams
in Canada for the title.
A lot of little jobs need doing. Errands. Game security. Making sure
teams staying at the Conestoga Residence and Conference Centre in
Kitchener are well taken care of.
Cormack says that, starting today, his volunteers have a chance to aid
the Kodiaks as the team hosts an event which will raise lacrosse's
profile.
"I think they're all here because they all love the sport of lacrosse,"
said Cormack, who was born in Manchester, England and came to Canada
with his family at age three.
"The volunteers want to help the Kodiaks in some way. It's a part of
their life, the entertainment. Now, they get a chance to give back."
Cormack has given back for two decades as sons Stephen and Andrew, now
20 and 24, grew up playing minor sports.
Dad helped out in T-ball, hockey and lacrosse.
Stephen, now a Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football player, also plays
with the Junior A Braves lacrosse team. Cormack is Braves secretary.
Cormack, who helped the Braves run the Minto Cup national Jr. A
championship event two years ago, points out that volunteering runs in
his family.
He recalls his mom Pat and late father Duncan started Kitchener's first
community school association, in the Howard Robertson area, and once ran
a youth drop-in centre.
Cormack's parents set the example their kids followed. His sister Jane,
who is volunteering at the Presidents Cup, is secretary-treasurer of K-W
minor lacrosse.
His brother Tom is a director for Waterloo minor hockey.
At one point, Tom was an executive member of both minor hockey and
baseball.
"I believe it comes about because of my parents," Cormack said.
"When you grow up in a house where volunteering is a way of life . . .
you just understand, I guess."
Volunteering is also hard work.
Today the Kodiaks Krew gets to it.
"I think we've got all our i's dotted and t's crossed," Cormack said.
"All we need now is for the games to begin."
Loads Of Talent At Presidents Cup
By JEFF HICKS: The Record
Sunday August 21, 2005
KITCHENER-WATERLOO -- A look at the teams competing in the Presidents
Cup National Senior "B" lacrosse championship next week in Waterloo.
DIETRICH DIVISION
Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks
Ontario champs
Coach-GM: Greg Hummel
Lowdown: The 2003 Prez Cup champs rode a nine-game win streak through
the Ontario playoffs, sweeping all three series en route to their first
provincial title. With 12 returnees from the national title in Owen
Sound two years ago, including goaltender Steve (Chugger) Dietrich, the
Kodiaks know how to approach the tourney's initial game-a-day pace.
"It's not a sprint," Dietrich said.
"If you have one setback you can't let it fester because you've got to
go back at it the next night."
Sherwood Park Outlaws
Rocky Mountain league champs
Coach: Earl Caron
Manager: Randy Poulin
Lowdown: The Edmonton-based Outlaws hosted and won Prez Cup in 2002.
With a dozen vets, they've been national tourney regulars the past
decade.
Caron is assistant coach with the NLL Calgary Roughnecks. Top guns
include Edmonton Rush pro Kevin Howard, Ben Prepchuk of the Colorado
Mammoth and Colin Sherbanuk.
Kodiaks and Outlaws got along off the floor at Prez Cup in 2003 when
Kodiaks had Edmonton's T. Pho Heng in the lineup. Kodiaks won 16-11 on
the floor.
Outlaws prez Erin Oor figures teams will underestimate the Outlaws.
Chugger won't. He rates the Outlaws, Kodiaks and Kahnawake as main
challengers to Onondaga.
Sagkeeng Ojibway
Prairie Lacrosse League
Coach: Mike Gilbert
Managers: Colette Eisinger
Lowdown: The Manitoba team from Sagkeeng First Nation, 120 kilometres
northeast of Winnipeg, is set for its first Prez Cup appearance. Team
captain Roland Bruyere, 33, played at last year's nationals with
Winnipeg Warhawks. Sagkeeng lost their league championship to the
Warhawks Jr. team this summer.
Bruyere's younger brothers Trevor and Brunson are among the young team's
most experienced players. Bruyere doesn't expect to win the Prez Cup and
says Sagkeeng is here mainly to give its youngsters a taste of
high-level competition. No NLL pros here.
If there is a Prez Cup weak sister, this mystery team may be it.
Onondaga Redhawks
Can-Am league champs
Coach: Murray Stout
Manager: Alf Jacques
Lowdown: Dietrich figures these upstate New York guys are the
favourites. They have a strong lineup with likely the most NLL-calibre
players in the tourney. Big names include Neil Powless, Gewas Schindler,
Brett Bucktooth, Scott Ditzell, Mike Abrams and Shenandoah boys Percy,
Wewoka and Ed. The Kodiaks face them opening night. Who made this sked,
anyway?
THORNLEY DIVISION
Tri-City Bandits
West Coast league champs
Coach: Tony Delmonico
Manager: Mike Petrie
Lowdown: This is Chugger's dark-horse contender. The Bandits finished
third in the B.C. loop, behind Langley and Ladner, then took the playoff
crown. This is the eighth trip to Prez Cup in 12 years for relocated,
renamed Burnaby Lakers franchise. They last won it all in '99 as Burnaby
Bandits.
Port Coquitlam-based Bandits and ace goalie Rick Mang knocked off
defending Prez Cup champion Ladner in the league semifinals.
Former Toronto Rock pro Russ Heard leads the charge. Edmonton NLL pro
Randy Daly won't make the trip. He's in management at Telus, which is
hit by a strike, and can't get time off.
Bandits were hit by tragedy last summer when player Kip Garraway died of
a heart attack during a game. He was 31. A plaque with his No. 55 hangs
on the team bench each game.
Kahnawake Mohawks
Iroquois Lacrosse Association
Coach: Barry Alfred
Manager: Al Diabo
Lowdown: Montreal-area Mohawks lost Prez Cup final 6-3 to the B.C.'s
Ladner Pioneers last August and are eager to get back to the final in
their third straight tourney appearance.
Top players for well-balanced Mohawks include Louis Alfred, Bobby
Delaronde and Al Jones. Mohawks games in Waterloo are being broadcast
live on Kahnawake radio station 103.7 FM. The word Kahnawake means "on
the rapids."
Chugger is wary of these guys. Beware Mike Henderson, Roger Maxwell, Tom
Phair and goalie Derek Collins.
Valleyfield Warriors
Quebec champs
Coach: Gaylord Thomas
Manager: Kanahstasti Jacobs
Lowdown: Expansion franchise Warriors knocked off three-time defending
Windsor, Que., to take the title in Quebec loop, which was revived in
2002 after a 19-year slumber. Coach-part owner Thomas is Ontario Hall of
Fame player. His girlfriend Jacobs is GM. Valleyfield is just west of
Montreal.
Top players include former Ottawa Rebel pros Chris Konopliff, Jason
Tasse, Pat Collins and D.J. Serr. Konopliff can't make Prez Cup due to
work.
Watch out for Montreal Express draft pick Lance Mitchell and brother
Lucas. Chugger's advice: Take these guys seriously or they'll burn you.
Mohawk Stars
Ontario finalists
Coach: Jim Squire
Manager: Wayne Miller
Lowdown: Six Nations-based Mohawks got mauled by the Kodiaks in the
Ontario final.
"They killed us," said Stars goalie Ryan Avery after a three-game
Kodiaks sweep. Mohawks like to play it rough but have top-notch scoring
threats in Jason Henhawk, Vern Hill, Dus Nanticoke and Stu Johnson.
Beware the Stars, says Chugger.
They rested Henhawk late in the Ontario final and, with an automatic
Prez Cup berth in hand, may have been looking ahead to the nationals.
Excelsiors Eye Berth In Mann Cup
From The Brampton Guardian
Sunday August 21, 2005
BRAMPTON -- When the Brampton Excelsiors started the 2005 Majors Series
lacrosse season, there were doubts as to how much success the team would
have this season.
With several veteran players gone, and a new coach in Troy Cordingly,
just how would the Excelsiors fair?
But they are back looking for yet another berth in the Mann Cup,
emblematic of senior lacrosse supremacy in Canada.
The Excelsiors, who finished the regular season in second spot with a
11-5-1 record, downed the Barrie Lakeshores 5-4 in overtime on Monday to
earn another trip to the Eastern Canadian finals. They won that series
four games to two, after opening up a 3-0 lead in the series.
But the job is far from over.
The defending Canadian champion Peterborough Lakers, who finished first
with a 14-4 mark, stand in the way of a trip to British Columbia for the
Excelsiors.
The Excelsiors won two of three meetings with the Lakers this season,
downing the Lakers 14-10 and 14-12 in the first two meetings, before
dropping a 12-8 decision in Peterborough on July 14.
The two squads open the series tonight in Peterborough at 8 p.m. at the
Peterborough Memorial Centre with game two back at the Brampton Centre
for Sports and Entertainment on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Game three is slated for Peterborough on Thursday with game four back in
Brampton on Saturday at 7 p.m. Game five, if necessary, will be in
Peterborough next Sunday evening at 7 p.m. with a sixth contest in
Brampton Tuesday, Aug. 30. The series would wrap up, with a seventh and
deciding game, in Peterborough on Thursday, Sept. 1.
Last year the two teams went the limit before the Lakers prevailed.
Brampton VS Peterborough
Sun Aug/21 Brampton at Peterborough 8:00 PM
Tue Aug/23 Peterborough at Brampton 8:00 PM
Thu Aug/25 Brampton at Peterborough 8:00 PM
Sat Aug/27 Peterborough at Brampton 7:00 PM
Sun Aug/28 Brampton at Peterborough 7:00 PM
Tue Aug/30 Peterborough at Brampton 8:00 PM
Thu Sep/1 Brampton at Peterborough 8:00 PM
The Buzz
Rocked Maplegrove This Season
By Norm Nelson: Oakville Beaver
Photos by Ron Pallister
Saturday August 20, 2005
OAKVILLE -- For a team that only won its very first playoff series this
season, the Oakville Buzz sure put together a great playoff run.
Unfortunately, it fell agonizingly short of a trip to the Founders Cup
national championship in Saskatoon with a 9-8 loss in Elora Thursday
night to the Elora Mohawks.
The Mohawks now head out to Saskatoon for the Founders Cup which kicks
off Tuesday.
The Mohawks won the Ontario Lacrosse Association best-of-five series --
pitting the two best Jr. B lacrosse teams in the province -- in four
games.
"It hurts," said Buzz coach Glen Little on Friday morning.
"I had a lot of tears in that room last night (Thursday). A lot of kids
that were in tears last night ... they were just disappointed because
they wanted to go to Saskatoon. This was our goal from the get-go. And
it was tears of disappointment.
"The thing was, if we didn't show emotion
then I'd be upset.
"This club was a phenomenal club to coach
and be around. These young men were
tremendous to coach. It was just a joy.
They should be very proud of themselves."
The Buzz dropped the first two games of
the series last weekend but then put them-
selves right back in the picture with a 9-4
win before hundreds of appreciative fans at
a packed Maplegrove Arena on Tuesday night.
And you can be sure every one of those players and the coaching staff
would have liked nothing more than to have convened a gathering back at
Maplegrove Arena last night (Friday) for Game 5.
"I think what it was, we had played a tough series against Akwesasne.
But they played a different brand than Elora did.
"Elora had seasoned veterans that had been to this war before. And we
had to learn to play the war. We played the new millennium lacrosse --
run and gun and hit and stick, and not a lot of pounding.
"We said, look, if they (Elora) are giving it, you give it. If they're
getting away with it, you give it right back. You get down to 60s/70s
lacrosse. If you got to bang and smash, you bang and smash. You outbang
and outsmash them and that's what we did the last two games. And that's
why the series turned around.
"A goal here, a goal there, we're playing (Friday) night.
"The kids all year long learned how to take it to another level ... we
just came up one step short.
"For a very overall young team, you can't say enough about their
abilities and about their dedication to the Buzz."
Coach Little said the game started out a bit wide open with Elora taking
a 5-4 edge into the first intermission.
"The second period, we came out, we played real strong. We played better
'D' so (goalie Gary) Muzzin was able to really show his talent. He stood
on his head in the second period with some great saves -- keeping us in
it."
The offence, meanwhile, gave the Buzz a 7-6 lead heading into the second
intermission.
"We had a power play to start the third. We hit a couple of posts,
couple of missed opportunities."
Elora, with the home crowd behind them, managed a mini three-goal run --
which turned out to be just enough.
Oakville scored with an extra attacker to make it 9-8 with still more
than two minutes remaining to set up a nailbiting finish.
Oakville had another couple of opportunities, and looked like they would
have one last crack at the can when Chris Corbeil, with about 40 seconds
remaining, "made a nice strip" to give the Buzz the ball back.
Unfortunately, in the confusion, Corbeil called for a timeout -- a
timeout that the Buzz didn't have. And the ball reverted back to Elora.
No one felt worse for the player than coach Little.
"He (Corbeil) did a Chris Webber ... He didn't realize we only had one
time out. He played his ass off, played great all year long, it was just
a mistake."
But what a season it was for the Buzz, tops in the eastern conference
with a 17-2-1 record and then going on a playoff run to win the eastern
conference championship in four games over Akwesasne, after three-game
sweeps over the Halton Bulldogs and the Huntsville Hawks.
They had Maplegrove rockin' this year.
The Buzz are: Craig Willis, Gary Muzzin, Drew Petkoff, Dan Macrae, Chris
Moulson, Brendan Farrer, Sean Gillies, Justin Wilson-Kirby, Kyle Hagel,
Bobby Debrone, Brenden Thenhaus, Mike Bentivegna, Chris Downey, Josh
Smyth, Eric Beatty, Jon Hagel, Chris Corbeil, Craig Henderson, Dylan
MacDougall, Bryan Johnson, Mike Knight, Chad Brownlee, Andrew MacMillan
and Sean Thompson.
Head coach Glen Little, assistant head coach Shawn Cardy, assistant
coaches Craig Hedley, Scott MacDonald, goaltending coach Mark Baldini,
general manager Roger Thenhaus and trainer Kim Fleming.
It's Showtime
Senior "B" Championship
Begins Monday at Waterloo Rec Complex
By JEFF HICKS: The record
Saturday August 20, 2005
KITCHENER-WATERLOO -- Stephen Dietrich is a deep thinker.
Right now, with the Presidents Cup national Senior B lacrosse
championship looming, the ace goalie for the Ontario champion and
tourney host Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks has to be.
Dietrich, who is about to play in his third Presidents Cup tourney in
the last four years, says there's nothing shallow about the eight-team
pool which begins the week-long event with four games at the Waterloo
Memorial Recreation Complex on Monday.
"There's not going to be a weak sister in this thing," said Dietrich,
who goes by the nickname Chugger and was the National Lacrosse League's
goalie of the year for the Buffalo Bandits.
"It's probably going to be the deepest Presidents Cup in years."
Dietrich is as much of a Prez Cup expert as anybody. He helped the
Kodiaks to the 2003 crown in Owen Sound in the year of their re-birth
after an 18-year hiatus. He also played for Owen Sound at the 2002 event
in Edmonton, when the host Outlaws prevailed.
Dietrich, a 35-year-old Kitchener native, believes this event may be the
most competitive of recent tourneys with most rosters sprinkled with NLL
or NLL-calibre winter pro players
For Dietrich, this may also be the most emotional Presidents Cup.
Dietrich's Kodiaks begin tourney play in a four-team division named in
memory of his late mother Ruth, a devoted lacrosse volunteer who was
instrumental in reviving the Kodiaks before she died of lung cancer at
58.
The Kodiaks wear the initials "RD" on the front of their game jerseys.
"This was her dream -- having the team and hosting this tournament,"
said Dietrich, who is grateful the Kodiaks continue to celebrate his
mom's memory. "This was her ultimate dream."
The other division is named in honour of the Thornley family, another
devoted Kitchener lacrosse clan which has dealt with loss in recent
years.
Ted Thornley, whose son James graduated as captain of the junior A
Braves last summer, died of a heart attack five years ago. Last January,
James survived an Ohio car crash which claimed the lives of his mom
Karen and oldest sister Vicki. With the care of sister Kerri, James has
made a remarkable recovery.
NEED TO KNOW
What is it: Eight-team national Senior "B" lacrosse championship
tournament.
Where: Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex
When: Monday-Saturday
How It Works: Eight teams compete in two four-team divisions beginning
Monday. Top two in each division advance to semifinals on Friday.
First-place in one division plays second in the other. Medal games go
next Saturday. Dietrich figures a 2-1 (won-lost) record earns a
semifinal spot. Last summer, the Ladner Pioneers advanced at 1-2 and
beat Kahnawake 6-3 in the Prez Cup final in Langley, B.C.
Exotic Dancers
And Lacrosse Don't Mix
How The Green Gaels Won In 2002
From durham.com
Saturday August 20, 2005
BOWMANVILLE -- Nostalgic or comedic? Depends on what side of the fence
you sit.
The long past weekend series between the Clarington Green Gaels and
Akwesasne Lightning conjures up memories of a similar such encounter
a couple of years back, which is still etched in the minds of many in
these parts who were around to watch, and couldn't believe what they
were seeing.
Let me take you back to 2002, when the Green Gaels were matched against
Onondaga (near Syracuse) in the Ontario semifinals, the winner earning
the right to advance to the Founder's Cup national Jr. B lacrosse
championship because the provincial league was granted three entries
that summer: the host Halton Hills, plus the two teams reaching the
final.
Onondaga entered the series as the prohibitive favourite after an 18-3-0
season, besting the Green Gaels, who finished 16-5-1. Also in their
favour was a convincing home floor 14-7 victory at the outset of the
season.
So, as the higher seed, Onondaga had the option of hosting the opening
two games of the best-of-five and then travelling back to Bowmanville
for the remaining three if needed, or reversing it and starting on the
road. They opted to host Games 1 and 2, promptly laying a beating on the
Green Gaels by scores of 13-5 and 12-3.
Now here's where it gets interesting.
On the return trip to Bowmanville the following weekend, the Green Gaels
pulled out an 11-7 victory on the Friday night, prompting a Game 4 the
following day. It sent Onondaga officials scrambling for the phones,
trying to arrange for hotel rooms that were not booked in advance.
Smug to think they would win and return home with a sweep, or just an
oversight by management? You decide.
With various events taking up many of the hotel rooms in the immediate
area, the team was forced to stay as far away as the Toronto airport for
the night.
Returning the next day in an attempt to close out the series, Onondaga
was foiled again, dropping a close 8-6 decision.
Again, with no hotel rooms booked as a safeguard, Onondaga was on the
hunt for accommodations, this time getting something a little closer at
the old Dynasty Inn just south of Hwy. 401 in Oshawa. At the time, the
hotel was a haven for exotic dancers.
A group of kids, far away from home, some of them legal drinking age,
staying in a hotel with strippers.
Wipe the smirk off your face.
Needless to say, the Green Gaels were the better team the following day
in Game 5, winning 7-6. A trip to the Founder's Cup later that month
produced a national lacrosse championship.
Members of the team that year look back with a sense of nostalgia as
they admire their championship rings. The rest of us find the whole
thing funny.
Transplanted Westerner Returns
To Roots
By Don Barrie: Peterborough Examiner
Saturday August 20, 2005
PETERBOROUGH -- You may be able to take the lacrosse player out of
Peterborough but you can’t take the Peterborough out of him.
Jim Gow grew up in the city, played minor and junior lacrosse here
before joining the National Lacrosse League in 1975.
When it folded and the Ontario Lacrosse Association in one of its all
too frequent brain cramps, banned all returning pros from OLA major
lacrosse, Jim headed west.
Many of the banished Ontario players including 10 from Peterborough went
to the Western Lacrosse Association, Jim with Victoria. He later settled
in the B.C. capital, became a physiotherapist and also very active in
Victoria minor lacrosse.
This spring Jim was appointed the coach and general manager of the
British Columbia peewee team, entered in last week’s Canadian Peewee
Lacrosse championships in Whitby.
The team’s 12-day trip across the country included some quality time for
the 12-year-olds and their families in the Peterborough area.
Jim chronicled the adventure.
“The intent of the trip,” Jim wrote, “was to expose the young B.C.
players to as much lacrosse culture as possible in their trip to
Ontario. Hanging out only in Whitby did not fully cover this objective.”
Jim’s early playing career included a year when he and his midget
teammates finished the Peterborough Junior A TeePees schedule in 1969
when most of the junior players quit the team.
The midgets, playing against juniors, were lambasted by scores like 44-4
by players up to six years older than them.
When that bunch of players grew into the junior league and in 1974 went
undefeated on the way to the Minto Cup, Jim, best known for the dry
under-statement, best summed up the five-year journey.
When the reporter asked Jim what the win was like for the then called
Peterborough P.C.O.’s, he replied, “To really know how sweet this is you
had to have played for the TeePees.”
This week in a thank you to Peterborough, the much more verbal Jim
described the hectic itinerary of his team.
“The B.C. team arrived in Toronto at 10 p.m. July 27, arriving at the
Durham (University) dorms in Oshawa just after midnight.
“Up at 8:30 a.m., they arrived at the Memorial Centre at 10:30,” Jim
wrote.
Jim Wasson, director of the Lakers Lacrosse School at the Memorial
Centre and a former teammate of Jim, helped co-ordinate the floor time
for the B.C. team with the school program.
Jim Gow added, “At our request Jim and nephew Josh Wasson held an
impromptu clinic on face-offs with five or six of the Team B.C.
peewees.”
Later Gow had a chance meeting with lacrosse legend Bob Allan.
He invited Bob to the team’s afternoon practice.
Bob agreed, delaying his return to his Stoney Lake cottage.
Interestingly the B.C. players had just read about Bob in a lacrosse
magazine on the plane the day before.
A 20-minute session with the team’s power-play unit turned into two
hours.
“The young players quickly realized the intent and extent of the
information Bob was discussing,” Jim wrote, “would impact on how they
played. They soaked up every word, like sponges.
“The adult team chaperones insidiously made their way to the floor to
listen with their sons. My only wish (referring to the two coaching
sessions) was I would have had a video camera.”
Both Bob Allan and Jim Wasson had played senior lacrosse in Nanaimo, a
fact not lost on the players or parents.
After an afternoon at the Gow family cottage on Tindle Bay they returned
to the Memorial Centre to see the Merit Precision Juniors playoff game
and link up with their billets, members of the Peterborough peewee team.
The next day of practices and touring saw Jim taking his young charges
to his roots, the outdoors lacrosse bowl on Park Street.
Built on the original floor of the Civic Arena where Jim played much of
his minor lacrosse, it became a rather hot and steamy practice site for
the team.
The players cooled off in the adjacent wading pool, a luxury Jim never
had in his minor lacrosse days.
Later the B.C. team and the Peterborough peewees had a friendly game,
even exchanging players.
The practicing and extra coaching didn’t have immediate results for the
young westerners.
They ended up a disappointing fourth place; the title won by the Ontario
team sporting three players from Peterborough.
Jim concluded his letter to the citizens of Peterborough, “The highlight
(of the trip) was the cultural experiences in Peterborough – both
lacrosse wise and from the billeting families.”
If the KC Lakers win the OLA crown, there is a chance the Mann Cup
series will be played in Victoria.
The KC Lakers may not receive the welcome and hospitality the young B.C.
peewees did here in Peterborough but undoubtedly there will be some
12-year-old players looking on who will feel a special affinity towards
the Peterborough players because of their time in our city.
Don Barrie is a retired schoolteacher, former scout
for the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and a member of the
Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Peterborough
and District Sports Hall of Fame.
Don has been active in lacrosse; coaching at the
minor, high school, junior, major, professional and
international levels. In 1978 he was a coach on the
Canadian National Field Lacrosse team that won the
World Championship.
He writes a sports column in the Examiner and has
published three books on athletics in the city.
