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By JACK GATECLIFF: ST.CATHARINES STANDARD

MONDAY MAY 17, 1954

ST.CATHARINES -- With the exception of the usual round of banquets accorded championship clubs, hockey in St.Catharines was finished Sunday afternoon and while it was a long season, no one can deny that it was also the most thrilling ever experienced in this immediate area. President G. A. Stauffer, Coach Rudy Pilous and the players are to be congratulated on providing so many fans so many hours of real sports enjoyment and entertainment.

Now the summer season has arrived and the Athletics immediately followed the lead of the Teepees Sunday afternoon by winning themselves a lacrosse game in Hamilton last night. The victory wasn’t the only important development in the Athletics plans for 1954.

Coach Doug Cove was happy to announce that two more players had been added to the double blue roster in the persons of Ken (Weiner) Croft and Norm Corcoran. Croft, a native of Port Dalhousie, learned his lacrosse and hockey here but for the past few seasons has played for such teams as the Quebec Aces, Toronto Yorks and the Orillia Terriers. Now he’s back in the Athletic jersey where he belongs and should add plenty of scoring power.

Norm Corcoran also decided to give up his plans of quitting sport for the summer and along with Croft made his 1954 debut in Hamilton last evening. Now Covey has almost too many players on his hands and will have to start snipping within the next couple of weeks to stay within the designated signing limit.

Some criticism has been tossed around concerning the relatively small four-team senior league this year. However that game in Hamilton proved that the group this year may just produce the kind of evenly balanced games which can bring lacrosse back in a big way.

“I’ve been insisting for weeks that there won’t be a “soft” game all year,” stated Doug Cove last night. “Now I know I was right. When those Tigers get some conditioning They’ll be just as tough to beat as Peterboro. Should be a real scramble for the playoffs.”

Right now there doesn’t seem to be more than a whisker separating the strength of the four competing teams. The power of the Mann Cup champion Peterboro Trailermen was amply illustrated here Friday night and now the Tigers have shown the doubters that they’ll be contenders.

Fans around Mimico was, including OLA Secretary C. W. Rowan, insist that the Mounties are the best in ten years. They can prove those claims Saturday night when the move into Garden City Arena for the second home game of the Athletic schedule.

The two Native (TC edit) stars with the Athletics this year, Roger Smith and Ross Powless came up with a vastly improved display in Hamilton as compared to the opening start here Friday. Roger the dodger was running like a frightened gazelle and several times out-footed the entire Hamilton team only to lose goals on great stops by Bud Smith.

Powless also returned to the form which is all too well remembered in his Peterboro days and now that they have settled in Athletic uniforms they should form a potent one-two punch. They are the type of players who bring lacrosse fans back game after game.

With the win-loss average now at .500 the Athletics have a stern assignment Friday night when they make their first long trip to Peterboro. The Petes shattered any super-confidence the A’s may have built up when they scored a 10-9 victory here opening night but with the first game jitters now a thing of the past you can look for a better result Friday.

Proud Pappa Corner . . .Don ("Ook") Frick didn’t make the trip to Hamilton with the Athletics last night and for a very good reason. Yesterday afternoon Don and Kaye Frick became the proud parents of a seven pound, four ounce future Athletic and Teepee great. Mother and son are doing well but the old man still looked slightly shaken when he was passing out the seegars.