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PAGE 14 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ AUGUST 10,2005 durhamregion.com Sports ■ Œfj t Canadian Statesman ♦ durhamregion.com Mills Brad Kelly Luey walks away from Green Gaels Served five years as general manager Doug Luey kept his word. Five years ago when he came aboard as the general manager of the Claring- tori Green Gaels, the Whitby resident vowed that his tenure would be five, years, hoping to accomplish everything everything he wqnted in that time frame. Well) Five years later, and with two Founder's Cup Canadian Jr. B lacrosse titles to his credit, Luey is holding true to that initial commitment, and walking walking away. "After, years three and four I thought that I might stay on. But at the end of last year, I knew I needed to get out." Before you go making any assumptions, assumptions, Luey is leaving om his own accord. There isn't an underlying storyline^ storyline^ zatiol It's fa story about à guy, an original Green Gael from back in the 1970s, who always wanted to return to the team that has th e shamrock emblazoned emblazoned on the front of the jersey. When that opportunity came about in 2001, he walked away from 15 years of service in the Whitby Minor Lacrosse Association to try his hand at building building a national championship junior lacrosse team.' Mission accomplished. "That 2002 Founder's Cup when we lost to St. Catharines in the Ontario final, but ended up beating Haltom Hills in their rink in the semifinals and then St. Catharines in the final is probably probably the highlight," he says of that first crown! Indeed the Green Gaels made the most of their chances that year, advancing to the Founder's because they were East Conference champions, despite losing to the West Conference Conference champion St. Catharines in three straight games in the league final. But like most Green Gaels teams, they got the job done when it mattered most, much in the same fashion as they did in 2004 in Elora, earning Luey his second national title. "I'm pretty pleased with the way things are being left," he says of the organization that continues to gain in popularity in the community. "We have a great game day staff and volunteer base. "On the floor, team structure wise, everything is good. With the players players coming out of the Whitby minor and with Clarington graduating players soon from the minor program, there is lots of talent." If there has been a downside, it's the changing Ways of the commitment level of the players in some cases. "The commitment level is less than what I expected and what was expected of us when I played," he points out. , He intends to do some name dropping to the steering committee in regards to hiring a replacement, with hopes of introducing a new general manager at a meeting of the Jr. B council in October. October. ' When asked if there was a chance that person could be himself, he chose his word carefully. "No." As for the future, he plans to dedicate more time to his family, especially if, he follows through with a plan to retire front his material management position position at General Motors in the spring. As for other offers, there have been some from that have come in from Jr. A and Senior programs, but Luey intends to take a full year off from the game, enjoying some free time for a change. A well-deserved summer vacation, something that has been hard to come by the past live years, in the money again Moves into fifth spot with $251,308 m earnings on Nationwide Tour rVIflJ ICJ OMAHA, Nebraska - Jon Mills -Vj solidified his hold on a PGA card with a third-place finish at the Nationwide j Cox Classic on the weekend. In his first tournament since winning the Canadian PGÀ Championship in Cambridge, the 27-year-old Oshawa native ended up in a three-way tie for third spot after carding a 19-under 265 Cjj (67-60-71-67) at the Champions Run*** course in Omaha. >£« With a $32,500 pay day, Mills brought 2*2 his season earn- VvEt ings to $251,308 and moved up a spot to fifth on the Nationwide . Order of Merit. The top-20 at season's end earn PGA cards. Mills . was four strokes off the pace set by Jason Gore, who Jon Mills needed a playoff to win the third, straight tournament he has ' entered. £*$ Gore has earned an instant promotion to ft® the PGA Tour as a three-time winner.:. In 16 events this season, Mills has -j**. finished in the top-3 five times and the top-10 seven times, v; , V : There are 12 tournaments left on ;■£*§ the Nationwide calendar, include this week's Price Cutter Charity Champion- -'K ship in Springfield, Missouri.. >|| On the Canadian Tour, meanwhile, Whitby's Eddie Maunder earned his $$1 >Tii8 48 first paycheque of the season after fin- >?'. ishing tied for 34th at the Montreal Open. Rounds of 73-74-69-75 left him 11-over-par and earned him $1,088. A.J. Groen/The Canadian Statesman Watch it WHITBY - Brydén Albright (8) keeps a close eye on an approaching Mimico player during the Ontario Novice Lacrosse Championships held in Whitby. The Clarington #2 team advanced all the way to the semifinals before an 8-3 loss to Orangeville #2 eliminated the Gaels. - an easy Oshawa's Derek Gillespie finished V 62nd after rounds of 77-70-76-75, earn- ing $300 and dropping him from fourth -2K to sixth on the Order of Merit. The Canadian Tour takes a bit of a sabbatical, riot returning to action until the Bay Mills Open Players Champi- jCj onship at the Wild Bluff Golf Club in *-*« Brimley, MI, from Aug. 26-28. Total purse is $200,000. 3*5 ■:Æ m Veteran centre selected to lead Bowmanville BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor BOWMANVILLE - There will be an endless amount of difficult decisions decisions made by the coaching staff as the season unfolds for the Bowmanville Bowmanville Eagles. Naming the team's captain for the upcoming season wasn't one of them. Brad Dormiedy, the slick fourth-year ■centre from Ajax, was announced as the club's new captain for the 2005/06 Provincial Jr. A League season during a press conference on Monday afternoon at the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex. "It was a very easy decision," said coach Curtis Hodgins of selecting a new leader for the hockey club. "We were looking for a player, that has the respect in the dressing room, He's a heart and soul guy who will do anything for the team. Vocally, he's not afraid to step up in the room, and on the ice you couldn't ask for anything more." This season will be the fourth in an Eagles uniform for Dormiedy, who is coming off a season in which lie had 16* 19-35 totals in 38 games, finishing second second in team scoring. Popular with both A.J. Groen/The Canadian Statesman Players expected to contribute to the Bowmanville Eagles this season include, clockwise from left, Brad Dormiedy, Jeff Oke, Luke Oakley and Dustin Ekclman. his teammates and fans, lie was selected for the Fan Favourite by those casting a vote at home games. "It's definitely an honour," said the 20- ycar-old of wearing the 'C'. "Willi the three captains we have had since I have been here (Nick Stacey, Matt Caruana and Kyle Branson) they arc held in the highest regard in the organization, so it's an honour to be captain. "I'm rcildy to step it up and take the lead of this team." Due to age graduation, this will be Dormicdy's last season of eligibility in the league, Although, when the previous campaign concluded, he thought he had played his last game with the Eagles, having obtained a scholarship to Lake Forest College in Chicago, When that . fell through, he opted to return to the >2 Eagles. >2' While the letter on the front of his v* sweater will change, having served as an »*3J ■ assistant last season, his game will likely remain the same. ' .' "Some guys may battle a little of the pressure with the 'C' on their shirt, but >2* not Brad. It's not a concern at all with <1*. us," noted Hodgins. . Dormiedy, who idolized the leader- ship style of Doug Gilmour growing up, 'K doesn't expect to alter his style at all. "At the end of the day it's a letter on the jersey. I like to lead by example on the ice and I won't change that because there is a different letter on my jersey." THE SCOOP - Also introdu at the press conference were 16-year- ►t" olds Loukc Oakley and Dustin Ekei- •>> man. The Canadian Hockey Associa- $2* lion passed a resolution restricting each ( \3 junior team to just two 16-year-olds on " ,K the roster. Last season, the Eagles had ,, nl , six players who were 16...Jeff Oke, who <* "" is back to rebuild his game after a season at Lake Superior State, was also present. ; Æ '; He was part of the Eastern Conference 2.": championship team in 2003/04. He plans to return to Lake Superior State after this "" " season...The first practice for training camp in Sunday, Aug. 21, with the exhibition exhibition schedule opening Friday, Aug. 26 at home to the Oshawa Legionaircs at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles will play six pre- season games.