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Pa ge 2 6 T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 3 1, 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a 312 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com Tues. Jan 05, 2016 7:30 pm at Mold-Masters Sports Plex Georgetown Raiders vs. Oakville Blades SPORTS Comingup Tickets are sold out for the annual charity hockey game between the Halton Hills Fire Dept. and Toronto Maple Leafs Alumni Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Alcott Arena, with proceeds going to CAShh. Halton Hills Blue Fins' head coach Chris Henderson congratulates PARA swim- mer Nicholas Schwiegl on his four-medal performance, which included a gold and three bronze at the recent Ontario Age Group Championships in Etobicoke. Submitted photo The Halton Hills Blue Fins enjoyed a strong showing earlier this month at the Ontario Age Group Champi- onships in Etobicoke. Nicholas Schwiegl, the HHBF's top PARA swimmer, raced his way to three provincial bronze medals and a gold in the 200m freestyle. Other swims of note included Quinn West's 1,500m free club record swim, Livy Olson's 200m butterfly club record and a na- tional qualifying time and the girls' 15-and-over relay team (Katherine Peel, Emily Collis, Livy Olson & Shannon Jickling) broke two club records in the 200m and 400m medley. Anyone interested in join- ing the Blue Fins contact info@hal- tonhillsbluefins.ca McCauley gets 'Caul' for Classic It won't be his first outdoor game as a National Hock- ey League referee, but this Friday's Winter Classic at Foxborough, Mass. between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens still carries some special signifi- cance for local native Wes McCauley. With about 70,000 spectators set to fill Gillette Sta- dium for the Original Six clash, the 2016 event is a lot larger than McCauley's first outdoor assignment in 2014 at New York's Yankee Stadium and it's essentially a home game for the 10-year full-time official as he re- sides in nearby Maine. "They're saying the weather is supposed to be good and having done the game two years ago, it was really surreal to be standing in centre field in Yankee Stadi- um, looking around and seeing 50,000 people. All you can say is 'wow.'" said McCauley, who'll preside over matters alongside Kevin Pollock of Guelph. "Growing up in Georgetown, we'd play outside a lot and now that I'm 43, who would've thought there'd be that many fans watching a hockey game in a foot- ball stadium someday?" McCauley is also looking forward to skating with wife Bethany and their three kids at the Gillette Sta- dium rink the day before the Winter Classic. He has officiated several Stanley Cup final games and is expecting the usually intense matchup with the Habs and Bruins, who are neck and neck for top spot in the Atlantic Division-- joking that the alumni game between the two storied clubs might be even rougher. "I know it's a regular-season game, but it almost brings out a Game 7 atmosphere to it and all the eyes of the hockey world are watching," he added. "You just try to embrace the experience and enjoy it. At the end of the day, you want to stay off the high- light reel." Wes's father John was also a longtime NHL referee and subsequently its director of officiating before dy- ing unexpectedly in 1988 at age 44 due to complica- tions from emergency surgery. Burlington's Ron Foxcroft, a basketball official and successful businessman who developed the Fox 40 line of whistles, dedicated a model called The Caul in memory of John that will be used for the first time in Friday's Winter Classic. "It will definitely help with the open stadium," said Wes, a defenceman at Michigan State University taken in the eighth round of the 1990 NHL Draft by Detroit. "Fox 40 did a nice job with them. They say if it gets cold, the Caul doesn't freeze, and we won't have to worry about a whistle malfunction." Another NHL outdoor contest is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20 in Minnesota as the Wild hosts the Chicago Blackhawks, with Georgetown's Rod Pasma overseeing the Stadium Series game as the league's senior director of hockey operations. Town of Halton Hills councillor and former NHL director of officiating Bryan Lewis will serve as the referee for the alumni af- fair with the North Stars and 'Hawks. Medal haul for Schwiegl Georgetown's Wes McCauley has been assigned to offici- ate the New Year's Day Winter Classic pitting the host Bos- ton Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens in the home of the NFL's New England Patriots. Submitted photo Burlington, Ont.-based Fox 40 has presented the National Hock- ey League with specially designed whistles for the 2016 Winter Classic as a tribute to late Georgetown resident John McCauley. By Eamonn Maher emaher@theifp.ca Capping off his 2015 competitive season on the podium, local resident Je'Land Sydney raced to victory at the Ontario Cup #1 track race held earlier this month at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre's velodrome in Milton. The 16-year-old Georgetown District High School student won the junior men's Kerin final after also finishing first in the qualifying heat. Sydney, a native of Trinidad who moved to Georgetown a few months ago to be closer to the velodrome, is a member of the London-based Kallisto Cycling Club at the Forest City Velodrome. File photo Sydney wheels his way to gold