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•T he IF P• H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, J un e 20 , 2 01 3 40 15 MOUNTAINVIEW RD. N., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com 2013 Camry LE $25,400 + taxes Model #BF1FLT-AA Financing Available 0.8% up to 72 mos. OAC SPORTS "Quote/unquote" 'The timing of my injury was really bad considering the Olympic cycle.'-- Gymnast Kelly Hofland... see story below Local native Wes McCauley worked his first National Hockey League playoff game in 2009 and has quickly risen amongst the ranks of its referees to earn selection to the elite 'Final Four' of officials for this year's Stanley Cup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. The 41-year-old was chosen along with Dan O'Halloran, Brad Wat- son and Chris Rooney to officiate the series, with McCauley making his Stanley Cup debut Sat- urday in game two, a 2-1 overtime victory for the Bruins. That the game took place on the eve of Fa- ther's Day held a special significance for McCau- ley, an eighth-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 1990, whose fa- ther John called several Stanley Cup encounters as a referee during his career from 1970-81. An eye injury forced John to retire from on-ice officiating in 1986, although he assumed the Director of Officiating role until his death due to complications from surgery in 1989 at the age of 44. Wes, who resides in Maine with his wife and three children, had a brief mi- nor pro career after four years at Michi- gan State University and was hired by the NHL as a referee in 2005, working his way deeper into the post-season over the past four years. "Wes has taken his hockey and officiat- ing background and through dedication and hard work has earned the respect of the game's participants over time," said Terry Gregson, the NHL's Director of Of- ficiating, in an email. "In establishing this trust he has now joined a very small group of elite officials by being selected to work the 2013 Stan- ley Cup Finals. It has been a pleasure for me to watch Wes evolve into the referee he is today and will be for many years to come." McCauley's first Stanley Cup game on Saturday didn't pass without a controver- sial moment, however. In the first period with Chicago already leading 1-0, a wrap-around play by Blackhawks' captain Jon- athan Toews just crossed the goal line of sprawling Boston netminder Tuuka Rask, with McCauley po- sitioned directly behind the Bruins' net. Chicago's Brandon Saad jammed at the puck and it crossed the line before McCauley, who couldn't see the puck underneath Rask's right pad, blew his whistle to stop play. But after a video- replay review, it was de- termined that McCauley had the intent to blow the whistle because he had lost sight of the puck and the goal was negated. Blackhawks' coach Joel Quenneville didn't have much to say about the play. "He said his intention was to blow the whistle," said Quennville. Hockey Night In Canada's Don Cherry also wasn't about to be critical of the disal- lowed goal on his Coach's Corner segment in the first intermission, given his long- standing feelings about John McCauley. "Listen, (Wes) is the son of John Mc- Cauley, and if you think I'm gong to argue with the son of John McCauley, you're nuts," Cherry told HNIC's Ron MacLean. "One of the greatest -- well, the great- est -- referee of all time." Having had her dreams of compet- ing in last year's Olympics in London, England dashed due to injury, gym- nast Kaitlyn Hofland now has her sights set on making the Canadian team for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. And while turning in excellent results at her first World Cup com- petitions this season in Scotland and France certainly bolstered her chances of going to Rio, the 17-year- old Georgetown resident has the self- confidence and at least some of the travel arrangements already made for the trip. "I was actually supposed to go to Brazil last year for one of my first com- petitions representing Canada, and then I hurt my knee," said the Grade 11 Christ the King student. "So I have my Brazilian visa and ev- erything else ready to go. It expires in five years, so it'll still be good in 2016." Training out of the Futures Gym- nastics club in Mississauga, which has five Canadian team members in its elite program, Hofland also recently committed to attending the University of Utah on a full scholarship but has deferred the start of her biochemistry studies until the fall of 2016 in order to fully devote her time and energy to preparing for the Olympics in Brazil. "Kaitlyn's definitely in the pool of athletes to be considered a strong con- tender for the 2016 Olympics in Rio and she's right where she's supposed to be in terms of her progression," said her Futures' coach Lawson Hamer. "Two main goals for athletes at that level-- especially for Kaitlyn-- are an NCAA career and the Olympic Games. We try to put them out in that order be- cause schooling is important to them and to us and they maintain those high standards. She's achieved Step One by getting her scholarship and now it's the Olympics. That's been her goal." Out of action for several months af- ter her severe knee injury suffered in March 2012 while training, Hofland announced her return to form with an eighth-place all-around result at the Glasgow Grand Prix in Scotland in De- cember, which included a bronze medal on the beam in a world-class field. She then earned a silver medal on the bars apparatus at another World Cup event in France in March, just two-tenths of a point short of a gold. "The timing of my injury was really bad considering the Olympic cycle," she said. "I had just made the national team, so there was actually a possibility I could've been on the Olympic team, but everything happens for a reason McCauley reaches 'final four' to referee Stanley Cup final By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer Hofland turns attention to 2016 Olympics WES MCCAULEY See HOFLAND, pg. 44