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D4 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 28, 2001 Oakville junior player suits up against Team China Standout Oakville junior hockey player Merritt Blundy, who suits up for a Brampton junior team, got her first taste of elite international hockey, going up against Team China, in her hometown arena, on the Olympic ice pad at River Oaks arena. Blundy was one of four juniors called up by the Mississauga Ice Bears of the National Womens Hockey League (NWHL) for the international exhibition match which attracted a good crowd at River Oaks, including a large contingent from the Oakville Hornets girls hockey association. "When playing up here, you can't be intimidated," she told the Beaver, after the game. "It's a much quicker game. You have to move your feet a lot quicker and anticipate and make quick decisions." Next season, Blundy, who is the daughter of Ice Bears coach Steve Blundy, hopes to suit up for Wilfrid Laurier University, and for the Ice Bears. "Every boy and girl growing up wants to play for the national team. I give m yself short-term goals instead. I want to come here in my rookie year (with the Ice Bears) and prove myself on the ice." She comes with a reputation of being a complete play er, but knows it will require a big adjustment to stay up in the country's top wom en's league. "You can't lose confidence. That is the key." For coach Steve Blundy, bringing in the juniors killed two birds with one stone. He got to scout the quartet for next year as well as bolster his team which had to play a crucial playoff game the next night against Brampton (see adjacent story). "I had four of my juniors playing. I didn't want to over tire anyone with a playoff game coming up tomorrow night. This was a faster pace than w e're used to and will be a great experience for our players," said coach Blundy. While not usually associated with a hockey power, China did finish fifth at the last world championships and obviously, out of their billion-plus people, have a few that are comfortable with skates on their feet and a hockey stick in their hands. In Canada to prepare for this year's world champi onships which kick off in Minnesota on Monday (April 2), China capitalized on a quick start to defeat the Ice Bears 52. After falling behind 4-0 and being out-skated for the first half of the game, the Ice Bears got off the canvas and started to believe in themselves as they took the play to team China. "After the first period, we went into the dressing room and said we had to take better care of our own end," said Bears forward Kathy McCormack, herself a national team (Canadian) veteran. "We had to adjust to playing with no red line. Playing tighter in our own end against them was a key. We also had to relax and have fun. We weren't relaxed. It was a real test with China being ranked in the top four." In the late stages of the second period, with the crowd holding their breaths in anticipation, the closest that the Ice Bears would come to catching China on the scoreboard was 4-2. Bad luck played a big part of this much anticipated con test for the Ice Bears, who were playing for the first time on an international ice surface on the River Oaks Olympic ice pad. The game w asn't meant to be for the Bears, as they hit a couple of goalposts and crossbars in the second period. -- -- "Overall, I felt that we were standing around for the first part," said coach Blundy. "We made some adjust ments and it turned out much better. A contest like this measures where we are as a team." Photo by Erin Riley Gary Cam he's comfortable in political or hockey arena Before stepping into the political arena, Gary Carr, Oakville MPP and Speaker of the House for the provincial legislature, once excelled in the hockey arena. A standout junior goal tender, he was drafted in the seventh round by the Boston Bruins in 1-975. although he never made it out of the minor leagues. This season, however, he made a comeback, of sorts, heading back to the minor leagues -- this time as a coach. In particular, he was the goalie coach of the Mississauga Ice Bears which played in the fledgling National Womens Hockey League. The team has strong Oakville connections, with Steve Blundy, the head coach, and Bill Metcalfe, the general manager and owner, all from Oakville. The team's season, unfortunately came to an end last week in the first round of the playoffs with a 3-1 loss to Brampton (that was televised live on WTN). Mississauga had previously lost the open ing game of the two-game set, 3-2, unable to hold on to a 2-0 lead. But it wasn't a bad season with Mississauga fin ishing in third place with a 21-16-3 record and just unable to upset second place Brampton which had cruised to a 31 -6-3 record. "Hopefully, I can give something back," said Carr. "Our goalie Cindy, who is only 18, has great potential. It's so important to give back to the game. I find that it's a stress release. Being in pol itics, hockey is still a hobby of mine." Carr talked to the Beaver in the midst of an exciting recent weekend for the Mississauga team. Prior to their playoff ouster at the hands of Brampton on Sunday night, the Ice Bears, on Saturday, had the good fortune to play against the national team of China in an exhibition match at the River Oaks rec centre. Carr did a little double duty for that one, wear ing the hat of a provincial dignitary in dropping the puck in the ceremonial pre-game face-off. As Carr toiled in the minors, his interest in the political arena continued to grow. "I was taking courses while playing hockey. I read and studied economics and business books on the bus while everyone else would have Playboy or the Hockey News," he said, chuckling. The defining moment came in the late seventies when he decided to do something about his grow ing disillusionment with Trudeaumania. "I was running along Lakeshore where I used to jog, when I decided that I was done in hockey. I came back to Canada and decided to get involved (in politics). I was so mad at what was going on." His hockey background, though, stood him well. ``In both professions, there are lots of verbal shots being thrown at you," he noted. He also compared his aggressive nature in the House to the fire that he felt in a hockey game. "In the House, it's hard to keep them under con trol. I'm like a ref now. I threw 17 out of the House over the span of a year." Carr, who counts Johnny Bower as his boyhood idol, still plays hockey in local oldtimer leagues -- but never in goal. Playing out, he said, is more con ducive to the recreational nature of oldtimers hock ey. "I can't help it," he said, with a smile "It's the adrenaline. The juices start to flow and I am always very competitive in goal." And Carr still gets the chance to represent his province, with his fellow MPPs taking on their Quebec counterparts in a growing rivalry. But a friendly one. "We go out for beers afterwards. Playing hock ey makes us look more human," he said. Photo by Barrie Erskine TOP PHOTO: this unidentified Team China player receives close coverage from Ice Bears veterans Liz Duval (#32), an assistant captain, and Theresa Brisson, Canada's national team captain. BOTTOM PHOTO: goalie coach Gary Carr, an Oakville MPP and Speaker of the House, chats it up with head coach Steve Blundv. Stories by Neil Becker SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER `H orns will play pre-season gam e May 26 (Continued from Back Page Sports) Photo by Peter C. McCusker ON T H E B A LL : enjoying a pick-up game of road hockey, here at Litchfield Park on a recent Wednesday after noon, are Ryan Kim (goalie), Mike Kane, Steve Lawther, Ted Buyun and (out of the picture) Peter Rupcic. Sports Council seminar series continues tonight The Oakville Sports Council seminar series continues tonight (Wed., March 28), 7 p.m. at Town Hall on athlete development. There is no cost or registration required for this series. Tonight's speaker is David Carmichael, former director of national projects at Participaction. During this session, participants will be introduced to an athlete development model that focuses on the progressive development of athletes in six areas -- physical, technical, tactical, psychological, theoretical, and life skills. By the end of the session, sport leaders will better under stand the need to develop the whole person. It is critical for sports leaders to focus on the holistic (whole) development of athletes. There is evidence to suggest that athletes who have participated in holistic development programs are more likely to be successful during their athlet ic careers and beyond. Carmichael has conducted more than 500 workshops throughout Canada and internationally on sport for children and youth, and has appeared on numerous radio and televi sion shows discussing issues pertaining to young athlete development. There is no cost or registration required. All welcome! For more info phone Wayne Hussey at 847-7747. (Future seminars) April 24, 7 p.m., at River Oaks: building relationships to achieve success in sport. Robert Bettauer, president of the National Sports Centre in Toronto will speak to the need and benefit of partnerships and alliances to achieve success in sport. He will discuss his unique approach to program development even though resources maybe scarce, and he will discuss trends in coach ing from the grass roots to the advanced athlete. Bettauer was director of the High Performance and National Tennis Teams for 10 years. He is a fully certified Level 4 coach and has participated in two Olympic Games. He played professional tennis for seven years and was three time Canadian champion. He is also a member of the 2008 Toronto bid board, a television analyst and a volunteer com munity coach. May 22, 7 p.m., at Town Hall: how to involve and keep girls and women in sport. Speakers are Kristine Drakich, head coach of the University of Toronto volleyball team and Julia Warren, coach of the national synchronized swimming team, and they will discuss projects that encourage girls and women to get involved and stay involved in sport. and including Rebiere as vice president of publicity. And they seem to have pulled off a brilliant opening play by settling up past accounts over the rental of Bronte Field. "There was an outstanding debt by the previous administration that had not been serviced," explained Rebiere. "And we felt though legally w e're not binded, we felt a moral obligation to the town to resolve this. "And most importantly the carrot for us was to come home. So over two years we will pay that back. "We were really impressed by how supportive everyone was, certainly led by Ralph Richardson, of the ward we belong to, and the Mayor (Ann Mulvale). "Everyone was looking for a solution that would be responsible to the tax payer but at the same time allow us to come back in a realistic way. "We felt we needed to iron out a deal that wasn't a burden to the taxpayer and at the same time was financially responsible to the club and we were able to do that with the support of council. "They (councillors) were unanimous in their decision for us to come back. "It was a great, great experience for us in terms of showing their support." This year is shaping up to be a truly interesting year for the NFC, which is one of the last bastions o f senior tackle football. The level o f play is high enough that league stars routinely find themselves scooped up by CFL teams for vary ing lengths of stay. The league over the last decade has averaged about four teams -- about the minimum you would want for a bona fide league -- some years rising as high as six teams. But this year, there has been a virtual stampede of Canadian teams coming back from the U.S. to the extent that the league will actually more than double itself to nine teams. Rounding out the returning quartet are the Sudbury Spartans, North Bay Bull Dogs and Sault Ste. Marie Storm. And they'll be joined by five new teams -- the Oshawa Hawkeyes. Belleville Panthers, Mega City Mad Dogs (Toronto), Mississauga Wolverines and the Markham Raiders. M arkham is returning after a year absence and after having reached the NFC final in each of the three previous years, only to lose to the `Horns on each occa sion. So, no doubt, they'll be looking to take it over the top. The 'Horns have started winter workouts in preparation for their training camp which will open next month, likely in Burlington (where they will contin ue to practice for the foreseeable future). The first pre-season game is scheduled for Saturday, May 26, at either Pearson in Burlington or Bronte Field in Oakville. Atom ( A A ' rep hockey team (Continued from page D5) Burlington managed to tie the game at the 14:46 mark o f the third period with their goalie pulled in favour o f an extra attacker. Burlington managed to win their series home opener 4-2. Back in Oakville, the Rangers scored early and often for a 6-1 win. Back in Burlington, Oakville managed to completely erase an early 3-0 deficit only to have Burlington close out with two unanswered markers for a 5-3 win. That gave Burlington a 5-3 strangle hold on the six-point series, needing only a tie from the fifth game in Oakville to win the series, which they managed to achieve, 3-3, fighting back from an early 2-0 deficit. Point getters for Oakville in the series were as follows: Jordan M acintosh (2g, 7a), Dan Aziz (3g, 4a), Mike MacDonald (2g, 3a), Kevin Oliveira (2g, 2a), Alex Crepinsek ( lg, 2a), Jamie M acKenzie (3g), Anthony Albrecht (lg , la), Brett Chandler (lg . la), Matt Grigg (2a), Aaron Mirsky (2g), Matt Bertrand (la), Ted Starr (la), Tyson Theaker (la ) and M ark White (la). With their going so deep in the OMHA playdowns, the Rangers were forced to abandon their league playdowns, but not before an 8-1 win over Georgetown. Pointgetters for O akville w ere A nthony Albrecht (2 g), Jamie Kulla ( lg, la), Mike MacDonald, (lg , la) Jam ie MacKenzie (lg , la), Ted Starr (2a), Mark White (lg , la), Brett Chandler (la ), Aaron Mirsky (lg ) and Kevin Oliveira (lg).