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D6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, May 9, 2001 APPLE A u t o G la s s J v UPHOLSTERY... SE A T S, B O A TTO PS, C O N V E R T IB L ETO PS... 1033 Speers Rd. 8 4 2 -6 0 6 0 S p o r M '& t e k B u z z : n e w J r. B la c r o s s e te a m o ff to 1 M e rc e d e s-B e n z A n O a k v ille B e a v e r F e a tu re Editor: NORM NELSON Phone:845-3824, ext 255 Fax:337-5567 E-mail:nnelson@ haltonsearch.com W h a t 's By Nei Becker th e - 2 s ta r t SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The first year Oakville Buzz are still winless at home after a close 7-4 loss to Barrie at Maplegrove Arena last Thursday night. However, in only their third game in the provincial junior B lacrosse loop -- and their second one at home -- the new team * can take some solace in that their focus on defense appears to be paying off. They have been successful in cutting back on their goals against. The previous Sunday in Barrie they allowed 11 goals, although they weren't complaining too much as they scored 13 themselves for their first ever franchise win. In their home opener the previous week, the Oakville Buzz began their existence with a 13-6 loss to St. Catharines. "We have been working hard on our defense," said Buzz coach Bruce Donovan. "The second period, they (Barrie) didn't score, which was good. I look for condi tioning and discipline." _ Another consolation Oakville took from defeat was that, unlike the. home opener, they were able to turn the other cheek and stay out of the penalty box. "The difference between last Thursday and today was like night and day. Last Thursday (home opener against St. Catharines) we had 84 penalty minutes compared to only 10 tonight," noted coach Donovan. The die-hard Junior B Lacrosse fans who skipped the Leaf playoff game were rewarded with a rough, hard hitting, but clean affair that saw each goalie sparkle at times with cat-like reflexes by stopping many difficult lightning fast shots from in close. Photos by Ron Kuzyk LEFT: Dan Clancy of Lighthouse sings national anthem. RIGHT: first official face off, officiated by former Oakville Jr. B player and pro for Philadelphia, Grant Bryck. Taking it are the Buzz' Bryan Jackson and Chris Janese. The Buzz opened the scoring but Barrie, later in the period, scored twice within min utes to turn the momentum in their favour, and they never looked back despite the resiliency of the Buzz. The Buzz were unfortunate to have a goal called back in the third period that would have reduced the deficit back to one goal. Buzz forward Bill Hussey, who played a strong game, believed that even though the team played well defensively, there is still much to be worked on. "We definitely played better defense tonight. Still, we got beat up and down the floor. Our guys were playing physical but we focused too much on defense." There were markedly fewer people on hand for their second home game but gen eral manager Mike White took it all in stride. "We are competing with the Leafs and Survivor's (final episode) tonight." The plan to bring a junior B lacrosse team to Oakville was hatched about three years ago by a large committee of ex-players who showed guts and determination, as they lobbied for a couple of years before getting awarded with a franchise. "We were awarded the franchise in September at the end of the general man agers meetings," said White. The team started taking shape at pre-season training camp where approximately 50 players came out to train at a local high school, with aspirations of making the Buzz. According to the general manager, the team went through a strict regime at camp, headed by coach Donovan. "Bruce would emphasize an intense stretching program, cardio exercises and special stick drills. We were looking for speed, good stick drills and togetherness as a team." On the administrative side, the team hopes to be fan friendly. "We have contests where kids picked can go out to centre ice and try to shoot into an open mini net," said White. "There are also 50-50 draws. We have given away NLL tickets. Blue Jay tickets, Tshirts and Buzz merchandise. `The objective of these events within the game is naturally to get the patrons feeling good about their experience so they'll tell their friends about it." The Oakville Buzz host Scarborough this Thursday (May 10), 8 p.m., at Maplegrove Arena. The Burloak Canoe Club is hosting its Lakeside 5K & 10K race this Saturday (May 12), 9 a.m. It starts and finishes at the Burloak club house. 160 Water Street (Navy Flats), near the intersection of Randall and Navy Streets in Oakville. The cost per entry is $20 in advance and $25 on race day. All proceeds will be put towards buying racing boats and equip ment which enable the Burloak Canoe Club to continue to expand its canoe/kayak sprint racing programs for local youth. The first 200 entrants are guaranteed a T-shirt. Registration forms available at the Running Room or by calling Susan Redgrave at 637-9261. ' Undermanned Oakville Coyotes lose season opener to Mississauga 1 1 - 3 By Nei Becker SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER An undermanned Oakville Coyotes lost their Ontario junior A roller hockey home opener 11-3 to Mississauga Rattlers on Friday night. The Coyotes, who play out of Oakville Arena, quickly fell behind a determined Mississauga team, who were not in a good mood after losing 12-6 to Brampton the pre vious night. The Coyotes dug themselves a hole early, trailing 8-2 at the half (which in roller hock ey, means two periods). They were being outplayed in all facets of the game including puck control, skating and defence. The second half saw an improvement in Coyotes play, led by goaltender Ryan Meihm with some remarkable saves. The goal scorers for Oakville were Stu MacCrimmon, Morgan McCormick and Luke Domski. "In the first half, a lot of the players were just standing around. We have had only one practice and we have to tighten up our work on system play," said Sean Stafford who although a first year coach, needed no intro duction to his new team. After all he played for them last year. "He's a teacher assistant up in Guelph and he took Our Lady of Lourdes (high school ice hockey team) to the all-Ontario finals in Burlington last year so he definitely knows the game," said Jay Labelle, the team owner and former general manager. "He's been around it forever." Labelle said he's taking a step t»ck from the team this year with Ron Piercey also tak ing over as general manager. "I have a two year-old son at home so I wanted to free up a lot of time," he said. The junior team is the headline act of a vibrant Coyote rep program that includes numerous youth teams. They all operate under the banner of Halton Roller Hockey, which Labelle started in Oakville several years ago, and which also includes a house league program that has grown to about 800 players from about 100 in the first year. Labelle isn't even thinking about pushing the panic button after an opening game loss. The Coyotes, he pointed out, were miss ing three key players, including two from the OHL --- Shawn Snider and Joel Ward. Snider was the top scorer for Owen Sound Attack this past season (27g, 49a - 76p in 61 games) and he was the Coyotes' second top scorer last season. Joining him is Joel Ward, who was third in scoring for Owen Sound (26g, 36a - 62p in 67 games) and who played in the annual prospects game. Also from the OHL is Morgan McCormick of the Guelph Storm (5g, 6a lip in 45 games) who was selected in the fourth round, 103rd over all, of the `99 draft by the Florida Panthers. Also missing was veteran Shane Labelle (Jay's brother), who is also a veteran tier two junior hockey player. "Those are three big parts to our team, and when they're not there, that's a lot of our offence, really." In addition, Labelle said he's not yet spo ken with last year's leading scorer (and for mer Oakville Blades leading scorer) Mike Tarantino who recently completed a success ful first year of U.S. college hockey, but the welcome mat is obviously there for him. One gets the feeling that Labelle would be more than happy if it took until the play offs for this team to reach its peak. In past years, the team has put together some won derful regular seasons only to flame out in the playoffs. Not that he wants them to cut it is as close as the Toronto Maple Leafs (who made the playoffs by two points) but he is obviously hoping to put together a good playoff run. "I wouldn't mind it if we finished in the middle of the pack and did well in the play offs. We have the players to do well." Forward Stu MacCrimmon, who got the first goal of the season for Oakville, also believes good things will happen when this team starts to gel. "This is the first time that we have been together as a team," he said. "We have to get some chemistry out there. We can obviously build on the second half (of the game against Mississauga). We have to do the little things out there, like shooting more and playing man to man." Coach Stafford echoed his remarks. "A lot of our people are hockey players. They are used to playing zone, not man on man. After the first half, I told them to play the second half tight and to just forget about the first half. We went out and played well in the last half." 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