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THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, NOVEMBER 15,2000 PAGE B3 Vladimir Repnev scores winner Generals climb out of hole for win over Sarnia BY BRIAN LEGREE Staff Editor For a hockey club that can't afford to ever get outworked, the Oshawa Generals Generals were thoroughly outhustled in the first period of their game with the Sarnia Sting Sunday. But after digging themselves a 3-0 deficit through a listless opening 12 minutes minutes - appearing well on their way to their seventh straight game without a win - something happened. Coach George Burnett says he altered altered the club's forechecking system and suggested his team might want to show more interest on the ice. After trying the patience of the 2,241 at the Civic Auditorium, the Generals actually started trying on the ice - competing competing for loose pucks, moving their legs and going to the net with a little authority. authority. The result was a stunning comeback, as the Generals won for the third time in 18 games this season, scoring a 5-4 victory victory over the Sting. "We didn't have a great effort out of the gate," acknowledged Burnett following following the game. "I guess that concerns me a little bit, but really all that was talked about is their work and their desire to get into the competitive situations and battle. battle. "I thought we were more of a passive reaction team in the first 10 minutes and then we; started to take action, so credit some of the older guys that got us going. I thought Cully (Brandon Cullen) had a super game and made a lot of things happen. That's his game, straight-ahead, crash the net, be around for those less- than-highlight reel goals, but those count just as much." Cullen finished with two goals, giving giving him nine on the season. Vladimir Repnev scored the winner for Oshawa on a power-play with 6:26 remaining in the third period, giving the Generals their only lead of the game. Lindsay Plunkett and John Kozoriz also scored for the Generals, who used three lines for most of the game. Alex Burturlin, Julius Halfkenny, Preston Mizzi and Robb Palahnuk scored for the Sting (9-9-0-1), losers of four straight. Chris Berti, an Oshawa minor hockey grad, had two assists and played a strong, physical game for Sarnia. Sarnia. Despite the win, the Generals (3-11- 3-1) find themselves eight points out of the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference as the season nears the one-third mark. But Oshawa does have two games in hand on eighth-place Barrie (8-9-2-0) and a dale with the Jason Spezza-less Mississauga IceDogs (2-14-2-0) Wednesday at the Hershey Centre. Is it too early to call it a must-win? "The game Wednesday allows us to make ourselves a lot closer and a part of the group that's ahead of us and not where we are or where we've been," says Burnett. Following Wednesday's game, the Generals play three weekend games, hosting Belleville Friday at 7:35 p.m. at the Civic, travelling to St. Michael's Saturday Saturday (1:30 p.m.) and then returning home to play the OHL-leading Plymouth Plymouth Whalers Sunday at 6:05 p.m. International volleyball tournament in Bowmanville BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor With the annual buying frenzy getting getting underway in anticipation of Christmas, there will be some young volleyball teams in Clarington shopping shopping for a championship title at the end of the month. Knox Christian School will be hosting its seventh annual tournament on Nov. 24 and 25 at five gymnasiums throughout Bowmanville, with 42 teams expected to be competing for top honours. The tournament for Grade 7 and 8 students has an international flavour with teams entered from New York and Rochester. Ontario teams from as far away as Ottawa, Sudbury, Wasaga Beach and St. Thomas are expected to make the trek. Because the tournament has grown so much in the past couple of years, organizers have had to divide teams up into different divisions based on school population to ensure balanced competition, says Knox principal George Petrusma. "At the start we had small schools of 100 students playing against schools with 300 kids. There wasn't an equal sense of competition," he says. In that regard, the two-day tournament tournament is divided separately into boys' and girls' divisions, with schools having having an enrollment of under 125 students students grouped in an A category, 126- 220 students into AA and schools over 220, including Knox, rated AAA. To accommodate the number of games needed to stage the tournament, tournament, host sites include Knox Christian Christian School, Durham Christian School, St. Stephen's Secondary School, St. Elizabeth Elementary School and Bowmanville High School. Teams are guaranteed four round- robin games and the opportunity to advance through the playoffs. For some of the teams advancing all the way to the championship game, it can be a hectic couple of days. "Certainly the teams come to play all sorts of volleyball. In the case of some of them it's the major trip of the year," adds Petrusma. In last year's tournament, the boys' team lost in the finals and the girls placed fourth. MODEL RAILROAD SHOW 30TH ANNIVERSARY Father Leo J Austin School Dryden Boulvard Whitby SATURDAY and SUNDAY NOV. 18TH AND 19TH, 2000 SAT. 10 A.M.TO 5 P.M. SUN., 10 A.M.TO 3:30 P.M. Admission Adults $4.00 Children under 14 $2.00 Under 5 FREE - WHIT BY- - 3 », L_ i = i ; zzp. :mm «g m SAFE, EASY, AND SO EFFECTIVE. LOSE WHAT YOU NEED. A.J. GROEN/ Statesman photo Sean Stafanski of the Oshawa Generals and Kris Newbury of Sarnia work out their differences during the first period of Sunday's game at Civic Auditorium. Oshawa rallied from behind for a 5-4 victoiy. COLLISION REPAIRS LANDSCAPING QUALITY LATE MODEL CARS CALL FOR NEW CAR WARRANTY INFO Insurance Claims Competitive Rates Free Estimates Complete Collision Repairs Restorations 623-6353 163 BASELINE RD BOWMANVILLE, KILMER Landscaping ana Contracting Lbook now for fall and spring landscaping needs For your free estimate, call (905) 623-8900 Over 30 Years Experience r /I> L 'JJ AUTO CENTRE BUY«SELL«TRADE "A Great Selection Of Quality Late Model Cars" For Cars You Can Count On! 623-2906 HWY #2, 5 KM WEST OF BOWMANVILLE CUSTOM MILLW0RK [SENIOR WRITER FORTHE HOCKEY NEWS MIKE BROPHY Arch Moulding • Curved Trim • Custom Moulding NO JOB TOO SMALL Free Estimates ~ Guaranteed WOOD INDUSTRIES CUSTOM MIUWORK 697-8148 157 Baseline Rd. Bowmanville , Mark me down as one who is not afraid of trying something new. Especially when the last two attempts were failures. So as strange as it first seemed at first to name Wayne Gretzky, who has absolutely no experience in constructing a hockey team (unless you count his meddling with the Los Angeles Kings when he played there, and that was none too successful), as the head of Canada's entry at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, after a little reflection, it started to make sense to me. After all, we didn't win gold at the 1998 Olympics, in Nagano, Japan, and we finished second at the World Cup of Hockey. Perhaps it's time to bring in some new blood. And what better figurehead is there than The Great One for Canada's collection, of hockey stars? Time's up, there isn't one. Gretzky has been hockey's greatest ambassador and he deserves the post. And even though he won't get a gold medal if Canada wins - the medals are reserved for the players only - he would get the glory he missed out on in Japan. This is obviously a very important tournament for Canada, given its recent failures, and just having COMPLETE AUTO REPAIRS Gretzky around to offer suggestions is a plus. Let's just hope the coaching staff of Pat Quinn, Jacques Martin, Ken Hitchcock and Wayne Fleming listen. The best, players don't necessarily make the best coaches. But the best players do have instincts others can only dream about. Which makes it all the more remarkable Gretzky was not among the five shooters chosen when Canada went to a shootout against the Czech Republic in the last Olympics. Granted Gretzky's track record on breakaways is not great. Then again, given the circumstances and importance of the situation, not to mention his track record for setting records and doing the seemingly impossible, how could he have been excluded? It is with that in mind that making this Gretzky's team makes sense. The coaches will do the grunt work and most of the decision-making in terms of player personnel. But Gretzky will have his say and he will be a big part of representing Canada in the buildup toward the competition. Frankly I can't think of a better way for Canada to get back on top of the hockey map than for a collection of our best players hoisting Gretzky on their shoulders in celebration of a gold medal. FLOORING Pam Tile Ltd. "Over 20 Years Installation Exp." COMPARE OUR PRICES & SAVE! • Hardwood Flooring • Parquet • Cushion Flooring • Carpet Over 1000 Ceramic Tiles To Choose From New Location: 1230 Lambs Rd. 623-3929 . SNOWMOBILE GRAPHICS zy/ ^ W lettering Custom Graphics & Numbers 2916 Hwy. #2, Bowmanville 905-697-3800 OIL UNDERCOATING ONLY NEW OIL USED Full Application CARS... 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