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! www.durhamregion.com Œf)t Canaïrian âbtatetfman THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, MARCH 26,2003 PAGE 15 INSTALLATION INCLUDED Dwte/TMckson Befiiitd Cun's 723-8507 Bah Itertfe 31/03 WHITBY «OSHAWA Midget title stays in Orono Back-to-back Ontario championships after sweep of Thedford BY BRAD KELLY Staff Writer ORONO - There are a number of different things you can count on happening happening in late March. The weather gets a little warmer, the first sightings of robins are reported, reported, the snow begins to melt and Orono wins an Ontario hockey championship. For the second consecutive year, the Orono midgets claimed the top prize in midget D hockey, completing a four- game sweep over Thedford. After winning the first two games of the best-of-seven series in Thedford, Orono closed the deal on home ice over the weekend, winning 5-4 in overtime Saturday and completing the sweep Sunday with a 3-1 victory. "Our defensive play was the difference," difference," said coach Dale Millson, who also guided last year's midget team to ' the provincial title. JASON LIEBREGTS/ Statesman photos ! Orono midget captain Ryan Sutton parades the Ontario champi- | onship trophy along with assistant Peter Heerschop to the appreci- ; ation of the hometown fans on Sunday afternoon. Orono won a ; pair of games on home ice this weekend to claim their second r straight title. | Newcastle novices force deciding game j against Coldwater :! Home ice win j: extends best-of-five :• series to the limit BY BRAD KELLY j! Staff Writer NEWCASTLE - The Newcastle and Coldwater novices are trcndset- lets in their Ontario novice D chanipi- !: onship best-of-five playoff series. Consider the overwhelming evi- ; dcncc. • In the first two games of the sc- - ries, the home team jumped out to 3-0 ! leads, only to have the visitors come ! back and tie the game, resulting in ;■ overtime. On both occasions, the ■ home team eventually scored. ! • In the next two games, three goal ! trends continued , in slightly different ' fashion. Coldwater scored a trio in the ' third on home ice Saturday for a 4-1 ■ win. Newcastle responded Sunday, i scoring three in a row to erase a 4-2 ; deficit, prevailing 5-4. After four games, the teams arc ; deadlocked at two games apiece, with . the home side winning on each occa- i sion, t Now that's a trend Newcastle is : going to have to break to win the sc- ' ries. The all-important fifth and deciding deciding game goes Saturday in Coldwater. "I expect our guys to come out flying flying and play three full periods," says Newcastle coach Paul Choiniere of a one-game showdown to decide it all. "We haven't put together three full periods periods in this series yet." After experiencing a "bit of a breakdown" in the 4-1 loss Saturday in Coldwater, Choiniere says his team didn't want to bow out of the series on home ice in front of local fans in Game 4 Sunday. "They were really pumped," he says of the atmosphere in the dressing room prior to the game. "They really wanted it. They didn't want to lose, especially on home ice. They wanted to go back to Coldwater one more time," for the deciding game of the series. In Saturday's 4-1 setback, Holden Duquette had the lone marker for Newcastle. Billy Marshall scored a pair in Sunday's win, with singles to Connor Williams, Brock Ackerman and Duquette. Complementing the offence has been the goaltending of Keaton Dillon, Dillon, who was particularly sharp in Game 4 says Choiniere, allowing Newcastle to extend the series to the limit. Flomation Engineering tyke selects ■ advance to next round of playoffs 5 CLAR1NGTON - The Clarington Flomation Engineering tyke selects !; are through to the fourth round of ■ playoffs after eliminating Whitby v Blue. Ï 1 The best-of-three series opener was won by Clarington 4-3 as lirodic 1' llarkness scored twice, with Blane !| Caution and Austin Macs!re adding ? the others. Assists went to .lake > Marchment, Jeremy Osborne and feauicl Michel. Playing well in net were Matthew Magenu and Brennan Gregory. After a 4-0 setback in Game 2, Clarington posted a convincing 5-1 win in the third and deciding game, llarkness, Jordan Tink, Chad liib- bert, Kyle Murphy and Michel had the goals. Assists came from Josh Barker, Maestrc, Tink and Timothy Cordery. The victory moves Clarington into the next round against Whitby White. "It wasn't just our defence, but the forwards helped out in our own end as well. With our defensive play, we didn't didn't make too many mistakes." Nathan Caruana scored the winner 1:14 into overtime Saturday to give Orono a commanding 3-0 series lead. Brian Pisani scored a pair for Orono, which held a 3-0 lead at one point in the game, but watched it evaporate as Thedford erased the deficit in a desperate desperate attempt to get back into the series. series. Curtis Robinson and Chris Moffat also scored in the win. In Sunday's series' clinching victory, victory, Paul Richter, Ryan Sutton and Moffat Moffat scored. Not only is it back-to-back midget titles for Orono, but it has also been Thedford which has been on the losing end both times. In fact, in the bantam division last season, Orono also defeated Thedford in the Ontario finals. Millson said the experience the midget players gained from winning last season, coupled with adding a number of graduating bantams who also experienced a provincial title, made a significant difference in the short series. "The experience helped us win most of the close games," in the playoffs playoffs and during an 18-1-3 regular season, season, he noted. As for a three-peat, Millson was non-committal about his coaching future. future. His son, Tanner, moves up to the juvenile division next season, and dad isn't sure if he will make the jump as well. After winning the Ontario championship, Orono got together for a team shot with the trophy. The tradition tradition was started by the NHL's Edmonton Oilers after winning the Stanley Cup. Trying to quit smoking? ❖ Li hew On thlSl Studies show tlmt if you plan to <|iiit smoking, the more support you get, the greater your mills of success. One good idea is to find a quit buddy to give you encouragement and support when you need it. You can also call the Smokers' 1 telplinc at l-877-5l3-53.il and have trained staff help you stick to a plan of action that works for you. When you're ready to quit smoking, we're here to help. 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