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d I PAGE 12 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ JULY 6,2005 durfiamregion.com Brian McNair When greed gets in the way Money talks and the Generals didn't like what they were hearing The Oshawa Generals thought they had addressed a few pressing needs with one fell swoop last week. Then the politics of the import draft reared its ugly head. Brad Selwood and Brian Kilrea had worked out a deal that would have sent overage Czech forward Jakub Petruza- lek from the Ottawa 67's to the Generals Generals in exchange for the 34th pick in the Canadian Hockey League import draft -- a pick originally owned by Ottawa. It seemed, in other words, Selwood had saved a fair bit efface for having dealt the first overall import pick to Ottawa as part of the Peter Tsimikalis/ Chris Hulit deal last season. Petruzalek would have given the Generals: Generals: a) a second soil'd import player; b) a valuable overager; c) much-needed offensive talent up front; and possibly even d) a player who could man the point on the power play. ■ _ . . As Selwood tells it, the deal was signed, sealed and delivered to the OHL -- until agent Allan Walsh found a string to attach. Although he wouldn't divulge the \ amount, Selwood says Walsh "called with a figure that kind of blew me away", in other words a good chunk of money that would be required to complete complete the transaction. Selwood is not so naive to think this sort of thing doesn't happen, but he refused to be a part of it and, with Kil- rea's blessing, had the deal nullified. Good for him, I say. It remains to be seen if the hockey club will be better off with Swiss goalie Stefan Grauwiler, the player the Generals Generals ended up taking with the 34th pick, but that's not the point here. If every GM was so principled -- we're hoping it wasn't simply being cheap -- then the import draft might be just that: a draft where the teams in most need get the best selections. Rather, it seems, it's the teams willing to fork over the most money that get the talent (and judging by the dubious past of the Generals' import picks, not much has changed hands here). "The higher you draft, the more money you pay," says Selwood. "We're not into that stuff." This is not one of those Don Cherry like rants about keeping Europeans out of the league. If done properly, the import draft can be extremely beneficial beneficial to all parties, improving the talent level of the CHL while helping develop overseas talent for possible professional careers here. But the playing field has to be levelled. levelled. ' Charging a fee is fine -- it currently costs $2,000 to draft an import player -- but a way must be found to keep it at that. No hidden charges. No special arrangements. No demands. In the end, 1 it comes down to a matter matter of integrity: integrity of the teams, integrity of the players, integrity of the agents, integrity of the game. This is still junior hockey after all > ',ïWÊÊÈSk*L - >§ / , ■! |Mp| * --- *■ Green Gaels looking for repeat of 2004 Canadian Jr. B lacrosse championship BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor BOWMANVILLE - The Claring- ton Green Gaels have flipped the calendar. calendar. Like most households that turn the page on the previous month, when the Green Gaels flipped to July, not only was it the beginning of a new 31-day segment, it also represented the start of a new year, so to speak. "It's the beginning of a new season," said co-coach Jason Çrosbie of the venture the lacrosse club is on now that the regular season has concluded and the start of the playoffs has gripped 16 teams in the Ontario Lacrosse Association Association Jr. B loop. While the post-season brings promise and hopes of a championship for those earning a spot, the Green Gaels are Clarington Green Gaels • Finished first in the Mid East, third overall in the Eastern Conference with a 16-4-0 regular season record. • Captain Shane Sargent led the league with 39-62-101 numbers, and finished with the highest assist total. • Enter the playoffs riding a five-game winning streak. TOP SCORERS G A Pts Shane Sargent 39 62 101 Phil Mcllhone 21 32 53 James Barton ' 22 30 52 Justin Fox 27 24 51 Steve Hutchins 25 21 46 Team goals for 225 Team goals against 95 Team penalty minutes under a different microscope than most teams, carrying the title of defending Founder's Cup Canadian champions. The pressure of that label had little to no effect in the opening game of their best-of-five Eastern Conference quarterfinal quarterfinal on Monday night, posting a 14-6 decision in workmanlike fashion over the Barrie Tornado at the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex. Despite allowing the first goal of the series 2:27 in, the Green Gaels controlled the remainder of the game, leading 5-1 after the first period and 10-3 through two. "We just wanted emotion," said Cros- bie of what he was looking for from his team as the new season unfolded. "We wanted our guys to be up and ready for the game and they were. We were ready to go." , ' The teams had little to no time to make any adjustments following Monday's Monday's opener, as the series shifted to Barrie last night (after our deadline) for Game 2, with the third game of the series back in Bowmanville on Friday at 8 p.m. Monday's win was the sixth in a row for the Green Gaels, who ran the table with five in a row to end the regular season to finish first in the Mid East at 16-4-0, but were seeded third in the conference behind Oakville (17- 2-1) and Akwesasne (17-3-0). Barrie finished 11-8-1 for second in the Mid East, but were seeded sixth based on overall records among the teams qualifying qualifying for playoffs. More importantly, in a pair of head-to-head encounters earlier in the season, the Green Gaels came out on top both times by scores of 11-4 and 13-7. Crosbie pointed out that a couple of keys to advancing through this round was to shut down the fast break of Barrie, and stay out of the penalty box. Both objectives were met in the opener. Another key area that emerged were the contributions of a couple of rookies, rookies, namely Adam Derks and Justin Fox, who each scored four times in the Game 1 victory, and looked sharp despite an eight-day layoff between the end of the regular season and the start of playoffs. . ! 1 "We had a practice last week and worked on fundamentals," said Fox of how the team was able to shake the ryst. "We were confident going in. We knew we were going to be the better team from the start. We came out and proved that." Derks, despite playing, in his first playoff game at the junior level, was able to shake off any rookie jitters. "I had a few rookie nerves," he admitted. admitted. "(The veterans) just told us not to be nervous. The vets are really key on this team." The performance of both rookies, combining for eight of the 14 goals, didn't come as a surprise to Crosbie, Crosbie, who has high expectations for the entire cast of first-year players on the team. "These young guys can be the best players on the floor if they want to be. Do they want to be is a question I ask them all the time," he said of the challenge challenge presented to the talented rookie corps. Should the series extend beyond the minimum three games, Game 4 will be in Barrie on Monday, with the fifth and deciding game in Bowmanville Tuesday. Both games will have 8 p.m. starts. THE SCOOP - Also scoring in Monday's Monday's win were Jesse Biduke, Brandon Brandon McFarlane, Luke Carson, Steve Hutchins, Phil Mcllhone and Shane Sargent. Biduke's goal was the most bizarre of the evening. Granted a penalty penalty shot after Barrie was caught with too many men on ,the floor in the final minute, Tornado coach Doug Taylor Taylor opted to pull goaltender Patrick Chapin and insert a defender, Michael Bradshaw, in net. Bradshaw sprinted from the crease right at Biduke, who easily deked around and scored into the empty net...Sargent continued his mastery in playmaking. The league leader in assists this season with 62, had six helpers Monday...In addition to the easy goal on a penalty shot, the Green Gaels also scored three on the power play and another shorthanded. V Game 1, Monday, ÉaMiiiiSiillifli V' 1 11 ^ '• Barrie Tornadç4#Ç) ijsl ' - / n jpPr- - ' : w- ■■ IV ^ ^ I, Friday, July 8 at Claringtom.8 p.m. ^ --r J . ,,r ; VM Garnet, Mondav^Jtlyltt* .......Vgffft'V- "JaSPWfi Eastern Conference v Game 5, Tu|gaay, July FI* A k „ . Barrie at Clarington/ Bést-of-five quarterfinal »?\ ^ ' JàLïJ . neces W Barrie Tornado • Finished second in the Mid East, sixth overall in the Eastern Conference Conference with a 11-8-1 regular season record. / • Lost both games to the Green Gaels this season, 11-4 and 13-7. • Won the Founder's Cup Canadian . championship in 2003. TOP SCORERS G A Pts Troy Heaselgrove 30 37 67 Matt Barbosa 23 30 53 Jonathon Barbosa 23 28 51 Shawn Beer 19 28 47 Michael Bradshaw 12 27 39 Team goals for Team goals against Team penalty minutes 1 lllo 1Z) OUll JU1UVI liuvrvvj Miiv» uni .w-,.,. | / Dodgers take one step forward, two steps backwards OSHAWA -- Heading into the long weekend with three games on the schedule, schedule, the Oshawa Dodgers had a realistic shot at inching closer to seventh place in the Intercounty Baseball League standings. standings. . ■ However, after capturing a win in their first weekend tilt, the Dodgers proceeded to drop the next two contests, leaving them six games behind the London Majors for that seventh spot. On Saturday, the Dodgers played host to the Brantford Red Sox, and despite an offensive outburst, they came out on the losing end of a 15-9 decision. Dodger pitching was solid through the first six innings -- until starter Mark Dainty exited exited the game -- but fell apart soon after, allowing five runs in the seventh and three more in the next frame which broke up a 7-7 game. Ken Galway paced the home squad's offence with a monstrous two-run homer and added an RBI double, while Greg Speed, with two hits and two RBls, and Dane Wolfe and Craig McGill, with two hits and an RBI apiece, also had solid games with the bat. Mat Wilson (2-3) was" charged with the loss after he entered the game in relief of Dainty in the seventh and allowed five runs on two hits and four walks in 2/3 of an inning. Canada Day saw the Dodgers hit the road for a double header with the winless Stratford Storm. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the Storm are no longer winless. winless. In the second game of the twin-bill, Dallas Pearson went yard in the bottom of the sixth inning propelling the Storm to their first win of the season, 5-4 over the Dodgers. Momentum appeared to be headed in the Dodgers' direction as they tied the game at four in the top half of the fifth, but they were unable to recover from Pearson's blast. . Steve Reiss (0-2) went the distance giving up five runs on five hits in seven innings, while Speed knocked out a home run and was one of the few bright offensive offensive spots for the visitors. In the first game of the day, the Dodgers used the long-ball to their advantage in a 9-2 triumph over the Storm. Darryl Reid smacked a grand slam home run to cap a five run sixth inning, while Adam Sylvestre Sylvestre demonstrated some power of his own as he had three hits, including a two-run blast in the fourth. The Dodgers scored all nine of their runs in between the fourth and sixth innings en route to the win. Brian Sewell pitched a gem for the Dodgers -- a complete game, six hit, two run, six strikeout effort -- to capture his third win of the season. Tonight, the Dodgers (7-20) will be in tough as the IBL's top team, the Toronto Maple Leafs (20-5) come to town for a 7:30 p.m, first pitch at Kinsmen Stadium. 1