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1/ durhamrsyion.com . Page 14 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ March 15,2006 W* lisgiltll Brad Kelly noek nows f what The voice of the Oshawa Generals I; and Whitby Dunlops. is currently over * in Italy putting a face on the Paralym- pic Games. ' , ' vy* TRob Snoek, whose calls of the Gener- J-'V.als and Dunlops has kept many local [;•.* 'jockey fans abreast of the lows and <H ? highs respectively, left last week to be £p jjart of the Paralympic broadcast team j' assembled by CBC, where he will pro- j' vide commentary and play-by-play for i; sledge hockey. v ""'"It's going to be a challenge," said [ Snoek before departing for a two-week i stay in Italy. "We have a crew that is v*I about five per cent of the size of the £»* one for the Olympic coverage. Every- 5 '>" , one has to be very versatile on this *« Snoek is among less than a dozen that ^" comprise the crew that will file daily reports, with expanded coverage , of t* ' the games on the weekends. His main Jr " assignment, sledge hockey, will be Jason Liebregts / Metroland Durham Region Media Group Jason Speight (21) and Kyle Goodchild (29) of the Bowmanville Eagles fight for positioning in front Port Hope Predators goalie Paul Dainton Sunday. The Eagles opened the best-of-seven East Conference final with a 3-0 win. si-L' shown on a tape-delay basis I It's the third time that Snoek has been ÿ ; |arf of,'the Paralympic brc ^ ^cdyèriug alpine skiing at 1 & ^SàitLake City in2002, as vfëlFaS track ; events from Athens, Greece in 2004. And not many are better suited for ». *> P z% The Bowmanville resident is a former £>■ three-time Paralympian, representing Canada in track and field events. His specialty was the sprints, 100m and 200m specifically, as well as the long jump. Despite losing his left leg from the" knee down as an infant, it never t|^topped Snoek from pursuing his pas- ^' siori for athletic compétition. In addiction addiction to his individual pursuits, he has also represented Canada in volleyball .and hockey at the World Championship fv level. .3- '"Yet, despite his involvement over, number of years, he walks among jbday's amputee athletes as a relative Cunknown, which is fine by him. • ' "That's always interesting," he says of ^'.whether he gets recognized at events. C^Some of the people that I would think C*a ve n ° idea who I am, and when I .^approach them, I find out they know C*hc. There are others I have met before, l^yet they don't remember me. Young athletes aren't typically C jflught, the history of the Paralympics, j£.îind I wasn't either." *£>'He says that prominent names like 4 Jeff Adams and Chantal Peticlerc are ^rnore recognizable for their accom- 4"plishments. S*"" As for the comparison of being on both sides of the microphone, as an *£ jthlete or a member of the media, '*£ Snoek says he is comfortable in his «£, career pursuits, and doesn't long for *>'those lonely days spent on. the track "ÿ . trying to shave time off hi's personal ;<bpsts. >£"No, I realize how old l am," he says. >*i4/ith a chuckle. ;<';:"2001 was my last year of competing "4'.' and I did it that year for me. Every- one thought I was going to retire the >pycar before, and if I did, I would have .4, had my doubts. But because I stayed Vpliround, it cemented in my mind that I % panic to the right conclusion." 4 Brad Kelly's column appears ' & every third Wednesday. E-mail * bkelly@durliainreKion.coin Bowmanville leads best-of-seven series 1-0 heading into Game 2 tonight BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor BOWMANVILLE - It was imperative imperative the Bowmanville Eagles get off to a good start in their Eastern Conference final against the Port Hope Predators, and they did that on a couple of important important fronts. For one, they got off to a quick start on home ice Sunday with three goals in the first period, putting the visiting Predators Predators in a hole early. Secondly, they preserved that lead throughout the rest of the night, getting out to a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series, with Game 2 in Bowmanville tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Predators get games three and four on Thursday and Saturday. And it is for that reason that the opening opening game of the series was considered a must-win. Lose the opener, and if another bad game followed, the possibility possibility existed of heading back to Port Hope down two games in the series, "This was an important game for us with the way the series is laid out," agreed Eagles coach Curtis Hodgins. "We have to use these two games to our advantage on home ice! "We got off to a great start and it has really been our trademark in the playoffs." playoffs." • The Eagles did just that, as David Ross scored the first of his two on the night when he walked out from the comer and beat Predators goalie Paul Dainton along the ice. Jason Speight followed with a wrist shot from the high slot just 2:30 later. Ross, who picked up the assist on Speight's goal, complete a three-point night by flipping the puck upstairs on the power play with just 21 seconds remaining remaining in the opening period. While Port Hope held an edge in the shot department, firing 30 in the direction direction of Rick Miller to just 18 by the Eagles, there were very few, if any, that could have been considered dangerous or quality scoring chances. / : ; ' And that is a fact not lost on Predators coach Cory Banika. . . "We were not ready to play tonight (Sunday)," says Banika. "If .we are not prepared to play-a full 60 minutes and'not ready to play every shift against a team like that, this ,is what happens." While the final outcome went the way of the Eagles in the opener, , there was not a whole lot of noise coming out of the dressing room, as the mood was anything but celebratory/ "That's only game one," cautioned Hodgins. "There is . a long way to go here." meet | I r .FROM THE NET OUT V - m Durham Region's junior hockey jicene through » the eyes of our writers... DURHAMREGION.COM Holly McGraw and Jay Berry represent Courtice at OFSAA skiing championships BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor COURTICE -- Holly McCraw and Jay Berry found out they have a lot in common in terms of their competitive results on the slopes. The Courtice Secondary School students students both enjoyed gold medal winning performances at the LOSSA championships, championships, advancing them to the OFSAA Alpine Ski Racing Championships, where the top 400 high school skiers in the province competed at Blue Mountain Mountain in Collingwood. At OFSAA, McCraw was 19th after her first run in the slalom course, but in an attempt to upgrade her standing in the second of two runs, clipped a gate and lost a ski. Undaunted, she did manage manage to finish. Berry met a similar fate. Sitting 13th after the first run, he hooked a gate and was unable to finish his second run. In the giant slalom, both skiers had two clean runs, Berry finishing 26th and McCraw in 28th. It was the third straight trip to OFSAA for McCraw, whose best previous finish was a top-20. "I was really happy with the 19th place in the slalom after my first run, but when I fell in the second one, 1 was a little upset," said the 16-year-old, Grade 11 student, who retrieved the ski that had fallen off and completed the run. In the giant slalom she felt she, "Could have pushed a little harder, but I'm happy with the finish. A lot of girls had good runs." She has every intention of making it four straight trips to provincials next year. As for Berry, the 17-year-old, Grade 12 student was satisfied with his first appearance at OFSAA. "The slalom is more my event, and I tried to get a top-10 and maybe pushed too hard," he said of his spill during the second run. "I was a little upset at the beginning, but it was just fun to be there." There were approximately 90-100 skiers skiers in each of the divisions. "I was very proud of Holly and Jay in their outstanding effort and performances, performances, as well as the positive sportsmanship sportsmanship they displayed at the provincial provincial level event," said their coach at Courtice, Ewen MacDonald. Both qualified for OFSAA after placing placing first at LOSSA, held at the Georgian Peaks Ski Club in Collingwood. . Submitted photo Jay Berry and Holly McCraw represented Courtice Secondary School at the OFSAA skiing championships. At left, McCraw races down the hill.