The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

J Sports Canadian ÜÉ>t(lt£#in<Ht ♦ October 25, 2006 ♦ durhamresion.com Page B2 Tournament title for Toros Shawn Cayley Dick sure put on a show The red carpet was rolled out Saturday night in Bowmanville for the fourth annual Clarington Sports Hall of Fame night. ' v; : " ■ Of course, the main focus of the, evening evening was the induction of several new individuals, including, softball icon Pete Landers, harness driver Doug Brown, figure skater Lynne Jo-Anne Robson along with a couple of teams, the 1946- 47 Breslin Red Raiders hockey team and the 1954 Newcastle Merchants, ball team. As wonderful as those inductions were, and as deserving as they were, for myself, as a journalist, I couldn't help but get caught up in the presence and entertainment provided by guest speaker Dick Irvin Jr., formerly of Hockey Night in Canada. Looking around throughout his hour or so on the stage, I could see that I wasn't ■ the only one captivated by,his wit, wis- j dom and stories of the past. I After dinner, Irvin and another former \ Hockey Night in Canada personality, Brian McFarlame, pulled out a couple of stools and took their seats, 45 years and five months tor.the day when .they first - sut side-by-side trading chatter about the game of hockey in Montreal. : ' That was well before my time, but on Saturday, was I ever entertained. Irvin would go on and talk about how much of a thrill his life as a kid was, getting the chance to be in the Montreal Canadiens dressing room, seeing guys like Maurice Richard and Elmer Lacli among others. . ' "It was so great to have those opportunities opportunities while my dad (Dick Irvin Sr.) was the coach,"' Irvin admitted. "Sports has changed so much since then and since I became a journalist, but I'ye loved it. I've had the chance to meet and interview interview some of the greatest players to ever grace this great game." . Through all his stories of guys like Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, Howie Meeker, AI Arbour, Don Cherry, Billy Taylor, the closing of the legendary Montreal Forum and watching Mario Lemieux dominate, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups in the early 1990's, there was one thing that hit me. • • As surreal as it was at times to hear these stories, see the kind of background Irvin came from and hear about the things he has done, it was also odd at times to see him up there in the flesh, having fun, cracking jokes and being just another one of the guys, instead of being behind the camera. It was real refreshing. For a guy who started making $75 a week in his first job, to one that ended up spending decades on Hockey Night in Canada and being widely regarded as the voice of the Montreal Canadiens, not to mention having his plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame, he seemed to really enjoy his night in Clarington, I am sure those in attendance on Saturday Saturday night had just as much fun; I know I did. Shawn Cayley's column appears ' every third Wednesday. E-mail scayley@diirliamregion. com "< ■ Athlete sketches by Ruth Read Clarington welcomed five new inductees into its Sports Hall of Fame during an elaborate celebration on Saturday night. Among the newest members are, individual athletes at left from the top down, Doug Brown, Lynne Jo Anne Robson and Pete Landers, as well as the Newcastle Merchants baseball team (top left) and the Breslin Red Raiders hockey team. of Fame grows by Clarington Sports Hall of Fame opens doors to three new members and two more teams BY SHAWN CAYLEY Staff Writer BOWMANVILLE - For three individuals and a pair of teams, Saturday Saturday sure was a night to remember in Clarington. The fourth' annual Clarington . Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony ceremony opened its doors to softball guru Pete Landers,- harness driving driving legend Doug Brown, figuring skating star Lynne Jo-Anne Robson Robson along with the 1954 Newcastle Merchants ball team and the 1946- 47 Breslin Red Raiders hockey club. . While various levels of emotions and achievement surely were going through the minds of each and every inductee, Dick Irvin Jr., formerly of Hockey Night in Canada, and the guest speaker for the evening, perhaps summed it up best. "All the inductees should be very For more on this story proud of this accomplishment," said Irvin, who knows a little bit about that after being enshrined into the •Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. "A .Hall of Fame is always a very special special place, I don't care where it is." Brown, a Bowmanville resident and the first of the inductees on the night, was nearly overcome with emotion when speaking about how much it meant to have the Hall of Fame honour bestowed upon him. "After, all these years of sacrifices by my fam- ' ily with me being so busy and missing a lot of things, this is quite the way to close out a career that is almost over," said Brown, with his voice cracking up. "It really, truly is an honour I'll always remember." After Brown's induction, next up was Landers, who for some 40 years' was one of the most feared fastball hurlers not only in the country, country, but the world. As Landers,. the Orono resident, spoke about some of his accomplishments accomplishments on the mound over the years, of all the things he had the chance to do, his inclusion in the Hall of Fame ranks at the top. "This is quite an honour," he said gazing out at the crowd, like he had done so many times on the ball dia- A WATCH VIDEO durhamregion.com mond. "Although I loved pitching out there in front of a full stadium, there probably isn't many things • that are better then being inducted into a Hall of Fame." • Robson echoed those sentiments, while recalling her big decision to leave home and join the Shipstad and Johnson Ice Follies. A former former member of both the Orono and Bowmanville figure skating club's, Robson's career skyrocketed when, at the age of 17, she lèft for the Ice Follies and travelled throughout North America, America, delighting crowds on a nightly basis. "I took to skating like a duck does to water," she said with a chuckle. "My career was a really amazing experience." On the team side of things, the Red Raiders and Merchants convened on stage , far removed from their years as young boys on the local ice rinks and ball diamonds. However, they stood up just as proud as they likely did in their championship days. Charlie Trimm spoke of how much of a reward this induction w'as for the Merchants club, while David Breslin of the Red Raiders talked about the-thought of seeing their plaque on the Hall of Fame walls. ■ eight for Eagles Durham Rtgionb junior hockey blog Bowmanville beats Kingston, Cobourg : BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor . BOWMANVILLE - It looks easy, but Bowmanville Eagles coach Curtis Hodgins assures that it hasn't been. The Bowmanville Eagles racked up their eighth consecutive win on Sunday night, 6-2 over the Cobourg Cougars, and in the process dismantled another East Confer- cnee foe in workmanlike fashion, pressing and pressing until the opposition finally folded. That was evidenced in the shots on goal department, where the Eagles held a 41-16 • advantage through two periods, but were even on the scoreboard at 2-2. But there was every indication that it was just a matter matter of time before the Eagles' dominance prevailed, and in a span of 1:54 into the third period, the Eagles doubled the lead to 4-2, adding another couple midway through the frame. Final tally of shots.favoured the Eagles 55-25. "We've been scoring a lot of goals which early on masked some of our defensive problems," said Hodgins of his team's play. "We're really starting to limit the opposition chances. We know we're going to score goals here. Our power play is pretty strong and we can score two or three on that per game, "But we're doing the little things that we have been preaching defensively." While the offence gets much of the exposure, exposure, the defensive play has been stilling of late. During the eight game winning streak that has improved the hockey club to 15-1-0-1 on the season, the Eagles have limited the opposition to three goals or less on each occasion. And when teams do break through, goal- Ron Pietroniro/Metroland Durham Region Media Group BOWMANVILLE-- Bowmanville Eagles goalie Bryan Scott makes a terrific toe save off a point blank shot by Cobourg Cougars player David Mathers near the end of the first period. The Eagles scored four times in the third period for a 6-2 win. tenders Bryan Scott and Jesse Pischlar are ill mmmmemmmmmmmmmÊKmmmmmmmmis, tough to beat. Scott at the moment has the belter stats, sporting a 2,89 goals against average and .90-1 save percentage, while Pischlar sits at 3.01 and .878. • At the other end of the ice, four of the .forwards aie in the top-10 in the league scoring race, led by Scott Freeman,' who scored four limes against Cobourg to improve his league leading numbers to 14- 33-47. David Ross has moved into second behind Freeman, as his three assists on the night give him 17-18-35 totals, while tied for sixth overall are Kyle Goodchild 18- 13-31 and Louke Oakley 7-2-1-31. Oakley missed out on a chance to add to his point totals Sunday, the recipient of a knee from Cobourg's Mat McKinlay, who was ejected ejected from the game with a major penally midway through the first period. Oakley did not return after the hit. THE SCOOP -- Also scoring in Sunday's Sunday's win were limit Small and Tnvis Holden, who also added an assist, The only other Eagle with multiple points on the night was Kyle Goodchild, who had two assists...ltvnciKloii Barnett of the Port Perry MoJacks filled in on defence over the weckcmL.The Eagles travel to Lindsay to face the Muskics on Friday, then return home Sunday to face the second second place Wellington Dukes, who have yet to lose in regulation time in 13 outings this season. SÜ .. wm