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i a Sa MIL SF Gd gi Sa "A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 3, 1998 - 17 -------- re --------.., SPORT PORT por PERRY STAR 4 RY OR TS STAR Sudden Death With only two games left, the MoJacks must win both or their season is over By John B. McClelland Port Perry Star The Port Perry ModJacks' playoff hopes are hanging by a very skinny thread. It's as simple as this. The MoJacks must win both ends of a home-and- home set with Georgina this coming weekend. Anything less and they can kiss this season adios. And they also have to hope that Georgina loses at least one of its other games this week against Lakefield and Uxbridge. As it stands now, Georgina and Uxbridge are tied for third with 33 points; the ModJacks have 31 and Bobcaygeon 29. Georgina has four games left, Uxbridge two and Port Perry two. The MoJacks find themselves in this unenviable spot after losing 7-4 on home ice Sunday night to the Uxbridge Bruins -- a game with huge implications for both teams as they went into it tied with 31 points. On Friday night, the MoJacks gave themselves a big boost when they dumped Georgina by a 7-3 count and a win on Sunday against the Bruins would have given them a much better shot at qualifying for the postseason derby. For a couple of periods against the Bruins it looked like they were going to do just that. And then the roof caved in. With a 3-1 lead heading into the final frame, the MoJacks turned in their worst period of hockey this season and allowed the Bruins to score six goals, ile managing just one of their own. It was a total collapse in a game that meant so much. It very well could cost them a playoff berth -- the second year in a row the green and white have failed to qualify for postseason action. Rob Simms, Dale Drummond and Adam Bonneveld staked the MoJacks to a 3-1 lead and the team was full measure for it. They were skating well, killing penalties with authority and playing tough at both ends of the rink. But it was like an entirely different group of hockey players that showed up for the third period. Bruins Allan Racette made it 3-2 in the opening minute and then Mike Norris went to work. He killed the MoJacks and may well have killed their season in the process. Norris scored four times in the period (one into.an empty net with the score 6- 4) and to use and old cliche, "that was all she wrote." Seth Gray did manage to get the lone ModJack goal at 10:08 and it was an important one as it gave Port Perry a 4- 3 lead. But that lead stood for just 62 seconds before the Bruins tied it again and went ahead for good 5-4 with just over two minutes left in regulation. The ModJacks certainly didn't help their cause at all with a couple of foolish penalties -- high sticking and cross checking -- in the neutral zone with a game and a season on the line. On Friday night against Goergina, the ModJacks got a three goal effort from Kevin Gray (up from the Port Juveniles) with singles to Seth Gray, Simms, Bonneveld and Van Schagen. But they couldn't keep the momentum going two nights later against the Bruins. MERCHANTS PREVAIL 5-2 In a game that had an all too familiar look to it as far as the MoJacks are con- cerned, the Little Britain Merchants scored three unanswered goals in the final period for a 5-2 home ice victory last Wednesday evening. It was the final meeting of the season for the teams and the first-place Merchants have feasted on the MoJacks, going undefeated. The ModJacks played decent hockey for 40 minutes, but let things get away from them as the Merchants began to apply lots of pressure, forcing errors deep in the Port Perry zone. The Merchants set the tempo for the third period early as they peppered Mackie with a barrage of shots, forcing him to come up with some quality stops to keep the score tied 2-2. It was only a matter of time before the pressure paid off for the home town team when Jamie Farr got what proved to be the winner at 6:47. Three times the MoJacks had possession of the puck in their own zone and three times were not able to clear it to safely. It was a productive night for Farr as he had three assists to go with the win- ning marker. Andrew Rae and Merchant captain Chad Desjardins rounded out the scoring in the third period. It was Rae's third of the game. Both teams started in a very cautious manner, playing the first and much of the second with little of the intensity and emotion usually evident when the MoJacks and Merchants get together. Perhaps that's the way the MoJacks have to approach the Merchants -- keep things low key and wait for the chances. They played efficiently in their own zone, clearing the puck smartly and preventing Merchants from attacking the net. Seth Gray staked the MoJacks to a 1-0 lead late in the first, pumping his own rebound through the pads of Jeremy MclInness. The Merchants used their strong power play early in the second with Rae snapping home a quick shot from the slot that Mackie had no chance to stop. Just past the midpoint it was Gray again for the MoJacks to give them the lead for the second time. And this one had Gray written all over it. He used his quickness in the centre zone to pounce on a loose puck, then used his speed to beat a Britain defender, work himself into the clear and beat McInness cleanly while cutting to his right across the goal mouth. Quick acceleration and great speed are two of Gray's trademarks and he displayed them on this goal. But, for the MoJacks, that was as good as it was going to get on this night as the rest of the game basically belonged to the Merchants. They tied it 2-2 at the 19:00 mark of the second as Rae whistled a long shot through a screen that just caught the inside of the left post. Mackie didn't make a move on the shot. The tempo of the match picked up considerably late in the second and through the third period, and both teams stuck to hockey taking just a handful of minor penalties. Matt Glen returned to the line-up after missing several games with a shoulder injury, but Scott Heasman watched from the sidelines as he's still Turn to Page 19 TITIAN WN --_--,,t-|1|:HE6t CHRIS HALL / PORT PERRY STAR FREE THROW: The gym at Immaculate Conception Catholic School was packed last Thursday (Jan. 29) evening as the annual Knights of Columbus Free Throw Competition was held. The winners in each category will now move on to the next competition. Here, 13-year-old Morgan Cooper lines up a shot during the event. The Grade 8 student from R.H. Cornish captured the Ladies 13-year-old title. Aces, Sharks all tied up in playoff action By Jon Sanders Special to The Star Ball Callery Senators 4 J & D Carpentry Hawks 3 In the opening game of this year's playoffs it was the Senators who were vic- torious over the Hawks by a score of 4-3. The Hawks were first to get on the board as Dave Burnett pro- vided the offense after being set up by Dennis Lycett and Joe Curran. But with less than one minute left in the opening period the Senators, who have been playing well recently tied this game with a goal from Lee Wilbur with assists going to Lee Steeves and Brian Till. The Senators then took the lead early in the second period when Bill Van Camp found the net unassisted Down by one, Dave Burnett got the Hawks back in this game as he provided two goals to give the Hawks the lead again. His first was set up by Bob Partington and his second which completed his hat trick was set up by Brad Coppins and Bob Partington. The Senators got back in this game though with a goal late in the second peri- od from Jeremy Norton after he took a pass from Brian Till. In the third period the Senators prevailed as they got an unassisted goal from Brian Till and then were able to shut down the Hawks and get the victory in this game. Taylor Fuels Aces 2 Van & Truck World Sharks 2 The second game was also a back and forth affaie as the Aces and Sharks played to a 2-2 draw. The Aces were first to get on the board when Karl Durham found the back of the net after being set up by Ken Little and Jarrett Harman but the Sharks would answer back midway through the second period with an unassisted goal from Mark Jobb and in the third period the Sharks would go out in front of the Aces when Marvin Stephenson provided the offense after receiving pass- es from Wayne Fox and Rick Campbell. The Aces were not down for long and less than one minute after the Sharks took the lead the Aces responded with the game tying goal from Karl Durham. Assists went Turn to Page 18 i I RET ES NE Cas Sha wr