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"A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, October 14, 1998 - 21 Large... Port Perry's Todd Healey takes a look at today's world of sports REJECTED: It was an all-around terrible night for the Port Perry MoJacks last Sunday as they dropped an 8-5 decision to the visiting Little Britain Merchants. After a horrid first period, the CHRIS HALL / PORT PERRY STAR green and white started to make their way back into the game but bad penalties eventually led to their fourth loss of the season. Here, Port forward Adam Metheral is turned away in the first period. Merchants TKO the ModJacks Little Britain goes home with an 8-5 victory after pounding on Port Perry By John B. McClelland Port Perry Star Port Perry ModJack's head coach Tom Thornbury hopes his team is able to salvage something positive from what was a disappointing weekend in the Central Junior C Hockey League. The Modacks went down to defeat twice --Friday night against Uxbridge and Sunday at home to Little Britain. And the team's record fell to four losses and one win. After dropping a 3-2 heartbreak- er to the Bruins, the MoJacks did battle in more ways than one with the Merchants, and came out on the low end of an 8-5 score in a game filled with penalties and fights. Thornbury hopes a game like that will bring his team closer together, add an intangible ingredi- ent that will put some badly needed wins in the book. "This should bring the guys together, make everyone feel like they are part of the team," he said after the loss to the Merchants. "Some guys fight, some guys score goals," he said of the way players can contribute to the success of a team. But Thornbury knows that already the team is slipping in the standings even though the hockey season is still very young. "We must start to make a move. We've got to make that jump now, we just cannot afford to have a losing streak of eight or nine games." He would badly like to see the team put together a winning streak of three or four games to get the ModJacks back to .500 hockey, at least. Their next game is this Friday night on the road against the high- flying Georgina Ice. And the ModJacks will be short-handed in that one because of what happened in the Little Britain contest. Netminder Jeff Mackie, blue liner Matt Glenn, defensive stalwart and captain Jeff Clarke and team sniper Adam Bonneveld are all facing pos- sible suspensions for taking major penalties. The Merchants took full advan- tage of Port Perry penalties to open a 4-1 lead in the first period. Thornbury said once the team got down by that much of a margin, it was tough to bounce back. But to their credit the ModJacks did just that, scratching out a couple of goals to make it 4-3 before the Turn to Page 22 Joe's Pizza squeezes a win out of Monsma By Jon Sanders Special to The Star Joe's Pizzeria 6 Monsma Electric 4 In the opening game of this week's SHL action it was Joe's Pizzeria handing Monsma Electric the defeat with a 6-4 vic- tory. Leading the way for Joe's was George Gladish as he netted a pair in this contest including the opener from Dave Dickson and Keijo Kinnunen. Extending the lead to 2-0 for Joe's was Bill Weisflock as he pro- vided the goal after being set up by John Mackey and Rick Hope. Monsma Electric did find the net in the opening period as Rick Campbell got his team back in this game assisted by Jim Duncan and Jody Peters. In the second frame Monsma Electric tied this contest at two when Brian Till found the net with some help from Rick Campbell and Wayne Norton. But Joe's once again put two on the board to go up 4-2 and these goals came from Brad Hollinsworth who was set up by John Mackey and Colin Wackett, as well as Dave Dickson from Keijo Kinnunen and Colin Wackett who picked up his second helper of the game. This game was def- initely a back and forth matchup and it showed in the second period when Monsma Electric found themselves back in this game again with two more goals to tie the game at four. Brian Till got Monsma within one assisted by Rick Campbell and Dave Cini, and then 18 seconds later Brad Meekin tied this game at four with helpers going to Mike Clarke and Mike McQuade. Turn to Page 22 A great Canadian tradition As of last weekend, the NHL opened another sea- son of fun and games and hot on the heels of opening night comes another great Canadian tradition: hockey pools. Pick you poison, they're all there from office pools to family pools to rotisserie leagues and if you are a regular participant in hockey pools, you'll notice that the same people seem to do well year after year. Contrary to popular belief, this success is not due to genetic superiority, incredible intelligence or even luck. The only difference between perpetual winners and everyone else is that they have a game plan and stick to it. Below them is a simple four step game plan to assist in making you the envy of the office pool and king of the general populace. Step #1 - Do your homework. There are tons of "pool guides" out there on the magazine racks to chose from, and even though they're a bit pricey, buy one. A six or seven dollar investment on a good pool guide could be worth it's weight in gold at the draft table. By knowing who's playing on who's line or which up-and-coming rookie might be worth a look or, as is the case this year, who's holding out, is invaluable. Look, if your pool is an auction format, you don't want to hear a player's name put up for bid and be saying to yourself, "who the Miroslav Frycher is he?" Know the players; know who plays on the power play and you're already a step ahead. Step #2 - Stick to high scoring teams. Lots of gems to be had here. Incredibly, many people place a higher value on players from winning teams rather than top scorers from average or below - average teams. For example, St. Louis was the highest scoring team in the NHL last year but as marquee status in pools go, their players are well down the list behind players from teams like the Red Wings and Flyers. On draft day, you'll see second and third- line players from Detroit, players who might have a career year and only score 40 points drafted ahead of top-line players from poor teams who are guaran- teed to score 70 points. Unless plus/minus is a factor in your pool, great picks are lurking in the weeds from teams like L.A., Phoenix, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. Step #3 - Don't be sentimental. At all costs, draft with your head and not your heart. Remember, you are a GM of a squad here and not just a fan, so evaluate on talent only. Don't overpay for a guy simply because you like his style, the way he plays the game. Sure, everybody likes a gritty hustler like Steve Sullivan but, bottom line, if he isn't a proven producer, he's of little value to you on draft day. Step #4 - Don't be emotional. Unless one of your players is injured and expected to be out for an extended period of time, don't push the panic button and trade in haste. Some guys are perennial slow starters like Vincent Damphousse, who never turns on the jets until after Christmas. Unless there are other factors causing a player's poor start, such as he is no longer on a scoring line or is in the coaches dog house, hang on. Just like a scratch golfer who shoots 40 on the front nine and 32 on the back, you know over the long haul your player will finish the season at or near his career average. In fact, if you are a sharp trader, you can take advantage of some other Nervous Nellie GM in your pool and trade for his slow starter. Buy low, sell high. So there then is your fool-proof, sure-fire plan to successful hockey pooling. Have fun and happy hunting.