wi-flTBY FEEEg PIZIýS,' EDNEl"A NVM8g3,25, ý-üg ,PACE21 5SPORTS Atoms.in regional playdown Whitby minor atom, minor peewee and minor bantam teams will take part in the 14th annual Iroquois hockey tournament to be held here over the weekend. For the first time, this year's tournament will also include the regional playdowns for the silver stick championships for minor AAA teams. The North American finals for silver stick will be in Newmarket Jan. 28-31. Peewees win consolation TIM TATCHELL (r) of the Anderson senior volleyball team goes up to block this spike from a Pickering player. Anderson lost this game but finished second at the LOSSA tournament held at An- derson last week. The team competed at the Durham- York Secondary Sehool Athieties Association <DYSSAA) tournament yesterday (Thesday). Free Press photo Two players from the Brooklin-Whitby major peewee AA team took top individual honors as Whitby won the consolation round of the recent East Gwillimbury tournament. Peter Allison won top player of the tournament, picking up two goals and six assists over the three games from his defensive position. Along with Allison on defence were Wayne Stevenson, Kelly Vipond, Derek Dixon and Ryan Shanahan who held the opposition to only six goals in the three gaines. Chris Gray picked up top honors as best goaltender in the tournament, allowing only four goals in two games. Zack Hayden, also solid, allowed only two goals in the second game. Whitby lost the first gaine by a close 2-1 count over York Toros with Jordie Johnston picking up the lone marker. Taking NHL early Ni euwen dyk season success in stride Calgary Flames forward and Whitby native Joe Nieuwendyk isn't letting his early success in the National Hockey League go to his head. With one-quarter of the season gone, Nieuwendyk is a top contender for the Calder Trophy, the NHL's award for rookie of the year. To date, he has 12 goals and 8 assists, playing in 19 games. "I have been taking all the publicity in stride," said Nieuwendyk from his Calgary residence. "There is only a quarter of the season gone, so there is still a lot of hockey to be played. " Nieuwendyk went to the Flames via Cornell University. He was the Flames' second pick in the second round of the 1985 draft. But he is not surprised at his output. Nieuwendyk joined the Flames just before the 1987 playoffs. In the playoffs, he was the teams' second highest scorer. "It was important that I joined then. It really helped with my confidence and the experience didn't hurt." He already has two hat-tricks including a game last week against the Quebec Nordiques when he netted four goals. He is tied with another Calder hopeful, Brett Hull, with 11 goals. Of Hull, son of hockey legend Bobby Hull, Nieuwendyk says he has an unbelievable shot. "It is the best I have ever seen. He says both himself and Hull have been receiving a lot of publicity, and as 1988 is Olympic year in Calgary, it would be understandable if Nieuwendyk got caught up in the fervor. JOE NIEUWENDYK But, he says an NHL career poses a "boring lifestyle" off-ice. "We practice every morning from 10:30 a.m. to noon if we have a game that day. Then I go home, eat, sleep, then get up for the game." On off days, Nieuwendyk says that after practices, he either goes shopping or watches soap operas. And as of yet, the Olympics have not interfered in the Calgary schedule. Nieuwendyk also has had his share of bumps. In a game against New York Rangers recently, he suffered a concussion that left him on the bench for two games. "I was dizzy the rest of that night and the next day," he says of the incident in a game against the Rangers. "I was going in on a two-on-one with Gary Roberts, lost my blades and had Willy Huber, size 15 skates, come done on top of my head," recalls Nieuwendyk. But true to his nature, he found a positive side to the injury. "It gave me time to rest," he says. In a recent Globe and Mail article Flames' assistant coach Pierre Page said Nieuwendyk is a guy who loves pressure. "At practice you have to drag him off the ice. You don't see that too often in the skill group -and Joe is in that group. Edmonton's got a few players like that. Wayne Gretzky is one of them. When you find one, you know that you've got a good player. Bryan Trottier is another," said Page. "In hockey, you look at the bench late in a close game and some guys are sitting with their head down. They don't really want to go out there. But other guys are looking back at the coach. They're saying "Send me out. I want the puck." Joe is one of those guys," said Page. Strong 4th, 5th in Japan Lori Strong of Whitby had fourth and fifth-place finishes in the Chunichi Cup gymnastics event in Goya, Japan, over the weekend Strong and Curtis Hibbert of Mississauga were the only Canadians in the meet which had top gymnasts from 15 countries. Strong was fourth on the uneven bars and fifth on the vault. Whitby bounced back in the second game against Pickering, winning 10-2. Kelly Vipond and Gregory French led the scoring with two goals apiece, with singles coming from Allison, Derek Dixon, Jordie Johnston, David Copeland, Brad Stella and Clayton Stiller. The peewees then went on to win the final game over Woodbridge, 7-2. Stella, Copeland and French each had two goals with Allison finishing the scoring. Tackney picked up three assists over the weekend. weekend. Whitby will have one of eight teams in the minor atom AAA division this weekend, and will begin action against St. Catharines on Friday, 10:15 a.m., at the new ice pad at Iroquois. The second game for minor atoms will be on Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Buffalo at the Broolin Memoial arena. Th*fd game is at the new ice pad at Iroquois on Saturday at 6 p.m., against London. Winning teams wvill advance to further play. There are eight teams, including Whitby, at the minor peewee AA level and eight at the minor peewee AAA level. Twelve teams, including Whitby, are at the minor bantam AA level and 12 in the minor bantam AAA level. Whitby will play Scarborough in a peewee AA match-up at 7:55 a.m. at Iroquois (first pad) on Friday. At the same time, Whitby and Brampton will face off at SEE PAGE 22 Club members wiin C titie iin badminton Whitby 'Y' Badminton Club continued its season with a win in the "C" division at the Napanee invitational tournament Nov. 14 - 15. Bill Stacy and Hilda Danforth placed first in the mixed doubles. Lissett Payne and Jeff Williams finished second. Finishing second in the ladies doubles "B" division were Helen Kwan and Lissett Payne, and in the ladies doubles "C" division, Eileen Hibbs and Hilda Danforth. Jeff Williams and Rob Adair were fourth round winners in the mens doubles "B" division. The competition included club members from Durham, Peterborough, Napanee, Trenton, Belleville and Whitby. Napanee invitation winners: Men's doubles: "A", Mark Foley and Todd Duffin, Durham; "B" Devid Int-Veen and Jeff Norman, Durham. Ladies' doubles: "A" Sharon Johnson and Janice McMullen, Trenton; "B" Linda Smith and Marg Smith, Durham. Finalist "C" Hilda Danforth and Eileen Hibbs, Whitby. Mixed doubles, "C" Hilda Danforth and Bill Stacy, Whitby. Finalist, "C" Lissett Payne and Jeff Williams, Whitby. Whitby 's Olympic Torchbearers By BRYCE COOPER The Olympic torch is well on its trek across Canada with less than 80 days before it reaches Calgary to begin the 15th edition of the Winter Olympics. Gordon Hampson and Mark Edwardson of Whitby will both carry the 1.5-kg torch, fashioned in the form of the Calgary Tower. "I had no idea," says Hampson, 30, of Burns Street in Whitby, of his selection. "I was kinda' surprised," says Edwardson, 15, a student of Denis O'Connor in Ajax. The torch is now passing through Nova Scotia and by next week it will be on its way into New Brunswick. The torch will not be in Ontario until December and is due to arrive in Whitby on evening of Dec. 21. "It shouldn't be any trouble and should be a lot of fun," says Hampson who plays racquetball and enjoys running and phvsical exercise. GORDON MARK HAMPSON EDWARDSON Hampson works for Canada Post in Oshawa and also runs a boat chartering service out of the Whitby harbor in the summer. Edwardson says he may have to do a "little training" before his day to run, Dec. 21. Neither knows where he is running but Edwardson believes he will be somewhere near Colborne, east of Cobourg. The Town is hoping people will come out to Dundas St. (Hwy 2) on the evening of the run to "light the way" with candles provided by the Lions Club who are supporting the run nationwide.