Strikers number two in B.C.

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

Hugh McRoberts Strikers' title hopes disappeared Friday in all of five minutes.

That's all the time Cowichan needed to score two goals and hold off the Strikers 2-1 in the B.C. triple-A high school girls' field hockey final at Burnaby Lakes Sports Complex.

This is Cowichan's eighth provincial championship in the last 12 years and second in a row.

"The girls were a little disappointed at the end but still happy with what they accomplished," McRoberts coach Roger Young said. "It was a competitive final and a good tournament for us."

While play in the opening five minutes was even, Cowichan scored on each of its forays into the McRoberts end. But instead of thinking the game was over the Strikers played twice as a hard, Young said.

Alana Couzelis, a Grade 11 who usually plays defence, was in the midfield when she scored the lone Striker goal early in the second half following a scramble.

The Strikers continued to press for the equalizer and Young suggested they simply ran out of time.

Young applauded his Grade 12s for leading the comeback efforts. He said twins Judith and Eva Stredulinsky were both standouts along with Adrienne Taylor and goalkeeper Kathryn Masson and also noted the play of Grade 11s Kara McLeod and Kylie MacLeod and Grade 9 Pam Aldridge. McLeod scored on a penalty stroke to lift McRoberts past Kelowna in the semifinal earlier in the day, breaking a scoreless tie through regulation.

Young said there were scouts from several universities at the tournament who were impressed by the Strikers. He said he expects several players to get scholarship offers.

Trojans hope to be Royal pains

Boyd, Handsworth meet Saturday in football semifinal

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

The Handsworth Royals have quite literally ran roughshod over opponents this season. But the Hugh Boyd Trojans hope they'll at least be able to keep in step when the teams meet this weekend on the turf at B.C. Place Stadium.

Handsworth heads into the provincial double-A high school semifinal against Hugh Boyd (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) having won their previous games by an average of 30 points, thanks largely to outstanding team quickness. Hugh Boyd coach Bruce Haddow is looking for the Trojans to contain the Royals as much as slowing them down.

"It's a faster game on the carpet," Haddow said. "We're planning to have a few practices at Sportstown this week that should help us."

The Trojans defeated Vernon's J.L. Seaton 17-14 in quarter-final action last week under the dome but were slow starting. Haddow said it's not so much the atmosphere (although that's part of it) but adjusting to the hard surface that takes a while to get used to.

"While Handsworth is a great team that throws and runs the ball well this is why we play the game," Haddow said. "The kids are excited."

London finds way to soccer playdowns

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

The Charles London Legends don't have any delusions of grandeur heading into the B.C. triple-A high school boys' soccer championships today through Saturday at Burnaby Lakes Sports Complex.

Like any other team they'd like to win the title. But coach Aman Dhaliwal says "we've got to be realistic."

"I think if we can get out of our group and win a game or two that would be great," he says.

London is pooled with the likes of Oak Bay, South Kamloops and Abbotsford which is one of the pre-tournament favourites.

"We're the 1-0 team," Dhaliwal laughs.

"We play defensively with four players on the backline and five midfielders."

Grade 12 sweeper Kentaro Nagai is the Legends captain and best player. He is the coach on the field and is a reliable defender who rarely is out of position.

London relies on Jay Kim and Oleg Karminski to score the bulk of the team's goals. Kevin Dufva has played well in net after starting the year as a defender.

Elements play havoc as Raiders reach end of the line

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

The elements helped decide the outcome of the Vancouver Mainland Football League's Midget Division semifinal Sunday.

Every point the teams scored was with the wind at their backs as the North Delta Longhorns ended the Richmond Raiders' season with a 21-10 victory.

"It's too bad the weather was like it was," Richmond coach Glenn Kishi said. "You couldn't get anything going. You'd go to punt (into the wind) and the net gain was maybe 10 yards."

North Delta took advantage of the wind at their backs in the first quarter to open with a single. They managed three more before the quarter ended.

Jarrod Nagai punted the ball 90 yards through the end zone for Richmond to start the second quarter.

Richmond added a Martin Urbanowicz touchdown and a 30 yard field goal from Colin Ferguson to go up 10-4 at the half. But the Raiders were unable to sustain their momentum and the Longhorns capitalized with two TDs, a safety, and two singles in the third quarter.

The Raiders again had the wind at their backs in the fourth quarter, but by then had lost all momentum. Injuries to key players didn't help either. Neither defensive end Ricky Barha or tackle Jeff Franklin played and defensive back Aeron Kawakami and tailback Neil Lynden had severe ankle sprains.

"I'm proud of them, they didn't give up," Kishi said. Raiders finished the season 8-2. They had 29 wins, three losses and two ties in the last three seasons, reached the league finals twice, and won a B.C. title.

Field hockey revival

Larry Pruner and Don Fennell, Metro Valley sports

Basketball, football, track and field, and others.

When it comes to crunch time in sports at the B.C. triple-A high school level, Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley teams predominantly overpower squads from the rest of the province.

The record book has shown the exact opposite to be the case, however, in girls field hockey.

Vancouver Island's Cowichan Thunderbirds have dominated the provincial triple-A field hockey championships in recent history, winning three of the last four years heading into this weekend's (Saturday's) final round of this year's event at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex. The T-birds won it all in 2002, 2000 and 1999.

The Interior's Kelowna Owls broke the T-birds' try for a three-peat in 2001 by claiming the top prize.

The last time a Vancouver-area team won the title was when the Hugh McRoberts Strikers of Richmond did so in 1998. Prior to that, the last Mainland/Valley squad to claim the B.C. crown was the Chilliwack Tillicums in 1991. In fact, after the Maple Ridge Ramblers scooped gold in 1989, Island/Interior teams did so 11 of the next 13 years.

Why?

"A lot of the teams here (at provincials) have had programs a long, long time," said Brian Lewis, coach of Coquitlam's Gleneagle Talons, who, making only their second trip ever to the B.C.'s, were thumped 4-0 by a strong, fleet Kelowna squad in their opening tilt Wednesday. "It boils down to individual skills . . . the little things. Kelowna was (provincial) runners-up last year and they won it all the year before. They have a really strong program (because) winning breeds winners."

The same, by the way, goes in the smaller-school B.C. double-A ranks, where Victoria's Lambrick Park Pride won provincial field hockey gold two weeks ago and where Island/Interior teams have won the grand prize nine of the last 11 years.

Jenny John, technical director of B.C. field hockey, said her sport is no different than others in that it all boils down to program leadership.

"Field hockey is popular (at any school) purely because of the people involved," John said. "If you get somebody keen enough and knowledgeable enough who put in the time, it's going to eventually thrive. The younger you start (players), the better your program's going to be."

Jo Ann Harrington, coordinator of this year's B.C. triple-A tournament, said more and more students are taking up field hockey largely because more and more former players are giving back to the game.

"All the people who played 20 years ago are now coaching," Harrington said.

"I think because of that, field hockey is making a comeback in a lot of areas that are restarting programs, and in areas where people (with experience) in the sport are starting new programs."

Gleneagle Grade 11 stick wiz Leah Gibson has been playing field hockey at her school since Grade 9. She also plays basketball and girls rugby, but ranks them both a distant second to her first love field hockey.

"It's so different from all the other sports," said Gibson, who also toils on Lewis's Tri-City Eagles club teams and has taken the turf with provincial squads. "I've never learned so much about something I didn't know a lot about when I started. The pace is fast and you need good hand-eye coordination. The stick skills you need are unbelievable."

Hugh McRoberts Strikers, at press time playing Kelowna for a berth in the final against either Brentwood or Cowichan, has fostered a winning tradition since capturing the B.C. title in 1998-99. And most of the current members have been to several championships with zone and provincial teams.

It helps to have a high standard to play toward, said McRoberts coach Roger Young.

"There's a lot of excitement around this year's tournament," he added. "A bunch of us have played the games in our minds a couple of times already."

"(The Strikers) have come together well and played as a team. They're doing things out there they haven't done all year long."

Young is also pleased to see another Richmond school, R.A. McMath Wildcats, qualify for the provincial triple-A tournament for the first time in its history. He believes their presence confirms that field hockey in the community is appreciated.

"Word trickles that it's a great sport to play," he said. "Within communities all over the province field hockey is growing."

The introduction of artificial turf in many of the communities has also helped speed up the process, Young suggested.

McRoberts has finished in the top eight at the provincial championships each of the last five seasons, including seventh a year ago. They were third in the 2001-02 season.

High school game generating much enthusiasm throughout the province

Colleen Flanagan photo

Brooke English of the R.A. McMath Wildcats fought for control of the ball againsdt Mill Bay's Brentwood College school Wednesday at the B.C. triple-A high school girls' field hockey championships.

Fired-up Flyers flourish against sluggish Sockeyes

Poor effort disappoints Richmond coach

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

The Richmond Sockeyes took an unscheduled night off Thursday.

Sure the Sockeyes were there physically, but mentally never showed up in falling 5-2 to the North Delta Flyers at Minoru Arenas. The loss dropped the Sockeyes' record to 12-4-3-0, three points better than the second-place Delta Ice Hawks (who have a game in hand) in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League.

The sixth-place Flyers (now 7-8-1-0 and a point back of fifth-place Abbotsford Pilots) out-hustled and out-scored the Sockeyes in every category, even out-hitting the Sockeyes much to the chagrin of Richmond coach Ron Johnson who expected his team to set the tone.

The letdown was predictable after Richmond easily dumped the expansion Hope Ice Breakers 9-0 in a road game last Sunday. Richmond so dominated that game their goaltender Brandon Grant had to make just five saves for the shutout. And there was just once faceoff in the Sockeye end of the ice in the first period.

But Johnson expressed concern that his team can't seem to manufacture the same focus at home, where the Sockeyes have lost two of their last three games.

After completing a home-and-home with the Flyers this Saturday in North Delta, Richmond hosts Hope here next Thursday (Minoru Arenas, 7:15 p.m.).

q ICE CHIPS: Last Thursday's game against North Delta featured several odd occurances. North Delta's Tyler McNeely scored the first of two goals on a penalty shot at 6:17 of the second period, flipping the puck over the right pad of Richmond goaltender Wyatt Russell on the goal line. Richmond's Jordan Oye was awarded a penalty shot at 10:14 of the middle frame but was stopped by Woody Wills who made 32 saves in the North Delta net. Ironically, Richmond's John Crang was given a double minor for spearing at the same time as Oye's penalty shot.

Jeff Anderson, Brock Meadows and Chad Richmond also scored for North Delta, while Cormac Brennan and Steven Sawada scored for the Sockeyes.

Surprising Wildcats reach B.C.s

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

Aside from captains Masumi Turnbull and Jithan Virk, the R.A. McMath Wildcats have limited soccer experience. But through sheer determination they've reached the provincial championships.

McMath begins its title hopes Monday at the Burnaby Lakes Complex in the B.C. double-A high school school senior boys' soccer championships.

Sixth in the Richmond high school league during the season, the Wildcats slowly learned to work together and coaches Ian Turnbull and David Johnston were confident they'd put forth a good showing in the playoffs. Their forecast was right on the mark as McMath upended the Matthew McNair Marlins 4-0 and then edged league champion Hugh McRoberts Strikers (previously undefeated) 4-3 to qualify for the Vancouver and District playdowns.

McMath was even more impressive in the districts, their only blemish being a 4-3 loss to defending provincial champion Notre Dame Jugglers.

"However, this game gave McMath great confidence to take on such a powerful team and match them goal for goal," coach Turnbull said. "They realized then they had truly come together as a team."

McMath went on to beat Britannia Bruins 3-0 and the Hugh Boyd Trojans 3-2 in the shootout.

The provincials continue through Wednesday at Burnaby Lakes.

McRoberts district champions

Strikers shade Crusaders for high school senior volleyball crown

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

A little confidence goes a long way.

In late October, at the H.J. Cambie Crusaders invitiational high school girls' volleyball tournament, the Hugh McRoberts Strikers netted their first win in three seasons over their long-time Richmond rivals. It was a boost that would propel the Strikers to even greater heights Thursday when they defeated the Crusaders in three sets to win the Lower Mainland title.

Ranked sixth in the province (Cambie is fourth), McRoberts heads into the provincial triple-A championships Nov. 27 to 29 at Langley's D.W. Poppy Secondary now knowing they have the necessary ingredients to reach the top.

"I really like where the team is at," McRoberts coach Sheri Frier says. "I haven't felt a confidence like this with our team before. Even in our semifinal game against Little Flower Academy Angels the flow was continuous."

Frier says she's always known the Strikers have the pieces in place to contend for a championship. All that was missing was the girls' truly believing in themselves.

Grade 12s Julie Koepke and Kristin Knapp led by example Thursday, overpowering the Crusaders with their hitting.

"It was a big key," Frier says. "They were outstanding."

While the Strikers are enjoying their run of success, they are also acutely aware how close the top five or six teams in the province are. But they also believe they belong in the same class at number one-ranked Ballenas Whalers of Parksville and second-ranked Poppy.

"It was nice to finish off the fifth year with this team this way, but not just because we won," Frier says. "The first thing we did after the match was have a picture taken with both teams. That was kind of neat."

It reflected two things. The strength of the friendships between the players (many of whom play community volleyball together with Air Attack) and the respect they have for each other.