SIDELINES

’Eyes see game as a stepping stone

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

The Richmond Sockeyes had a chance to take over top spot in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League Thursday. But inexperience stood in their way.

From the opening whistle, the Abbotsford Pilots effectively frustrated the Sockeyes. And by the time the game ended, 6-1 in Abbotsford’s favour, Richmond had been “dimed” to death–collecting no fewer than 14 game or 10-minute misconducts. The “dimes” reflected the Sockeyes’ frustration with the Pilots while vehemently voicing their disagreement with how the game was officiated.

But as disappointed as the Sockeyes were, coach Ron Johnson, rather than focusing on the sour aspects of the contest, showed good foresight post-game when he suggested “as a team, although we lost tonight, a lot of the young guys really stepped up especially physically. We’ll be a better team because of this game.”

Johnson’s comments show why the Sockeyes are two-time defending league and B.C. playoff champions. Obviously, he nor his players were happy with the result, or Josh Hall’s broken tooth from a stick in the mouth. But as upset as Johnson was obviously was, he made the experience of the game as positive as he could. He stood by his players when they needed him most, after what was clearly their most devastating loss of the season.

It will be interesting to see how the Sockeyes respond. Now three points back of first-place Abbotsford (9-1-1) and still two behind the Grandview Steelers (8-4-1-1), Richmond (8-5-0) hits the road for games Saturday in Ridge Meadows and Tuesday in Delta, where they’ll face off against the fourth-place Icehawks (7-5-0) heading into this weekend’s play.

Young lads steal show on ‘Old Boys’ Day’

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

It was Old Boys’ Day on Sea Island Saturday, but the young lads stole the show.

While the Richmond Rugby Club welcomed its alumni back to their old grounds, the current sides, perhaps inspired by the presence of some of the oldtimers, rolled to a pair of impressive wins.

Richmond’s Under-19 boys’ team extended its Fraser Valley league lead to 4-0 with a 32-0 win over Pocomo, while the Second Division side rolled to a 24-0 win in Lower Mainland men’s action.

Outside centre Jonathan Findlay set the pace with two tries in the under-19 match and also helped the men’s team to victory.

As good as the under-19 team has been, coach Jon Malchy thinks it can get even better:

“There has been a lot of good individual effort, but we still need to jell as a team,” he said.

In the final game of the day, the First Division seniors found themselves in a tough battle against Pocomo. Tempers flared as the combatants stepped up their hitting and rucking in an effort to secure the win. In the end, though, each side had to settle for a 7-7 tie.

Prop Matt Wallace scored for Richmond and rookie Dean Morris, playing second row, emerged as one of Richmond's better players.

On Sunday, the Richmond Under-19 girls' team edged Ridge Meadows when winger Quinn Mullins ran 10 yards into the end zone to establish a 5-0 victory.

The Under-19s host Chilliwack (0-3-1) at 10 a.m. next Saturday at Sea Island, while the First Division (1-2) and Second Division (1-2) sides host Kamloops (2-1 and 3-0) starting at 1 p.m.

On Sunday, Richmond’s girls’ team hosts Chuckanut at 10 a.m. Both teams are 2-1-1 on the season.

Strikers off to fast start

When it comes to rugby, Hugh McRoberts Secondary is again the school of note.

Two weeks into the fall season, Striker teams are dominating. The Grade 8 side is 5-0 and running roughshod over their opponents, the Grade 9s are 2-1 after a lopsided win over Point Grey last Thursday, and the Grade 10s are 2-2 after bouncing back from a disappointing loss to Britannia to topple Point Grey 36-12 last week.

Number eight Eric Wiebe scored three tries for the Grade 10s against Point Grey and fellow back-row forwards Tyler Carter and Mike Marquardt scored singles along with centre Marc Gaudreault. Jon Walden had three converts. In addition to the strong play of the back row, Gaudreault and Francis Tungcul made several good tackles and Warren Lees provided the Strikers with strong lineout play. Erkin Duzenli at fullback also played well.

The Grade 10s are scheduled to play at Kitsilano and Magee this week, while the Grade 8s were slated to play a home-and-home series with McMath. The Grade 9s host Magee today at 3:45 p.m.

Raiders win by staying with the game plan

The Richmond Raiders were rewarded for staying with the game plan Sunday.

Down 11-0 at half time, Richmond reeled off 14 unanswered points in the final two quarters to edge the Coquitlam Raiders 14-11 in Vancouver Mainland Junior Bantam Division football action at McNair Park. The victory improved Richmond’s mark to 4-3 with three games remaining in the season, including a game at North Delta next weekend.

After stalling twice on third downs earlier in the game, Richmond regained its composure in the third quarter to convert a third down with five yards to go as Ryan Bradstock hit Arun Hare with a short screen pass. Cody Brown later threw a block to spring Hare past the line of scrimmage and Ryan Reid threw a key downfield block allowing Hare to sprint over the goal line for a touchdown.

Then late in the game, Hare gave Richmond good field position on a punt return. Two plays later, Hare ran in his second TD.

Isles icing a winner

Seafair coach says skill alone doesn’t guarantee success

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

Two years ago, the Seafair Islanders were the talk of the town. They’d like to be again this season.

In the spring of 2003, goaltender Paven Sangara stood tall as Seafair skated to the B.C. Peewee AA hockey championship. But last year the Islanders failed to even make the provincials, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of the veteran players on the now second-year Bantam A team.

“It was major disappointment for us, and a surprise to a lot of hockey people,” coach Ken Hamaguchi says. “We started off strong by winning the (Seafair) Icebreaker tournament as well as having good results in tournaments in Victoria and South Delta, but unfortunately we ran out of gas at the end. This year we hope to reverse that trend and get strong as the year goes on. So far, we seem to be going in that direction.”

The Islanders are coming off a 3-1-1 record at this year’s Icebreaker, played last weekend at the Richmond Ice Centre. Their loss, 4-3, was to a team from Ashburn, Virginia which scored on a penalty shot in overtime in Sunday’s semifinals.

“Although the loss was a disappointment, it was probably the most exciting game of the tournament,” Hamaguchi said. “I was proud of how the boys responded without having Trevor (captain Hamaguchi was serving a one-game suspension) on the ice. A lot of players stepped up. This was our first real test and despite the third-place finish it gave the boys an idea of the high level of hockey they will have to play if we are going to be successful this year.”

The team started the year slowly, which coach Hamaguchi attributes in part to scheduling too many games and not enough practices.

“Since that has changed you can see the improvements,” he says, adding one of the Islanders’ goals is to play in the Tier one group along with the likes of the North Shore Winter Club, Burnaby Winter Club, Abbotsford, South Delta and Maple Ridge.

“We won’t be able to consistently beat them, but we feel if the boys work hard and play smart we can give them a good game,” he says. “As for the other five teams in 11-team division, we feel we can be competitive with all of them and be a serious contender for the provincial title.”

The Islanders are led offensively by Trevor Hamaguchi, who is regarded throughout the province as one of the top players in Bantam Division hockey. The team will rely on his leadership and scoring prowess.

But Hamaguchi also has a good support cast that includes gritty Sam Smith who plays a physical game but can also put the puck in the net, Landen Huculak, considered by the coaching staff to be “one of the top ’91 born players in the province,” Jaime Manhas, a strong defensive player who also handles the puck well, and Sangara who will again be the anchor in goal.

But while the Islanders may have plenty of skill, coach Hamaguchi says that alone won’t guarantee the team success.

“There are so many teams with a lot of good players, but that doesn’t mean they will be good teams,” he says. “For a team to be successful the players not only have to be skilled but disciplined, unselfish and willing to work hard every shift.”

The goal is to have all the players buy into the same game plan, avoid taking stupid penalties, and play as a team not as individuals.

“I think we can,” he says. “They are very focused and overall I am very optimistic about this year.”

•Juan de Fuca won the Bantam A title with a 7-5 win over Ashburn. Vancouver Thunderbirds edged Kamloops Raiders 4-3 for the B Division title, while Hollyburn Huskies topped Alaska All-stars 5-1 for Peewee A honours, and Surrey Hurricanes shaded Tier-Cities Junior Americans 5-4 for the B crown.