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Hill midget tourney time again! RICHMOND HILL â€" It's that time again. Time for the 10th annual Richmond Hill international midget hockey tournament with 32 teams battling it out from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and the United States. A total of 47 games will be played over a period of seven days beginning next Monday at 9 am. at the Richmond Hill Arena. Grand finale will be the following Sunday with the grand championship game at 2 pm. 500 players More than 500 players, aged 14 to 16, CJaches. managers, trainers and parents will descent on the town during the week which has been officially declared, “Midget Hockey Tournament Week," by Richmond Hill Council.‘ . Official opening ceremonies take place in the arena at 7 pm. Monday just prior to the opening game between the Richmond Hill Legion and Peterboro. Participating teams are guaranteed a minimum of two games. First game winners proceed to Series A comâ€" petition, losers to Series B. Teams continue play in their respective series and must win to remain in the tournament. First and second round games will be played Monday through Thursday. Quarter-final games in both series will be played Friday, with semi-finals and finals scheduled for Saturday. Trophies In addition to team trophies being awarded for championship play, a number of individual awards will be up for grabs. Selection of outstanding players who merit these awards will be made by a group of professional hockey scouts who regularly attend the annual event. Billet players Players living more than 100 miles from Richmond Hill will be billeted with local families, and meals for all participants throughout the week are provided without charge at the Canadian Legion Hall. A Legion bus will provide free transportation between the legion and the arena. Volunteers About 35 volunteer workers operate the annual tourney. This year‘s event has been in the planning stages since last October. Finances to operate the tourney come from advertisers in the tournament program and from gate receipts. Many donations of bread. meat, vegetables. milk and pop are also received from local businessmen. Funds remaining after expenses have been met are turned over to promote minor sports in Richmond Hill. Highlights Among the teams to be highlighted at the tournament will be: Moncton. New Brunswick, and Peterboro, who were representatives in the Wrigley National Tournament. Peterboro was a finalist represen- tative; Nepean, winner of the 1977 Hull Midget Tournament; and Levack. winner of Kirkland Lake and Capreol Tournaments. Also competing will be the Detroit Caesars, Kitchener Greenshirts and Barrie Co-ops. all previous Legion midget tournament champions; and the North York Flames, last year’s winning entry. Monday‘s schedule: 9 am, Hamilton Huskies vs North York Flames; 10;30 a.m., Welland vs Brampton; 12 noon, Niagara Falls vs Oakville; 1:30, St. Kitts vs Thornhill; 3 p.m., Barrie Co- ops vs Detroit Blades; 4:30, Brantford vs Hamilton Tigers; 7:30, Richmond Hill vs Peterboro; 9 pm, Oshawa vs Georgetown. Thornlea Thors’ Paul Wyers (3) seems to have the jump here in Saturday’s Georgian Bay II: a3, The hockey season is really starting to wind down. It’ll soon be over now. Trouble is, I’m winding down myself. I’ll soon be over. I get very tired this time of season. Just sit and stare at the bottle of iron pills my mother faithfully gives me every year. Never got around to opening them again. Now it’s too late. Haven’t got the strength. Fatigue really swarms in on me when I realize the 10th annual Rich- mond Hill International Midget Hockey Tournament is about to start again. Next Monday. Can’t believe it. I’m still feeling the effects of last opening day. It’s a great tournament though. I wouldn’t miss it for all the health and hotdogs in the world. More on this next week. Bubbling Right now, the excitement is starting to bubble over the chances of the Mid-Ontario Junior B champion Oak Ridges Dynes Jewellers. The Jewellers kept my predictionâ€" string going by taking the Thornhill Thunderbirds four straight. I’m batting 1,000. Never been right yet. Wrong again To the unâ€"informed, I came out flatly to say there’s no way the series between Dynes and Thornhill would go to any team four straight. Enough on that. r The Jewellers made it look rather easy so it’s hard to get the feeling they are champions, at least, of their own league. A first, I guess, for Oak Ridges in junior hockey. Okay, go ahead, and correct me. Nice going That’s quite a feat for a team in only its second year (except for an earlier abortive effort) and full marks should go to coach Pete Artemchuk. But, as they say, you’re only as good as your last game. Now it‘s on to either Stratford or Waterloo (Stratford is leading three games to one) with starting times for the next series still in abeyance. ? ? ? None of the Toronto dailies have officially acknowledged there‘s such a thing as Junior B hockey north of Steeles Avenue. So, for further inâ€" formation, I suggest you call the Oak championship final with Orillia Terriers but it wasn’t really so. Orillia won the big game 64-57. fred sim pson Old Dame Fatigue Stratford, you recall, “done” the Jeweller’s out of a gold medal at the Ontario Winter Games in North Bay in somewhat ungracious fashion. Despite this, coach Artemchuk feels his team is capable of “beating anyone” if they play to their peak. “Stratford’s a good club,” he states, “but they can be had.” Tune in and find out. No predic- tions. OOps While on Oak Ridges, I should say they’ve got some really rabid supporters up there. Don’t say anything wrong against the Jeweller’s or you’re in trouble. That’s what happened to me. I got in trouble and I didn’t say anything wrong. Everything happens to me. Didn’t intend to say anything wrong, anyway. Nothing serious, though. A gentleman approached me after one of the games at Bond Lake Arena and gave me a sharp rebuke for a headline I wrote after the North Bay games. It went like, “Handful of Silver for Dynes." I’m not quite sure why, but he objected to my wording. Seemed to think I was downgrading the Jewellers for not winning the gold. Sir, I wasn‘t. In this buiness you try to jazz up a headline the best way you can, and time allowing. If it read wrong, no harm intended. Obviously, because I’m a Dynes fan myself. No Biblical reference, if that was the implication, was intended. Honest; Peace. Good going Finally, still in Oak Ridges. Note from Bob Cairns who is coach of the Oak Ridges Pre-Novice hockey team of three and six-year‘olds. Bob informs me these youngsters were playing hockey for the first time this season and narrowly lost out to Keswick in the finals. These same youngsters started out the season pushing chairs around to keep their balance. Quite a comeback. Never mind kinds, I skated that way once. You came on strong (losing by only 2-0 in that final game) and just wait till next year. Congrats. Goalscorers for Oak Ridges in an earlier 2-0 win were Kent McKenzie and Danny Aldworth. Shutout went to Richard Wilkins. Finally, I’m going to have Ridges Arena at 773â€"4571 for home another go at those iron pills. I'll get opener dates. that lid off yet. (PhOlO by Hoqq) Jumping for’glbry Thornlea Thors hammered at Georgian Bay finals By Dennis Herbert THORNHILL â€" If at first you don’t succeed, try again. An old adage that Thornlea Secon- dary School Seniors‘ basketball team applied for the second year in a row in the Georgian Bay finals. They tried the second time but it didn’t work this time either. The Thors lost again. They went down to a 64-57 defeat at the hands of the Orillia District Collegiate Terriers and lost the chance to compete in the All Ontario Double A basketball finals at Chatham later next week. Stymied This was the second year in a row that the Thors have been stymied by the same Orillia squad which is the Georgian Bay representative in the Ontarios for the third consecutive time. Top records Both teams had impressive records entering the Georgian Bay finals with the Terriers sporting a 284i win-loss season record; the Thors, a 26-10 one. The game started at a fairly slow mechanical pace with Orillia hooping 10 Name THORNHILL â€" The Toronto Blue Jays could be the start of something big for baseball (as in hardball not softball) for youngsters in this area. That’s the hope of Bob Young, general manager of the York Simcoe Baseball League, -which has been withering on the vine the past few seasons. “Softball and soccer has had the major drawing pull on summer sports around here,” said Young, “and we’ve had our problems. I hope the Blue Jays will change all this.” Dynes THORNHILL â€" The Richmond Hill Dynes Jewellers are 1976-77 champions of the Mid-Ontario Junior B hockey league but the tough part is about to begin. The Jewellers finished off the Thornhill Thunderbirds last Friday night to take the best-of-seven series in four straight encounters. Their 8-4 win followed on the heels of a 9-5 third game won at Oak Ridges Wednesday night of last week. At the same time that Dynes coach Pete Artemchuk was tasting the delights of being league champions he was looking ahead to a likely torrid series with either Stratford or Waterloo. Struggle The latter teams are locked in a struggle with Stratford leading three games to one at last information with a Friday night game scheduled. Check Oak Ridges Dynes Jeweller’s goalie Rob Benson has the doorway well blocked here as Thornhill Thunderbird’s Scott Howson points before the Thors could find the mark. A tight-fisted 3-2 zone was brilliantly executed by Orillia and foiled the Thors throughout the first half which ended in a convincing 33-19 score in favor of the Terriers. Gambled The Thors came out gambling in a do- or-die effort in the second half and had Orillia on the run for almost all of the final two quarters. Don Lothrop, one of Thors‘ leading guards over the season, sparkled with eight points in the third quarter to whittle down the Terrier’s margin to a mere nine points and a 51-42 score. Thornlea continued to attack a concerned Terrier outfit with the clock ticking away toward an exciting en- ding. 2 minutes left There was just under two minutes left when the Thorsmen got the score down to 55-54 in favor of Orillia. That’s when Orillia’s Mike Timpano and Sean Wilson, who had appeared dazed by the turn of events, recovered their poise and started to press the Thors. Disaster Thornlea ran into further disaster when two of their starting five, Lothrop and Richard Levy, fouled out with less than a minute to go. Then it was Timpano and Wilson connecting along with Brian Stock for three baskets to put the game out of reach. E11: itilwral Sports Top scorers Top scorers for Orillia District were Stock with 18 points and seven rebounds; Wilson, 15 and 12; and Timpano, 12 and 9. Thors’ marksmen were Levy with 18 points; Lothrop, 18 and 2 assists, and Graham MacDonald with 10 points and 6 assists. Section B Classified Wednesday, March 16, 1977 of game is hardball Young is optimistic to the point where he is planning to open registration for a York Simcoe Baseball House League and select teams for youngsters from Richmond Hill and Thornhill. The league was confined to select teams last season. There was no house league. Player shortage “We had teams from each division last season except for the midget division. We just didn’t have enough players.” Youg figures registration should be high enough for house league and select teams if youngsters from Richmond Hill are invited in also. “We‘ll set the registration date later in the month and announce the times,” he said. “Right now I just want to see what interest we get." Register Place of registration will be the Thornhill Community Centre. Anyone requiring further information is asked to phone Young at 8810085. Struggling “Our league has been struggling,” concluded Young, “but we feel the arrival of a major league baseball team in Toronto could be the life we need.” Young concluded by asking that the word “hardball” be stressed. “There’s so much softball being played around here, people sometimes think baseball is softball.” T’aint so. New president of the league is Ken McRae. Past President is Bob Newton. First vice-president is Dave McGregor who can also be reached at 881-1439 for further information. are league champs Bond Lake Arena for further developments at 773-4571. Artemchuk states that Stratford has a “very good hockey club and we’ll have to be at our best to take them if we meet them. I think we can do it”. He knows what’s ahead of him if his team meets Stratford. It was Stratford who defeated the J eweller’s twice in the Ontario Winter Games at North Bay. Tough team’. . “Stratford is a big, tough team,” states Artemchuk. “Their defence is exeptionally big and strong. And they’ve got a lot of scoring power. All of their three forward lines are well- balanced, all skaters. Mixed emotions Artemchuk also has mixed emotions about a possible week’s layoff. “We can use the rest,” he said, “but too long of a layoff may affect your timing. We’ll just have to work hard in practice.” the Thornhill series? Lot of class “I thought Thornhill showed a lot of class in that last game,” said Artem- chuk. “They gave it a good shot and they have a very fine team. They never gave up. I just thought we came up some of our best efforts.” Friday night’s wind-up saw the Thunderbirds build a +1 lead in the first period on goals by Dave Courtemanche and Bud Shirley, two each, with Dynes’ Dave Stuart replaying. It was all Dynes from then on with goals by Dale Roffey, two, Jim Clement, Mike Carnevale, two, Steve Sherman, Tony Robinson. As for The Wednesday night game in Oak Ridges was also all Dynes except for a brief rally in the second period which saw the Birds outscoring Dynes three goals to two. Richmond Hill had built up a 4-1 lead as , x “W. .,,.,,; No room here (16) tries to find an opener in Friday night’s clincher. It was that way most of the series as the Jeweller’s took the best-of-seven in the first on scores by Clement, Carnevale, Sherman and Robinson. Rocky Pantalone replied for Thornhill. The second period saw Oak ridges goals by Roffey, Cam Reston and Robinson on a breakaway. Replying were Greg Chappelle, Bob Hunter, and Pantalone. Dynes outscored Thornhill two goals to one in the third with Sherman and Stuart scoring. Kerry Pimm replied for the Thunderbirds. Sublime Coach Ralph Beer was sublime in defeat saying that “second place isn’t all that bad. It was a generally en- joyable season. “I thought we did pretty well for a team with a lot of first-year players. We 7 had a lot of young guys and that should stand us good next year. Of course, you like to go as far as you can.” «Photo by Head) series in four straight games. They won Friday night‘s encounter by 8-4. Previous game score was 9-5.