OspreyBlogs

Readers of the “good old Blog” have no doubt been aware of the ongoing repairs and changes that we have been experiencing.

Not being a “techie” but rather a sports hack, I can’t pretend to know what has been going on within the IT Dept. of Sun Media, so all I can say to those who frequent this Blog is to ask that you try to be patient as those who are in charge of this particular area continue to work to try to get OspreyBlogs.com back to normal.

Being that the playoffs in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are already underway, I’m going to pass on posting my “full out” predictions and basically just reveal who I had picked to win the four opening-round series.

To be sure, I have no surprises in store for you.

My calls are Abitibi over Temiscaming in 5, North Bay over Sudbury in 6, Soo Thunderbirds over Manitoulin in 4 and Blind River over the Soo Eagles in 6.

I’m thinking that the Blind River/Soo Eagles series may up ending being the hardest-fought…and not just on the ice.

As this is being written, the Eagles are trying to move Wednesday’s scheduled Game 2 in the Michigan Soo to Thursday.

Seems there’s a high school hockey game slated for Wednesday night at Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Soo  — which is when the Eagles were slated to play host to Blind River.

The Eagles want to move the game to Thursday and while they have their side of the story, the Beavers aren’t so keen on this proposed late change. And I can’t say that I blame them.

At any rate, here’s hoping that OspreyBlogs.com is now fully functional. All seems to be well at the moment.

To be sure, I have missed your comments and feedback.

Mathematically the Owen Sound Attack are still in the hunt for a playoff spot.

The reality is all that’s left is the crying because there’s no way the Attack will  catch the Guelph Storm for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Even a win tonight against Erie – and it’s looking good with a 2-0 lead after the first period – won’t be enough.

While the math says Owen Sound needs to win its next three and hope Guelph goes 0-4 down the stretch, the reality is the Attack isn’t playing well enough for that to happen.

The Storm is 6-4-0-0 in the last 10 while Owen Sound is 3-6-0-1.

That’s a five-point difference and not so coincidentally, the Attack trail by five points in the standings.

End of 1

Owen Sound 2 Erie 0

Goals: OS – Steven Shipley, Garrett Wilson.

Goaltenders: Scott Stajcer OS (8/8); Ramis Sadkov E (15/17).

Canada is a proud hockey nation, almost too proud at times. Half the country was getting ready to jump off a cliff after the U.S. beat us last Sunday, the other half wanted to hang poor old Martin Brodeur.

I heard there was one guy at the arena this week who was so disappointed in the team he was daring people to bet him that the Russians would spank us. And nobody had the brass to lay down some coin. Typical fair-weather fans.

North Bay and area is already caught up in the annual rumour mill about who is coaching which AAA and AA teams. My young puckster is 11, so I hear mostly about the peewee stuff.

Most recently, the talk is about who is coaching the Nipissing District ‘AAA’ Peewee Trappers and, once that is settled, what about the major and minor West Ferris AA Blades. The single A teams come next. Lots of chatter, lots of rumours.

The AAA peewee Trappers are entering the third year next fall and the board, made up of representatives of all the minor hockey associations in the area (it mirrors the Nipissing District Hockey League board), has decided to pick a coach by committee.

Ideally, they want someone who doesn’t have a kid eligible to tryout, which makes sense. The best case scenario, in my view, would be someone who wants to stick around for a while and offer consistency at the level.

I don’t know if it will lead to more success related to future OHL draft picks, but it sure will remove a lot of the static parents and kids face as they enter the AAA world.

The two primary candidates in most peoples’ thoughts this winter were player parents, each with their own following, which was setting the stage for a split in talent. If a dark horse enters the race with the extended application deadline and different selection system, and this person offers expertise without the baggage of cliques, I’d expect a very strong turnout at the tryouts.

Otherwise, there will be two major AA teams next year, although one of them will be called Trappers and the other Blades.

Kudos, by the way, to the Nipissing University Lakers for their first season and making the playoffs. Apparently, judging by the paltry 1,600 spectators at the final game, I wasn’t the only one who had already made plans for that night.

Hopefully, the Lakers don’t think we don’t support them based on the final attendance. This is a hockey crazy town, but we’re pretty busy.

Dylan’s peewee team, for example, has to go to South River for a two hour practice this Friday night. How crazy is that?

-30-

I like the Abitibi Eskimos.

Even though they are on the opposite side of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League from where I live in Sault Ste. Marie, I keep up with them as closely as I can.

I like what the franchise stands for, a small-town team that relies on volunteer resources, an exceptional Board of Directors led by Scott Marshall, and a first-rate coach in Paul Gagne, who travelled the globe as a first-round pick to the National Hockey League and as a European star before returning to his hometown of Iroquois Falls to coach the Eskimos more than a decade ago.

I like the fact that in their 11th NOJHL season that the Eskimos have completed the ascent from cellar dwellers to regular-season champions.

I’ve only been to Iroquois Falls once — when the Eskimos hosted the 2007 Dudley Hewitt Cup — and I liked it there.

I like the fact that, with due respect to their oponents, that Abitibi has become the NOJHL’s model franchise.

Not the North Bay Trappers.

Not the Sudbury Jr. Wolves.

Not the Soo Thunderbirds.

That’s not to say that North Bay, Sudbury and the Soo aren’t well-run franchises. Or the Temiscaming Royals, Blind River Beavers and Soo Eagles either.

But Abitibi has been a model franchise for quite some time now.

I’m not just bestowing the unofficial “model franchise” tag on Abitibi just because the Eskimos happened to finish first during this regular season.

But finishing first is almost like adding icing to the cake.

And I’m sure that if the finishing touches can be put to finishing first, there will be a hockey party in Iroquois Falls unlike any hockey party before.

Finishing first during the regular season is never the ultimate goal of any team.

But finishing first is doing what the rest of the teams were unable to do.

Take a bow, Abitibi Eskimos.

Take a bow, hockey fans of Iroquois Falls and surrounding area, including Cochrane, Kirkland Lake and Timmins.

Corp. Jeff Groenenberg is generating a little joy for children living in Haiti’s earthquake zone.
The Chatham native, who serves as an electrical generating systems technician in the Royal Canadian Air Force, is currently stationed at the Jacmel Airfield.
Officially he is responsible for generating electricity for the camps and troops where humanitarian relief aid is being provided to Haitians by maintaining and operating generators.
Since the maintenance of equipment isn’t required every day, Groenenberg has been using his spare time to help make a difference to some children in Haiti.
Touched by the fact many children in Jacmel do not have toys to play with, Groenenberg decided to build some.
“In my spare time, I built some wooden toys out of the scrap lumber from the carpenters’ projects,” he said. “We have built toys cars, truck, helicopters and planes.”
Groenenberg said about 50 toys have been built so far.
“To be honest, these toys are so simple compared to some toys back home,” he said, adding the look on the childrens’ faces when they receive a toy is worth a thousand words.
“I have seen some of their toys and they are made out of old water bottles, so getting a wooden toy they are so happy,” Groenenberg said.
He also assists other people around the camp, such as unloading aircraft and helping the carpenters.
Groenenberg said being on the island nation helps him realize what a big difference the military is making in Haiti.

Some Chatham-Kent Police Service special constables have done something special to help bring home the message about the dangers of drinking and driving to local high school students.
Deputy Chief Clare Wiersma recently praised the efforts of Special Constables Charlene Mitchell, Randi Hull and Brenda Koldyk, during a Police Services Board meeting, for leading the charge to help raise enough money so the multimedia presentation from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, titled WASTED, will be presented at all 10 high schools across Chatham-Kent this spring.
It costs approximately $1,000 to bring the presentation to a school.
Mitchell learned about a study by the Carleton University Survey Centre that indicated after seeing one of these presentations more than 84 per cent of students said they were less likely to drink and drive. As well, more than 79 per cent of students said they were less likely to ride with a drinking driver.
This convinced her this type of presentation would be beneficial for Chatham-Kent high schools to see.
Mitchell, Hull and Koldyk approached various Neighbourhood Watch Groups, community policing groups and local insurance companies to help raise the funds needed to bring the presentation to Chatham-Kent.
Of note, the Tilbury Neighbourhood Watch group worked a weekend at a festival in Tilbury, raising enough money to have two presentations at Tilbury District High School.
This same group contacted the Tilbury Legion Br. 206 and Tilbury Knights of Columbus along with the R U Safe Committee and MADD Canada to secure enough funds to have the presentation made at Ursuline College Chatham.
John McGregor teacher Carrie Carleton also spearheaded fundraising efforts at the school.

Former Chathamite Petra Zantingh, now living in the Hamilton area, is coming home next Saturday for the opening of an interesting art show.
Zantingh said her high school friend Susan Jeffery, owner of William Street Cafe, will host her art exhibit from Feb. 27 to March 20.
However, the artwork Zantingh will be featuring isn’t your typical painting.
She uses the encaustic style which involves creating paintings using hot wax.
“It’s pretty different,” Zantingh said.
“It’s actually been around for a long time,” she said, noting the Egyptians used it on their tombs.
Zantingh has been an artist for several years, previously earning a living as a graphic designer while working for the Montreal Gazette.
She is currently teaching in the fine arts and education departments at Redeemer University College.
Noting she is always looking for different ways to teach art, Zantingh said she took an encaustic workshop about five years ago.
“I just fell in love with the medium,” she said.
Zantingh, who is graduate of the former Chatham Collegiate Institute, is hoping to connect with some old high school friends during the opening of her exhibit, being held from 7-10 p.m.

eshreve@chathamdailynews.ca

I like the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.

But no one thing is perfect, not even the NOJHL.

To be sure, I have way more likes than dislikes when it comes to the NOJHL. A few of them are listed below.

LIKES

Blind River. So many folks in the little town of 3,600 can be termed the “salt of the earth.” Many of those folks — fans of the Blind River Beavers — frequent the Riverside Tavern, which the Kennedy family has owned and operated for more than 50 years. Better people, I have never met.

Pullar Stadium. To me there is nothing not to like about the Michigan Soo rink, which turned 70-years old in 2009. Not a bad seat in the house, fans are right on top of the action, up close and personal. Clean and well-maintained, the Pullar hasn’t changed a lot since I first went to a high school hockey game there back in 1972 between the Sir James Dunn Eagles and the Sault High Blue Devils.

The Abitibi Eskimos. And not just because they happen to be first overall in the NOJHL standings. To me, the Abitibi franchise is proof positive that a small-market team can not only survive in the NOJHL but it can thrive.

Volunteers. If the 20-team Ontario Hockey League had as much volunteer assistance as the 8-team NOJHL, the OHL would be worth a lot more than its estimated value of $100 million. (That’s right, each team in the OHL has an approximate value of $5 million.) But I’ll take the NOJHL over the OHL any day just because of all the behind-the-scenes volunteers who give so much and ask so little. The OHL may be a $100 million business. But the NOJHL is priceless.

DISLIKES

I can’t stand two-faced people who pretend to care about others but in reality are self-absorbed, narcissistic and in it for themselves. There are only a handful of that type who I know in the NOJHL but two just happen to be involved with the Blind River Beavers. Otherwise, the Beavers are a good organization with good people involved.

If you’re a hard-core Barrie Colts fan, you probably already know I messed up.

In an earlier post — and in print, geesh — I incorrectly stated that no Colt had ever scored 50 goals in a season.

I was wrong.

Sorry.

Sheldon Keefe notched 51 goals in 1998-99, a season split between the Toronto St. Mike’s Majors and the Colts.

So Colts overage forward Bryan Cameron, the league’s leading goal-scorer entering Thursday’s action, has a bit more work cut out for him in his chase at team history.

Cameron has 44 goals. The Colts have 13 games left.

The interesting part comes here.

Keefe is a Brampton native. So is Cameron.

Big deal, you say?

Wait, it gets better.

Chatting with Cameron today, he told me his house actually backed directly onto Keefe’s family home in an area in Brampton known to locals as the ‘M Section.’

Keefe had a backyard rink. Cameron, who was around eight years old at the time, said he used to watch Keefe, a teenager at the time, skate on the rink with his buddies.

Cameron said he remembers throwing on some goalie gear and facing Keefe in a street hockey game one day. Cameron said he got lit up.

That’s crazy stuff.

If Cameron nets 20 goals this season, they’ll become the lone 50-goal guys who have played for Barrie, who both happen to be from Brampton, who happen to have been neighbours.

Brampton’s population?

Around 500,000.

Small world.

Game on.

There has been plenty of stories about local girls getting their hair cut for Angel Hair for Kids.
But, Joshua Wheeler has been representing the boys by donating his hair twice to the organization that uses hair to make wigs for children who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatments for cancer.
The 13-year-old Grade 8 student at St. Vincent Catholic School donated about 11-inches of hair on Feb. 4. He has been growing his hair since he first donated in May 2008.
When asked why he does this, Joshua said: “It just makes me feel good and it makes me feel like I’ve done something in this world.”
He likes the fact his hair goes to kids with cancer.
Although he has had family members affected by the disease, he said, “I would never be able to imagine having cancer.”
He is also planning a few fundraisers for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, including selling Candy Kabobs and hosting a luncheon, as part of a Kingdom Assignment project.
Joshua’s mother, Sonya Louzon, called about her son because he quietly does these kind of things without any fanfare.
“He never asks for any recognition,” she said. “He’s always very generous and he’s always willing to help and give the last of what he has.”
When asked where he gets these traits, Louzon joked she would like to say, “His mom,” but added, “It’s just his nature.”
Joshua said his friends were pretty surprised when he showed up at school, just before Grade 8 graduation pictures were to be taken, with short hair.
Having the long locks certainly attracted the attention of some of the girls at his school.
Joshua said a few girls would play with his hair and braid it.
He plans to grow his hair long again some day for the cause, but not too soon.
Noting he will be starting Grade 9 in September, Joshua said, “I want to make a good impression in high school because I’m hoping to get a scholarship in math.”

Dave and Donna Polowick are rallying the community to get behind Chatham’s own Olympian Derek Whitson, who is a member of the Canadian sledge hockey team going for gold at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver in March.
The Chatham couple has organized a fundraiser to help cover Whitson’s expenses, being held next Friday at the Kent Belgium Dutch Club at 34 Byng Ave. in Chatham, beginning at 8 p.m.
The event will feature a performance by Face For Radio, along with cash bar, snacks, prizes and dancing.
Tickets cost $15 and are available by calling 519-352-8185.

Local cinematographer Michael Jari Davidson is spending a lot of time behind the camera these days.
Earlier this year, he was hired to film the sci-fi action feature MINUS 8, which is being produced by Sean McAulay, Tony Smith and Miles Barnes and written and directed by Neil McKay.
This month is also busy for Davidson who is filming three separate music videos.
He is scheduled to be in London today working on an upcoming video for R & B pop artist Laura G for her track “Tears are Falling.”
Davidson will also be in Toronto on Feb. 21 to lens a video for Afghani hip-hop artists Kastro tha Mac performing his song “Crush (on You).”
He’ll be back in Toronto on Feb. 27 to film a video for indie rocker Jacelyn Holmes featuring her track “Growing Up.”
At the end of 2009, an independent video of Last One Out by Loser With the Snake Bite, filmed by Davidson, debuted on MuchLOUD.

The Blenheim 4-H Field Crop Club has won the Top 4-H Competitive Club award.
Members include Leanne Dieleman, Laura Dieleman, Colin Dieleman, Jordan Campbell, Tim Noorenberghe, Sarah Campbell, Stephanie Campbell, Taran Campbell, Amanda Craven, Kyle Craven, Eric Marchand, Victoria Marchand, Zackery Simonton, Matt Smyth, Cathleen Verhallen and Josephine Verhallen.
Mathew McKeon earned the Outstanding 4-H Agricultural Member Award.

Congratulations to Kim Moon who won $1,997 in a 50/50 draw held by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Just so everyone knows it’s official, the winning ticket was pulled by two-year-old Lily Allado.

Sarah Macfadyen is doing well in her first year at Spring Arbor University where she is studying English-literature.
The Chatham native made the Fall of 2009 Dean’s List, which recognizes full-time students who have received a grade point average of 3.7 or higher for the semester.
Sarah is the daughter of Neil and Yvonne Macfadyen.

Any transplanted Bellevilleites living in Chatham-Kent may be interested to know Nicholson Catholic College will be celebrating its 50th anniversary May 14-16.
Details about events, prices, registration and payment are available online at www.ncc50th.org.

eshreve@chathamdailynews.ca

The playoffs began 10 games early for the Owen Sound Attack who are in a dogfight with the Guelph Storm to make the post season.

And which ever computer scheduled these two teams to meet tonight in Owen Sound is a genius because this game even after 20 minutes is far superior to anything we’ve seen in the last few weeks.

And while Guelph has a decided edge in this dogfight with three extra games, it should make the final month of the season a little more exciting.

End of 1

Owen Sound 3 Guelph 1

Goals: OS – Mike Halmo, Bobby Mignardi, Steven Shipley. G – Francis Menard.

Goaltenders: Scott Stajcer OS (15/16); Brandon Foote G (9/12)

The records should soon fall.

Entering Saturday’s home game against the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, the Eastern Conference-leading Barrie Colts have a tidy 45 wins on the season. Three more wins will match the 15-year-old Ontario Hockey League outfit’s best wins tally of 48, set in 1998-99.

The Colts have 14 games remaining. Should they manage to win four more times (and they will), they’ll break the club’s regular-season wins record.

That ‘98-99 squad is the only Colts team to hit the 100-point mark. It finished with 103. The current Colts, with 92 points, need 12 points in 14 games to break that points total.

Meanwhile, Bryan Cameron is closing in on a franchise first. The team’s goal-scoring leader has 41 goals on the year and needs seven more goals to match the 48-goal mark set by Sheldon Keefe in 99-2000, the year Barrie reached the Memorial Cup.

Cameron, an overage forward, can become the first 50-goal man in the team’s history with nine goals in his final 14 games. 

The Brampton native notched 41 goals with Belleville in 2007-08. He tied that career-high mark with a goal in Ottawa on Saturday.

Peter ‘Mad Dog’ Di Salvo is also barking up the record tree. The 19-year-old puckstopper has 32 wins and needs four more to match the mark set by Brian Finley in the 98-99 season.

Not sure about this one, but Alex Hutchings’ eight short-handed markers is a league-best by a long shot. Chances are good that’s a new team record, as well. Hutchings, who has 37 goals, also has eight game-winners, good for first in the league, and seven insurance tallies, tied for first in the league.

Head coach Marty Williamson, in his sixth season behind Barrie’s bench, needs three more wins to hit 250 in his career. 

Look for some records to start falling as early as next weekend.

Game on.