Appleby College - Argus Yearbook (Oakville, Ontario Canada)

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3rd Team Hockey FRONT ROW: Smith, Bielski, Pritchard, Lyall, Slattery II, Webb I, Crosbie III. CENTRE ROW: Gibson I, Grimm, Green II, Beasley, Eagleson, Freeman. BACK ROW: Mr. Landry, Durrant, Timmins, Keates, Runyon, Slade, Doherty. This year ' s version of the third hockey team was a coach ' s dream, com- bining excellent goaltending and de- fence with a potent offensive attack. We were blessed with intelligent, competent skaters, and these two factors were important elements in many of oiu victories. The team played two games before Christmas, winning both. These early games clearly demonstrated our strengths and weaknesses, and allow- ed us to make changes to capitalize on the former and to improve upon the latter. Our first game on returning from holidays proved to be our worst dis- play of the season, for although we outshot the opposition, we nonethe- less bowed 1-2 to an Oakville club (we later defeated this team 8-1). This loss seemed to jolt the team for we won our next five games be- fore losing 1-6 to a vastly superior team at SAC. Injuries and illness hampered us at this stage, and although we played good hockey, we managed only a tie in our next three games. Following this slump, the team revitalized, and we ended the season on a positive note by winning our last six games. The high points of the season were our game with Ridley and our second meeting with SAC. The Thirds had not defeated Ridley for the past eight or nine years, and this time we managed a come-from-behind 3-2 win in the ' matchbox ' at Ridley, which made the victory all the more pleasing. SAC had completely dominated us both physically and psychologically in Aurora (we lost 1-6), yet at home we won another come-from-behind squeaker, 5-4, with a booming point shot by Prit- chard with 1:50 remaining. This was the most thrilling moment I have had coaching at Appleby, and the team was so ' high ' after this one that we won our final two games, 3-2 over TCS (we had previously tied them in Port Hope with three goals in the final eight minutes), and 8-1 over Crescent.

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guaranteed with every passing game, we neatly gave the opposition not one but many opportunities to score which they did. All six defencemen, John Rosseel, Tim Labrie, Jim Swire, Mike Brown, Gerry Droge, and Gary Machan tried hard, but they made too many mis- takes too often - and a mistake made here frequently results in a goal. Our Green line showed flashes of ability at times. Chris Merritt cer- tainly improved as the season wore on and especially his shooting from the right wing position. John Lytle tried his best but was caught out of position more often than not. Dennis Hublit, our captain and centre and only Grade 13 member worked hard but his lack of skating over the years took its toll. Our best line was the Red line; two boys from Grade 9, Graham Johnson and Neil Jamieson, and a Grade 11 boy, Buzz Green. Neil and Graham worked very hard and well together and proved themselves the scoring leaders of the team. 1 knew from the start of the year that this group would have to provide 90% of the scoring, which they did. These three worked very well together and are to be commended. I personally feel that Buzz was the most improved player on the team. Our Yellow line had a rough year. Just as they were starting to ' gel ' Jim Wetmore broke his leg in a freak accident at practice. Our centre. Bruce Peart, must learn to play the game and not take ' runs ' at his op- ponents, as he usually ended up in the penalty bo.x, something that we could ill afford. Perry Joseph also improved as the season went on and displayed flashes of greatness -consis- tency is his problem. This might sound like a scathing re- port, however, it is a justified criti- que with no malice intended. Never- theless, I would like to thank aU of you for an interesting and at times rewarding season. I am sure we have all learned something - after all, the object of any game is still to play for its enjoyment. A vote of thanks must go to Fraser Cutler who was our con- scientious manager.

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Oui left wings were Keates, Beasley, and Slade. Keates (13 pts. ) over- came skating difficulties with ex- tremely tough checking in the cor- ners, and his hard work produced excellent results. Although Beasley ' s size and appendix were disadvantages on occasion, his intelligent play- making was a great asset to the team. Slade (18 pts. ) was the surprise of the season: although not our best skater, he had the knack of being in the right place at the right time, and his thirteen goals were the deci- sive factor in many of our games. At centre we had Slattery II, Bielski, and Runyon. Jim Slattery (21 pts. ) was the spark plug of our offense. He never stopped skating, and his fearsome checking and constant en- thusiasm invariably stirred the team to greater effort. Bielski was a pro- ficient skater, and his fore-checking and backchecking were a great help, especially to the defence. Runyon skated well, but only in fits and starts. His great performance at Ridley was a chief factor in our vic- tory there. Our right wings were Durrant, Free- man and Grimm. Durrant (15 pts. ) initially had scoring problems, but he subsequently found the range and his passes into the slot often set up goals. Freeman (10 pts. ) found great difficulty in scoring with the puck in the crease, but on the whole I think he was the most improved player on the team. Charlie Grimm was a fearless checker for his size, unafraid to hit anything that moved. The defense consisted of Pritchard, Webb, Doherty, and McAlister. McAlister worked very hard both in practice and games; Doherty ' s ska- ting improved, and although he failed to score a goal, he assisted on a fair number, and was a competent defenceman. Webb I (13 pts. ), a late addition, displayed great ability in controlling the play, and he handled himself very coolly in our zone. The mainstay of our defense, and indeed of the team, was our captain, Doug Pritchard (15 goals, 9 assists). His brilliant rushes, vi- cious shots, and obvious overall ability were a vital reason for our success. Doug was also a confident, yet humble, leader, and he has everyone ' s thanks for all he did for this team. Our goalies were Smiley Smith, whose confidence and ability in- creased as the season progressed, and Peter Lyall, our starting goaltender, without whose excellent play (2:31 G A Ave. in 16 games) we would have been doomed. Time and again he came up with impossible saves in close games, and one cannot say enough about his contribution to this team. The journeymen players were Tim- mins, Gibson I, Green II, Stuart I, and Eagleson. Timmins substituted both on left wing and defense, and his bullish rushes tended to soften up the opposition. Gibson I was a good skater and checker, but a broken arm shortened his season. Buzz Green II learned the meaning of offside and developed a shot, and should see more action next year. Eagleson was often ill, and thus saw little ice time - maybe next year. One other person helped to make this a winning season - our incredibly competent and ' vocal ' manager, Paul Crosbie. His antics on the bench provided humour and encouragement, and the team would not have been so cohesive without him. It was indeed a very good year, and 1 wish to thank all of you for the hard work you put forth, for it achieved excellent results. Many moons will probably pass before I have another group of such good calibre players. Played Won Lost Tied