Appleby College - Argus Yearbook (Oakville, Ontario Canada)

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1 u . i M . J I ' - I - L Tournaments For the second consecutive year, the team journeyed the long trek to Groton, Mass. to par- ticipate in a tournament jointly sponsored by Groton school and Lawrence Academy. Determined to improve on the team ' s per- formance from the previous December, we first took to the ice against Lawrence Academy. We skated stride for stride with this talented hockey club for the first two periods, but a combination of the thirteen hour bus ride and Lawrence ' s offensive ability took their toll in the final frame. The final score of 9-3 was not in- dicative of the flow of the match for the majority of the game. We quickly boimced back from our loss by defeating our traditional I.S.A.A. rival Lakefield by six goals to two. This gave us the right to meet a Chicago high school team in the consolation final, and we handily disposed of them 3-1 to win the consolation championship. It was a great thrill to participate in such a high calibre level of hockey, and the whole team enjoyed the ex- perience immensely. The trip was highlighted by Dave Suchanek ' s interpretation of the A W Great Root Bear Dance. Back at Appleby after the Christmas break, we co-hosted the second annual Appleby College - Oakville - Trafalgar High School tournament. The double- blue tide could not avoid playing perhaps our weakest game of the season in the second round, and were thus eliminated from the championship round. The team boimced back the next day however, by playing our finest game of the season in defeating the powerful Henry Carr team 5- 0. For the second time this year, we found ourselves in a con- solation final, and we were true to form in beating St. Jeromes of Kitchener 3-2. In the cham- pionship final. Central Blues edged Blakelock Tabbies 2-1, indicating that the Halton County High School League is quickly developing into a competitive level of hockey. High Schools League In light of the success of last year ' s team, our season in the FRONT ROW: Beckett, Gaskin, Hamill, Withey I, Suchanek. MIDDLE ROW: Wright, Lytle, Stuart, Green I. Giroday, Mc Kenzie, Moffat. BACK ROW: Merill, Mr. Larsen, MacDonald, Keats, Coxon, Shafran, Mr. Abott, Hall.

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I l1 Halton High School League was somewhat of a disappointment. The year was marked by in- consistent play, especially in the third period. Too many times this year we were leading or con- trolling the game, only to falter in the last ten minutes and lose. In many games we recovered our composure with a few minutes remaining to play,but our great outbursts of pressure often fell short. Three times during league play this year, we were defeated by a single-goal margin. The team ran into some hard luck during the season, particularly the loss of captain John Hanunill due to injury, players going up to the northern campus, and inex- perience in the nets. The team completed the regular schedule with a ten victory and six loss record, and thus qualified for post-season play finishing in fifth place over-all. Only eight points separated the top six teams. In a sudden-death contest against Central Blues, a poor performance eliminated us from further play-off action. I.S.A.A. The same problems that we encoimtered in the High School league also plagued us in I.S.A.A. competition. Just as we seemed to be starting off on the right track in our first game against U.C.C, a third-period collapse cost us our two goal advantage and we went on to lose 9-6. Inconsistent play again hurt the club in losses to Lakefield, T.C.S. and Ridley. At other times, the team managed to display the skill expected of them; the victory over Ridley 2-1, and a loss to S.A.C. 4-2. Over-all, Appleby tied for fourth position in the league with Lakefield. Glen Wright ' s winning goal against T.C.S. in the final game of the season points to hope for next year ' s team. The team itself was a remarkable one; a team with a level of spirit and camaraderie unparalleled in its height. Sen- timents ran high at the hockey banquet, and many fine things were said about the team and Coach Abbott. Many individuals should be pointed out for their contributions to the team. Our captain, John Hammill was forced to the sideline about halfway through the season with torn knee ligaments. An irreparable loss to the team, John was not only a dangerous offensive threat on the ice, but was also the team leader. Still, he took his burden in stride, and continued on with the team to the end. On defence, two old stalwarts by names of Mark Gaskin and Ron Withey paced the club. It is hoped that Glen Wright and Jim Coxon will be able to fill the gap that these two seniors leave on the blue-line. The fact that at the beginning of the year we had no experienced goaltenders didn ' t slow down Dave Suchanek and Darryl Beckett. Both starting from scratch, these two worked hard all year long and never let up. They even managed to post three shutouts between them. Last but not least. Coach Abbott showed a lot of character this season. Always shaking off the tragedies that beset the team this year, he not only taught the team how to play hockey, but also a great deal about how to build character. It was an extremely enjoyable season, and all looks bright for the future. Ian Giroday K ' i.