B12 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 30, 2005 By MARGARET SPEIRS DESPITE GOING out east with some solid wins behind them, the River Kings split - . a pair in Houston Nov. 19 and 20. | . “They lost 5-3 and. then bounced back to tie 4-4. “The first game we had a tough first period,” said coach Trevor Hendry. * “You know the guys had a lot of games, five games in eight days. For the most part we played really well.” Terrace. bounced back from a 3-0 hole after the first 20 minutes Saturday to score three and on Sunday _ struggled -back from a 4-2. deficit after two to tie it up. ‘Hendry said the players had a bit of a mental: break- down from being tired and sore, and’a few others hurt in’ previous games hadn’ t quite healed. But the fact that the team “ earned seven out of 10 points in five games over eight days is “absolutely great.” ’ “Houston played well. ' "They deserved their points. "We knew it was going to be. rough,” Hendry said. least two players. Gary Kerbrat suffered a concussion on a hit from be- hind and Andy McCleary’s shoulder popped out at one point.’ At least one. player had a great time: Trevor Shannon . scored three goals over the ‘weekend. _ “The guys are actually playing very well. It’s just a matter of getting the old tired bones, back in working order and getting ready for this next part of the season,’ Hendry said. He noted that Houston has several games in hand and won't have too much », trouble catching up. Smithers is also close be- o hind but he believes Kitimat. won’t catch up. Hendry predicts _ this weekend's games against Smithers will be fantastic. “We're looking forward to it: I think we can totally take them,” he said, adding the team is working toward _a-spot at the Coy Cup. The River Kings will. soon lose their. number two goalie. , Kings unlucky i in Housto n Ad TROY FARKVAM, right, fights off a Lucky player durng a drive down the ice in Houston Nov. 19. The River Kings came up short 5-3. RIVER KINGS WEBSITE PHOTO finish his airplane mechanic apprenticeship in Manitoba, will be replaced by Paul Gil- lis, the squad’s third string goalie. And the Kings gain an “additional athlete.’ Troy Butler, who dressed * how the season is progressing. And rough it was for at halfway point, ' scrambled in order from this time last year, the league president couldn’t be happier with _. “Pm very pleased with it actually,” Bill ‘Blacklock. . ; » The top four teams or “the power in the © league” are Terrace, Houston, Smithers and Kitimat, he said. » “Kitimat are like we were three years ago -when.we hit the post with the Coy. Cup and. could hardly win a game all year,” he said about the Ice Demons’ difficulty with win- "ning this year. As of Nov. 24, the league standings saw Terrace still in top spot with 19 points and Smithers and Houston tied for second, with 14 points each. “{Smithers] has got a good, fast little team there,” he said. “So does Terrace.” Attendance numbers show fans are still filling the stands on nights when the Ca- nucks play. . « Sunday games in Houston see about half of the 900 to 1,000 fans who pack the arena Saturday nights, similar to’ Terrace, due to many people attending church, he said. At the season’s start in September, Black- lock anticipated a more competitive year and is pleased his prediction came true. Craig Walsh; who’ s off to said ~ CIHL season too close . to-call: league president WITH THE CIHL hockey season at its. and the top four teams. to form a team next year. for the Ice Demons last sea- “Not according to the people I’ve talked ° to. They just don’t have enough players,” he said. “Lots of fans coming from there helps our (Houston’s) attendance. We had the best ; rivalry too, but that’s the way she goes.” _ Houston also picked up about five players from the Braves. With the standings so close — Houston — and Smithers have several games:in hand ~ Blacklock is, hesitant to predict how the rest of the season will shape up. “Your. guess iS as” Bod as mine,’ said. > he He doesn’t believe Burns Lake will rally _, _ As for the rumours about new teams join- : _ing the league next’season, he said Vander- hoof has a squad who’s played the UNBC Timberwolves and inquired about playing the Williams Lake Stampeders and other teams. “We'll wait and see if they apply,” he . said. “It would be nice to have a split divi- sion.” Additional teams would mean the split- ting of the CIHL into a western and eastern division, eliminating the need for teams to take the long journey to the other end of the province to play on some weekends, such as - when Kitimat or Terrace treks to 100 Mile House or vice versa. . from the net, “It used to just be Houston and Kitimat and Burns Lake, but now we’ve got a little more competition,” he said. year. New teams can apply to join the league at’the annual general meeting in June next - One on one ATERRACE peewee B player closes in on the Kitimat goalie during a shootout _ after a game at the Terrace Arena Nov. 72. MARGARET SPEIRS PHOTO _ Midgets denied the ‘scoring touch’ THE MIDGET reps fell on the ice in Prince Rupert over the Oct. 28 weekend. The western team shel- lacked our hockey boys 8- | 1 and 5-1 on seven: power plays and five power plays, - said coach Herb Goriak. “They have to learn to stay out of the box and play hockey rather than’ penalty . kill,” he said. The penalties came from trying to clear players out leaving the midgets two men short quite a few times, Goriak said. “That’s no — excuse. They've got to find a way around it,” he. said, adding he hopes the weekend will be the team’s only lousy one this season. Ryland Findley and Ryan Holtom, two first year rep players, scored the team’s only two goals of the week- end. Many players were suf- fering from the flu. “We should've done bet- ter. It just happens some- times,” he said, adding he wouldn't be surprised if the team beats Prince Rupert in their next meeting. Ee a The following weekend the midgets went to Smith- ers but didn’t fare any better, dropping two games 7-2 and “Smithers is a really good , hockey team,” Goriak said, adding the team has escaped the loss of players to junior teams or other communities like his team has. “We. just can’t seem to find the scoring touch since we returned from Merrit.” The squad needs to play a more disciplined g game and Goriak is confident they” il improve. “It'll come. It happened last year,” he said. son before suffering injuries to both shoulders, has-healed and is ready to play forward for the Kings. “He’s very fast and smart and’ well- rounded,” Hendry said. ., Bury Carlsen remains puck stopper. “Burny’s on a roll right now. He's playing: really “well ‘and will have to keep that up,” Hendry said. The River Kings look. to fry up some Steelheads in a double header. at home this. the River Kings number one Saturday and Sunday. Sports Menu_| BB December 2 to 4 ° Peewee B hockey welcomes Hazelton and Kitimat to the playoffs forthe BC Winter Games. Hi December 3 and 4 . The River Kings angle for Steelheads as they host the Smithers squad at the Terrace Arena Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 11:45 a.m. 7 = December 14 Grab your skis and snowboards for opening day at. ; Shames Mountain. ° ‘ CHRISTMAS HOURS 7 DAYS A WEEK _Mon. - Wed. 10am - Gpm + Thurs. & Fri. 10am - 8pm , Saturday 10am - 6pm + Sunday Noon-4pm__. 635-5225 Lazelle Mini Mall — Bantams + bounce back © THE BANTAM REPS alternated victories with defeats at home and away. The team’s trip to Kitimat came away fruitless as they lost 6-5 and 7-1 over the Nov. 12°weekend. Caesar Kenyon scored two and assisted on two others i in the first match, In the second game, Scott Simpson scored | the team’s lone goal. — “It was just an all-around bad effort, ” said coach John . Amos. ‘The squad was missing defensive players Alexa Grant and Colton Dunsmore, who suffered an injured knee in an earlier game. The team,also missed Jeremy Vandenbroek af- tera a hit left him with some sore ribs. aan : The following weekend: the team split a pair at home against Smithers. The bantams lost 3-1 with -Chapen Leblond netting their only goal. then rallied to thrash Smithers 7-2 the next day. _ “Friday | thought we carried the play. We just couldn't put the puck in the net,” Amos said about the loss, His squad had trouble getting past the-Smithers goalie, a big player. - “I told them big goalies don’t move very well. Make some movements and get him to move a bit,” Amos said. “AS soon as they started doing that, the puck started going in.’ Leblond scored four goals and had one assist. Reid Turn-. : er scored one and assisted on two.. Kyle Holtom banged one in and had one assist. Scott Simpson scored once and Ben | Reinbolt assisted on two. ; The team travels to Fort St. John fora tourney this week- end, and may, have the chance to play sonie Alberta teams, such as Grande Prairie. Amos said the team will do well “if they play the way we | “know we’ve taught them.” b Sometimes players don’t apply their knowledge, which ‘causes them trouble, he said. . ‘December 1 7, 2005 12-5 p.m. © MColl Playhouse DONATION TO FOOD OR TOY DRIVE Come see how hard santa and , "his helpers are working! Presented by TLT Youth Troupe — | ANNUAL | GENERAL MEETING - , 4445 Lazelle Avenue | Thursday, Dec. 1st at 8:00 p.m. 3 All Volunteers Welcome! For details, call Sarah at 638-7283 or 638-8899 Save for details today! Goopf¥Ear Eagle Ultra Grip | Offers outstanding -.. contro] and response -In extreme winter driving conditions. on a set of four selected tires from Goodyear and Kelly until December 10, 2005. See your Fountain Tire retailer High Performance Snow Tire. For Extreme Winter Conditions: 100. my RS GOODJYEAR. o oo Md Say " GOODFYEAR — a GoopfreeR | ESIC | Assurance ‘Batra Grp Safari Trex pe Regatta 2 ° OC ae ae ec SAVE | SAVE (00 | *80 SP four SP 45k Ultra Grip Ice. _ -Winter Traction Radial - - Optimal - Ice Traction Without Studs’ 7 Superior mileage and enhanced ‘ handling make it our most preferred winter radial. | GOODJVEAR Ultra Grip - . Severe Winter Traction Radial Pinned For Studs A unique polymer blend and an ‘advanced tread design makes this. one. of the toughest traction tires on the road. : 150 MILE HOUSE 150 MILE CENTRE (250) 296-4116 Offers available at the following participating locations: PRINCE GEORGE 1039 GREAT STREET (250) 562-6211 Over 140 locations across Western Canada to serve you! ; Olfars valid from October 24 - Decamber 10, 2005 only at participating retailers. See retailer for complete details. Alt applicable taxes (ie: GST, PST and tire taxes) are extra. See retailer for details, @TM Trademarks of AIR MILES@ International Trading B.V. Used under ticense dy Loyalty Management Group Canada Inc. and Goodyear Canada Inc, QUESNEL 1195A HIGHWAY 97N (250) 992-5254 TERRACE 4641 KEITH AVENUE — (250) 635-4344 : a Sar... t