AN24
TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2013
THE
SPORTS
NEWSPAPER.COM
Send your team’s highlights to Sports editor, Michael Booth at mbooth@thenownewspaper.com or call 604-572-0064
Basketball
Girls battle for Surrey bragging rights Michael Booth
Now staff Twitter @boothnow
After a dozen years of hosting Surrey’s premier female high school sports event, the Surrey Firefighters are still amazed by the kids who suit up for their annual Goodwill Basketball Classic. One of the features of the tournament, which runs from Jan. 8 to 12 this year at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary, is the eight scholarships awarded each year to participants who not only stand out on the basketball court, but in the classroom and in the community as well. This year the firefighters have allotted $5,000 for the scholarships. Todd Schierling, the treasurer for the Surrey Fire Fighters Association Local 1271, said the panel that selects the scholarship winners has a tough time every year. “The quality of the applications with all the things students are doing in the community is really impressive,” he said. “It’s great to see the humanitarian efforts that are being made by these student athletes and the time they are committing to volunteerism in the community. We’re always happy to see that but it makes it hard to make decisions when there are so many good applicants.” It turns out the scholarships aren’t the only application forms being filled out by the basketball players. At the tournament awards ceremony each year, tournament chair Nancy Innes, herself a former star basketball player at SFU, addresses the players and talks about a future with the Surrey Fire Department.” Apparently, the players are listening. “We have a couple of former players who have applied to become firefighters and they’re currently going through that process,” said Holy Cross Crusaders coach
Led by Grade 12 players (from right) Delani Buchan, Pauline Gihr and Alysha Bennett, the Holy Cross Crusaders will look to defend their Surrey Firefighters Goodwill Basketball Classic title when action begins today. (Photo: KEVIN HILL) Steve Beauchamp. “When Nancy talks to the girls after the final game about career opportunities with the fire department, the girls are listening closely. It’s great to see that they get a bit of exposure to a career many women don’t consider. Seeing someone like Nancy there and hearing her speak really connects with the players. It definitely rings true with the girls.” The tournament will feature 20 teams this year competing in two divisions. Twelve teams will compete in the Ladder Division
with eight more pooled together in the elite Axe Division. The Crusaders are the clear favourites to win their third straight Goodwill Axe division title this year. Holy Cross is ranked No. 1 in the province among class AA schools but should be challenged by strong teams from Fleetwood Park and Panorama Ridge. “This tournament has always been a big deal at our school,” Beauchamp said. “The amount of effort, energy and resources the firefighters put into it makes it a special
tournament for the girls. It’s the first tournament after the Christmas break and you’re playing against all of the teams from Surrey so there are some bragging rights involved. “The girls love to be a part of this tournament and because there are only a couple of other AA teams involved, most of the games are against AAA schools so it’s a good test for the girls.” For more information, log onto www. surreyfirefighters.com/basketball.
Junior A hockey
High-flying Eagles move into share of first place Michael Booth
Now staff Twitter @boothnow
The Surrey Eagles have been playing like their tail feathers are ablaze since returning from the B.C. Hockey League’s annual Christmas break. Despite a schedule filled with teams from the league’s top echelon, the Eagles have collected nine of a possible 10 points and have climbed into a share of first place in the BCHL’s Mainland Division. The Eagles returned to action Dec. 28 and promptly swept a
home-and-home set with the Chilliwack Chiefs, winning 5-3 at South Surrey Arena and then blanking their rivals 3-0 the following night in the ‘Wack. Surrey completed the ‘welcome back’ weekend by posting another black sheet in a 2-0 win in Coquitlam. Surrey carried that energy onto the road last weekend where they posted a 6-3 win over the Smoke Eaters in Trail Friday and then dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to the Interior’s top team, the Penticton Vees. Eagles coach Matt Erhart wasn’t sure what to expect after the team played well but only managed to
secure a single point in Surrey’s final two games before the holiday break. The back-to-back wins over Chilliwack erased those memories and the Eagles haven’t looked back since. “Going into the break we were seven points behind Chilliwack, but we looked at those two games as a key point in the season,” Erhart said. “If we win both, we cut the gap to three points and we’re back in it but if they sweep us, we’re 11 points back and probably done for the year. A split would mean we’re right back in the same spot. We got the two wins we needed and that was a big confidence boost for us
and then we won in Coquitlam to pull to within a single point. “The boys came back hungry from the break and those two wins over Chilliwack kind of spring boarded the mindset of the team and now the guys are all thinking, ‘Let’s keep moving up; let’s get every point we can get.’ It may turn out to be a turning point for us.” That confident mojo was on display in rinks in Trail and Penticton as both nights, the Eagles rallied from early two-goal deficits and took over the play in the late stages of games. Playing on the road with the games on the line, Surrey outscored Trail and
Penticton 6-2 in the third period. First up was the Smoke Eaters who managed to build a 2-0 second period lead only to watch as the Eagles tied the game before the second intermission and then pulled away with a pair of Brady Shaw goals in the first three minutes of the final frame. Brett Mulcahy led the way with a goal and two helpers while solo markers came from Drew Best, Nicolas Pierog and Mason Blacklock. Surrey goalie Michael Santaguida stopped 29 Trail shots to earn the win. see EAGLES HAPPY › page 25