A20 • www.vicnews.com
How to reach us
Travis Paterson 250-381-3633 ext 255 sports@vicnews.com
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - VICTORIA
Victoria Cougars fall in double overtime of provincial gold medal final News staff
One lucky bounce ended the Victoria Cougars attempt at a championship hockey season. The Cougars lost in double overtime during the Cyclone Taylor Cup gold medal final on Sunday (April 15). The host Abbotsford Pilots came back to tie the game 2-2 in the third before John Morrow winning the provincial junior Abbotsford Pilots goalie Riley Parker deflects the puck past the net as Victoria B hockey championship. “It was difficult to have Cougars captain Brody Coulter fights for position in front of the net with Pilots such a great season (end defencemen Matthew Genovese and Brett Kolins, right, during the Cyclone Taylor that way),” Cougars coach Cup championship game on Sunday (April 15). Abbotsford won 3-2 in overtime. Mark Van Helvoirt said. “It’s tough to swallow but looking back it’s (also) tough to call this including the shutout, stopping all 27 of The Cougars were stuck in defenthe Nitehawks’ shots. an unsuccessful season.” sive mode for overtime and didn’t Having clinched a spot in the final, get enough of a push going to create The Cougars cleaned up the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, the Cougars 7-2 loss to the Delta Ice chances. clinching the Andy Hebenton Trophy as Hawks in Game 3 on Saturday was of The end came at four minutes and regular season champs months before little concern. 17 seconds into the second overtime What mattered was the gold medal period. A standard shot from the point, the season ended. In the playoffs, the Cougars lost once in nine games to take the kind defensive defenceman Garthe Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy rett Lynum likely made just to try for a “We were 70 seconds from league championship. rebound or deflection, somehow manwinning and (the shot) was The Esquimalt-based club was the aged to handcuff Roch and sneak into top ranked junior B team in B.C., and the net. one in a million.” was the favourite to win the Cyclone It set off an epic celebration for the – Mark Van Helvoirt Cup, which the Peninsula Panthers won Pilots, and an epic disappointment for last year. Instead, the Pilots will reprethe Cougars. sent B.C. at the Keystone Cup, Western final. And when it started, Bannister was Former junior A Victoria Grizzlies Canadian Championships in Saskatoon, there, once again scoring the opener in defenceman Brett Kolins, captain of the the second period. Sask., this coming weekend. Pilots, was named MVP of the tournaRiley Lamb tied it for the Pilots but ment. Bannister’s banner year Victoria captain Brody Coulter put the Had the Cougars won, the trophy Chris Bannister ended his junior Cougars up 2-1 on a power play goal, would likely have been Bannister’s, hockey career in fine fashion, leading assisted by Bannister. who played an opportunistic game and the tournament in goals with six. He The Cougars went on defensive lock- was defensively sound throughout. also scored the Cougars’ first goal in all down in the third period, not giving up “He was a force,” Van Helvoirt said. four Cyclone Cup games. any scoring chances. So when the Pilots “The development of these players, Bannister’s heroics started in the scored on a pinball of a point shot from and their growth as individuals has second period of Game 1 of the round defenceman Matthew Genovese late in been tremendous this year, and at this robin on Thursday (April 12), which the the third, it was a shocker. level that’s what it’s all about. I’m thankCougars won 3-2. He scored all three “We were 70 seconds from winning ful to the players and organization, for goals, including the game-winner in the and (the shot) was one in a million. We putting together such a good year. It third. played a textbook third period. They was a lot of hard work.” In Game 2, the Cougars defeated the didn’t have any scoring opportunities, It was Van Helvoirt’s fourth trip to the Beaver Valley Nitehawks 3-0, on goals and (the tying goal) didn’t have enough Cyclone Cup since the 2004-05 season. by Bannister, Josh Wyatt and Sam Rice. power to knock over a pop bottle.” sports@vicnews.com Evan Roch earned the first two wins, Then it got worse.
Some say the Penticton Vees are on the verge of being the greatest junior A hockey team in Canadian history. It’s high praise, and should help three players from Greater Victoria become part of the club’s folklore. The Vees are going to the RBC Cup national junior A hockey championship, May 5-13, in Humboldt, Sask. The Vees finished the regular season with 42 wins in a row and set the B.C. Hockey League record with 54 wins in 60 games. Factoring heavily in the Vees’ success is former South Island Thunderbirds midget goalie Chad Katunar.
Family geography ends city’s oldest figure skating club Skating club hangs up its skates after 86 years
Travis Paterson
Trio helps Vees to BC title
Painting
SPORTS
Cougars season ends in OT
Last week, Katunar was named BCHL player of the week as the Vees completed a sweep of the Powell River Kings in the BCHL final to win the Fred Page Cup. Katunar stopped 129 of 136 shots against the Kings, a .949 save percentage. Meanwhile ex-Saanich Braves forward Wade Murphy tied for the lead in playoff scoring (nine goals, nine assists) with Vees teammate Joey Benik (eight goals). Former Victoria Cougars and Grizzlies defenceman Nick Buchanan played all 15 games, scoring once. sports@vicnews.com
NEWS
many years ago and of course this has now changed,” said Ted Barton, executive director of Skate Canada’s B.C./ Yukon branch. Aside from the club’s Travis Paterson disbandment, figure skatNews staff ing is relatively healthy in Greater Victoria and Blame the changing B.C., he added. demographic of down“Our B.C. numbers town Victoria for the have maintained the demise of the Victoria 20,000 member level for Figure Skating Club. the past several years.” The 86-year-old instituOak Bay Figure Skattion boasted 750 mem- ing Club, which started bers in 1966, the econd when its rink opened in largest in Canada at the 1975, has tripled since time. But now it has the club’s current direcfolded for good following tor of skating, Jamie its AGM on March 26. McGrigor, joined eight The club was right up years ago. there with the “ We ’ re city’s other hisup over “(The end) toric sporting 210 memorganizations in has been coming bers. The terms of longest a long time due to last few running organiyears have a gradual decline been banzation. “(The end) in numbers.” ner years has been comfor us.” – Sharon Jarymy ing a long time Juan de due to a gradual Fuca Figdecline in numbers,” said ure Skating Club presipresident Sharon Jar- dent Janys Langer also ymy. “As your numbers reported growth with go down, so does fund- her club, leading to a ing and savings. We knew general consensus that we didn’t have enough the demand for youth money to continue next figure skating is lower year.” in the heart of Victoria The majority of the and Esquimalt than the club’s remaining skaters neighbouring regions. will likely move into the “Since 2009 we have Saanich Figure Skating experienced moderClub based out of Pear- ate increases in our kes rec centre behind numbers, mostly at the Tillicum Mall, Jarymy (beginner) level and said. synchro teams,” Langer “We’ve worked closely said. over the years with SaanVictoria Skating got off ich. They’ve shared ice the ground in 1926, the with us, we’ve co-hosted first in the area, based ice shows and we share a out of the Patrick Arena coach, so our skaters are in Oak Bay. It survived familiar with them.” fires to the Patrick (1929) Numbers may have and Willows (1944) arefizzled downtown and nas, before finding a perin Esquimalt, but the manent home at Memoother clubs around town rial Arena from 1949 to are doing just fine. The 2003. family-centric suburbs of Since 2004 it has operSaanich, West Shore and ated out of Save-OnOak Bay are turning out Foods Memorial Centre skaters at a more consis- and the Archie Browning tent rate. Sports Centre. In her final president’s “(The) arenas aren’t report, Jarymy cited the recreation centres, so marginal increase in Vic- we didn’t get the extra toria’s population and a walk-by traffic, which decline in Esquimalt’s. didn’t help our publicity “Victoria Skating didn’t level,” Jarymy said. have so much competisports@vicnews.com tion from other clubs