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THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016 | The Aldergrove STAr | 9 Thursday, March 31, 2016 | THE ALDERGROVE STAR | 9
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‘Spring Fling’ Soccer Action
Bantam Bears Win Banner
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Aldergrove Athletic Park was abuzz with senior men’s and women’s teams from across the region in competition in the half dozen divisions at last weekend’s Barry Bauder Spring Fling Tournament. Results were not available at presstime; see next week’s Aldergrove Star for more.
The Aldergrove Bears fought hard for their Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association Bantam C Fraser Valley West playoff championship banner with a 4-2 final score over Cloverdale C2 on March 5. The Bears roster is Henry Brown, Brian Carlson, Jake Corbett-Purcell, Connor Galbraith, Cooper Giesbrecht, David Gillis, Caleb Gregory, Jedd Knutson, Nicholas Lacey, Kyle McCrae, Brayden Schwan-Toews, Noah Van Santen, Matthew Wright, Josh Taylor and Nate Vansanten. Coach is Brent Carlson, assistant coaches are Dave Wright and Andy Corbett, manager is Melanie Wright and HSCP is Colin Lacey.
WHL Giants rumoured to make move to LEC By GARY AHUJA Aldergrove Star
Rumours of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants moving to the Langley Events Centre continue to circulate. And a recent visit from Ron Toigo has done nothing to quell them. The Vancouver Giants owner was seen at the LEC on March 5 during the Vancouver Stealth National Lacrosse League game. The LEC was also hosting three provincial high school basketball championships that night, which could have allowed him to see how
the facility operates when hosting multiple events. Toigo was not available for an interview when contacted by the Langley Times. But he did talk about the relocation rumours when he spoke on the radio on March 4. “(The LEC) is a beautiful building,” he said on TSN 1040’s Afternoon Show. “The size is just the thing we are questioning, whether we can make it work at that size with the overhead we run.” The LEC has capacity for 5,276 spectators. The Giants do have some his-
tory with the LEC, having played six games at the venue in 2010 when the team was displaced during the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Vancouver also played a preseason game here last September, and that game left an impression as more than 1,900 fans came out to watch. “That kind of opened our eyes; that is pretty good support for an exhibition game,” Toigo said. By comparison, the Giants had 536 fans for one home pre-season game and 354 for their other at the Pacific Coliseum. With two home games remaining
in the season, Vancouver is averaging 5,035 fans per home game. Last year, that number was 5,815 per game. Toigo hasn’t ruled anything out and admitted it would be difficult to leave the Coliseum,where the team has played since entering the WHL in 2001, including winning a Memorial Cup as the top Canadian junior hockey team in 2006. He did say that playing in Surrey — at a proposed 5,000-seat rink to be build by the Scott Road SkyTrain Station — would be the team’s first choice. The rink proposal was shelved by Surrey city council.
“At the end of the day, that would be the best scenario overall,” Toigo said. “(But) that is not in the cards for now.” “We are still working with the Coliseum to try and see if we can make things work there, but we have a ways to go,” he said. “We can’t carry on with the way things have been the last few years.” He did admit a better on-ice product is crucial to the team’s success. “At the end of the day, people want to see a team win and they want to be entertained and we haven’t done a lot of that lately.”
Pucek faces Essensa at ‘Clash’ Aldergrove Star
Pro boxing comes to Langley April 1 with the return of Langley’s Sarah Pucek to the boxing ring. Pucek holds the Canadian Featherweight championship and will face tough southpaw Stephanie Essensa from Red Deer Alberta in a non-title bout. Pucek has been ranked as high as #10 in the world by the WBC, however, has been inactive recently due to school commitments. Although she is still in collage she has reduced her work load, allowing her to continue her promising boxing career. Pucek has done most of her boxing in the U.S. and was an attraction at the Emerald Queen Casino Complex between 2008 and 2012. She hopes to build the same following in her hometown if
possible. Sarah is a Langley girl and has lived in both Aldergrove and Fort Langley. Her roots are very much in this community. She works for Thunderbird Equestrian Centre. Thunderbird has sponsored her and supports her boxing career in all ways possible. Her long time trainer Dave Allison says Pucek can win a world title if she allows for time to develop her timing. “She needs fights and we need to keep her busy,” says Allison. “She is a dedicated athlete with a work ethic second to none. She also possesses natural ability that is rare, this matched with her athleticism is a great combination. At 28 she is in her prime and came back to the sport with a great attitude,” says Allison.
The Pucek/Essensa fight will be a five-round fight and the only pro fight on the card. Essensa will be the first southpaw Pucek has ever faced and since Essensa’s only loss is to former world champion Lindsay Garbatt she is going to be formidable. Pucek has never lost a featherweight fight and has been sparring with world renowned kickboxing champion Farinaz Lari, who is a southpaw. The amateur semi main even will be a rematch between Ari Ashari, the B.C. Super Welterweight champion who will be rematched with Josh Wright the former champion. The two fought on March 11 in a very close fight in what many fans thought went to the wrong guy. This amateur fight will be accompanied with other ama-
teur fights including a fourround elimination between Tyson Gemby and Cody Robertson in a super middleweight fight. The winner will fight Branden Kim for Kim’s City title on May 6. There will be an amateur undercard that will feature all senior boxers and six amateur bouts are expected. The fights take place at the Coast Convention Centre in downtown Langley. Parking is free and there is a bar service at the venue. The doors open at 7 and the action starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are general $40, ringside $60, and kids 12 years and under are free. Ringside tickets only can be reserved by calling 604-5307897 or email cityfite@telus. net.
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Langley-Aldergrove boxer Sarah Pucek faces Stephanie Essensa this Friday night in Langley.