BurnabyNOW WEDNESDAY October 19, 2016 19
Sportsnow
Sport to report? Contact Dan Olson at 604.444.3022 or dolson@BurnabyNow.com
Knights grab a ‘W’ St.Thomas More tops Mouat for first league win of 2016 season
Board walk: The Grandview Steelers’ Malcolm Huemmert, right, drives down the left boards during a recent game at the Burnaby Winter Club. The Steelers maintained their hold on first place in the Tom Shaw Conference with a resounding 7-0 victory over division rival North Vancouver Wolf Pack. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER
Steelers surge in win over Wolf Pack Dan Olson
dolson@burnabynow.com
For 38 seconds, the Grandview Steelers and North Van Wolf Pack were on equal footing. During the game’s remaining 59:22, the Steelers owned the show. Five different players scored and rookie netminder Cale Dolan recorded a shutout in Grandview’s 7-0 junior B hockey win. It was an effort which reflected the Burnaby-based Steelers strength so far this season – at 7-1-0-4, the squad owns the league’s second-best record and fewest regulation losses. “I think we played one of our best games,
the whole game,” said coach Stevan Matic. “Right from the get-go we were aggressive, we finished our checks and pressed them.” Burnaby native Mateo Coltellaro opened the scoring 39 seconds in with his first of two, followed at 2:10 by another local product, Christian Bettiol. Braedan Gurney also tallied twice, with singles from Devan Purhar and Adam Rota. Dolan, meanwhile, made his first start of the season and turned aside all 23 shots. “It was (Dolan’s) first start in this league and he played real well,” said the coach. “We’ve got four good lines and each one contributed.”
He noted that the additions of Albertans Malcolm Huemmert and Marc Lafrance, the former a 17-year-old winger, the latter 19 and coming off a season playing in Sweden, have been a big boost to the lineup. Matic also said defenceman Brett Cox was a standout on the blueline, coming less than 24 hours after he skated with the Coquitlam junior A Express. “He’s an old-fashioned player – a rugged, physical defenceman,” said Matic. Grandview plays three games this week: Thursday in Surrey, Friday in Abbotsford, and Sunday, 4 p.m., when they host Richmond at the Burnaby Winter Club.
W.J. Mouat had plenty of videotape showing St.Thomas More’s solid air attack, led by quarterback Kolby Buljevic. What they got on Friday was footage of the Knights’ powerful ground game. The STM Knights picked up their first regular season win by knocking off Mouat 35-6, powered by Mateo Carteri’s 110 yards rushing and two touchdowns. A quick start, highlighted by a fine touchdown catch by Matteo Montagliani on a pass from Buljevic, gave More the lead. Montagliani would also reel in an interception off Hawks’ quarterback Shawn Lal that he returned for a major to lift the Knights into a 28-6 halftime advantage. “Tonight was a good team win,” said STM coach Bernie Kully. “We had a great attitude and showed a sense of urgency to start the game. “It was important for us to get our first league win and play as a team. We had good effort and execution in all three phases tonight. ” On defence, Matteo Moreira corralled seven tackles, two QB sacks and an interception. The Burnaby school improved to 1-3 and in a three-way tie for fifth place in the competitive Eastern Conference. A week earlier, they were edged 14-9 by undefeated Centennial, after losing their previous two league contests by a combined 25 points against opponents who are 7-1. Their next test is Friday in Kelowna, where they face the 0-4 Owls in a must-win contest. “Now we need to use this as a start to finish off our league play the right way and get into the playoffs with some momentum,” noted Kully.
Panthers put playoffs on the front burner Dan Olson
dolson@burnabynow.com
The Moscrop senior girls volleyball team has its gaze set on the near-future. Yes, there remain a good number of games yet to be played, but so far the Panthers are firmly entrenched in first place of the Burnaby-New Westminster league at 4-0. Last year’s sole local survivor in a battle for a provincial AAAA berth – besting Walnut Grove 3-1 in a must-win wildcard game – Moscrop has its sights on playoffs. “Our sights are definitely set on Lower Mainlands,” remarked firstyear head coach Dania Robinson.
Last week the Panthers handled Robinson’s former squad, Burnaby Central 3-1, after topping Burnaby Mountain by a similar score two weeks ago. As defending Burnaby-New West league champions, Moscrop has a blueprint in which they are basing their playoff expectations. They’ve also got the players. This year’s roster is more balanced and experienced than the one that squeaked into the provincials last season.While they are a serious group – consisting of seven Grade 12s and six Gr. 11s – they still find the joy of playing, said Robinson. “This is a really fun team.They are always playing music, dancing,
joking around and we keep the who played up last year with the mood pretty up beat during both senior squad. practice and games. But when it’s “(Wong is) a truly do-everytime they know how to buckle thing player – she played libero on down and work. last year’s (senior) They are very team, setter on hard on them... when it’s time her club team and selves to perform hitter they know how to isthisa power to the best of their season. buckle down and ability, sometimes “She is a go-to too hard,” she hitter who will be work. said. key to the success Co-captains of this team in the Raeanne Sun and upcoming playClaire Bates lead off games,” added by example, providing encourRobinson. agement and positive reinforceThe returning seven welcomed ment on and off the court. Bringthe new players with open arms, ing both experience and versatility she noted. to the lineup is Gr. 11 Mari Wong, “I can tell the seven returning
players have grown very familiar playing with each other and I’m sure this is due to their experience at provincials last year,” said Robinson. “However it has been easy to integrate the new Gr. 11 recruits into the team. Everyone has been very welcoming and supports each other fully.” Moscrop’s next test comes tonight (Wednesday, 6 p.m.) when they visit 1-2 Burnaby North, while 0-3 New West goes to Burnaby Mountain (2-2). In other recent scores, Burnaby South blanked New Westminster 3-0 and Burnaby Mountain won a close battle, 3-2 over Burnaby North