The Markham Economist & Sun, n www.yorkregion.com n Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, 24
Economist & Sun
SPORTS Apps excited about return to Olympics BY MICHAEL HAYAKAWA
mhayakawa@yrmg.com
When the final selections were about to be made for Canada’s women’s hockey team for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Gillian Apps had concerns. Even though she had two prior Olympic gold medals under her belt, the 30-year-old Unionville resident wasn’t certain she would be a shoo-in for the 21-player roster. In fact some players who had prior Olympic experience were released prior to the final selection. In the end, though, the grand daughter of NHL Hall of Famer Syl Apps and daughter of former NHL player Syl Apps Jr. need not have worried after it was officially announced she will get to play for an Olympic medal for a third time. “I think in any Olympic year, you can never be complacent,” the six-foot forward said. Canada has an amazingly talent pool and the younger players coming up are very skilled, she said. “I try to lead each day in my own way. If I can help the younger players in any way, then I am happy to do so,” she said. “We have a great mix of youth and experience on our roster which I think keeps things
balanced and energized.” Apps is also confident the recent hiring of former NHL player and coach Kevin Dineen to be their new head coach could help them win a fourth straight Olympic gold.
“He’s brought on a new perspective on the game,” Apps said of Dineen, who replaced Dan Church behind the bench. “We still have a lot of work to do between now and then finetuning our game to get it at its
absolute best,” she said. “I know that the Olympics will be a great tournament, and if all goes well you should see a Canada vs U.S.A. final. What a great game for the spectators to watch, and the players to play in.”
Double the fun
STAFF PHOTO/STEVE SOMERVILLE
Markham’s Gillian Apps
Thornlea Secondary School’s Emanual Shepherd passes off against Vaughan Secondary School’s Rijien Viloria and Malik Tucker in an exciting high school game at Thornlea Tuesday that went into double overtime. Vaughan won 61-57. See more photographs from the game on our website, yorkregion.com
Tony Roman hockey tournament reinvented The Tony Roman Memorial Hockey Tournament will live on, but not in a week-long format as it has since its inception 40 years ago. To be known as the 41st Tony Roman Memorial Hockey Celebration, some 2,000 house league players age five to 20 representing the Markham Minor Hockey Association, Thornhill Community Hockey League and Unionville Minor Hockey Association will have the opportunity to play like a pro. A new wrinkle for this year’s festivities, the participating players will be introduced during the warmup and each game will begin after playing of the national anthem. Similar to a pro hockey experience, music will blare over the arena speaker system between faceoffs. Goals and assists will be announced over the PA system. Marzia Del Bianco, Unionville Minor Hockey Association president, said with the tournament through the years growing in size, the associations were finding it difficult to run the event in the manner they would like. At the same time, they still want to make the event a celebration of minor hockey. “We would like people to come see a big sports experience and it could also encourage parents to sign their youngsters up in the future. “We want to make this a fun experience.” Festivities begin Feb. 22 with opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. at the Markham Civic Centre outdoor ice rink, at 101 Town Centre Blvd. Along with the traditional ceremonial puck drop, a free community family skate will take place. To check out the schedule, log on to: http://markhamhockey.ca, http://tchl.org or http://www.umhahockey.org
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