Wednesday, April 11, 2007 · Page 18 HOCKEY HIGHLIGHTS 73's draw first blood with `Good' Friday victory over Peach Kings BY KEVIN E. NEELS The Essex 73's have met up once again with a formidable opponent from the past the Grimsby Peach Kings. Essex drew first blood in this year's semifinal series with a close 4-2 victory Friday in Grimsby. This is the third time in the Tony Piroski era that these two clubs have faced off. Grimsby took the first meeting in six games and went on to win the Ontario championship. Fans will also remember that Essex won the Ontario championship two seasons ago defeating the Peach Kings in a tough seven-game series. Essex looked like the better team in period one Friday getting in the Grimsby players faces at every turn. One would not have known that the 73's had been idle for a week as their legs seemed to be working well for this one. Dan Croft started things off early, banging in a rebound just 1:02 after the opening face-off. Rookie Evan Stibbard showed off his quick skating ability later in the period, going around the outside of the Grimsby defense, cutting in toward the front of the net, and tucking the puck into the goal past netminder Ryan Penner to up the lead to 2-0 heading into the first intermission. The locals started with a bang again in period two, as Mike Roach cashed in a rebound while on the power play at the 3:12 mark. The tide turned rather quickly after the 73's third goal, with Grimsby picking up their game considerably. The hard work paid off for the home team as they got on the score sheet before the period ended, giving them a PLAYOFF CHAMPS The Sun County AAA Minor Midget hockey team is the winner of the 2006-2007 Alliance Minor Midget Pavilion playoffs. Members of the team (in no particular order) are: Craig Adamson, Jordan Brohman (Essex), Justin Danese, Zack Diloreto, Burke D'Sousa, Ben Dubois, Adam Dunmore (Essex), Carl Florence, Dane Gill, Dyland Impens, Evin Kolm (Essex), Michael MacIntyre, Nick Nicodemo, Kurtis Ouellette, Dylan Palcit, Michael Sollazzo, Sean St. Louis. Coaches: Tony Ciampa, Frank Evola, John Daskalakis, Serge Dubois. boost heading into the third. The 73's made the mistake of sitting back and letting the Peach Kings dictate the play to start period three, and it cost them. Grimsby pulled to within a goal early in the period to set up a barnburner finish. For the next few minutes Essex was holding on for TOWN OF ESSEX PARKS AND RECREATION EMAND K BY POPULAR D B AC dear life, with Grimsby getting numerous good chances around 73's goalkeeper Eddie Wheeler. Luckily for Essex, none of those chances ended up in the back of the net. Those few minutes must have been a wake up call for the club, as they picked up their game, and started to get back to what they do best, check ... check ... check. The 73's managed to hold the fort until the last minute when Dan Croft added his second marker of the game into an empty Grimsby cage to seal the win. "I think they were in shock a bit after the first period," said Croft. "The 20 lead must have been a wake up call for them. I have to admit we had some frazzled nerves out there tonight, but we will get better as the series moves forward. Grimsby is a good dump-and-chase team, and they are big but can also handle the puck very well." "I felt we started well, then slowed down during the middle part of the game but adjusted and picked it up down the stretch when we needed to," Anthony Iaquinta added. "They look like they have a good power play, which should tell us that we need to stay out of the box. We should get stronger during the series, but likely so will they." Essex 73's versus Grimsby Peach Kings · Tues. April 10 Grimsby at Essex 7:30 p.m. · Wed. April 11 Essex at Grimsby 7:30 p.m. · Fri. April 13 Grimsby at Essex 8:00 p.m. Remaining games to be announced. Novice A Drs Hager/Kniaziew The 2006-07 season came to a close last week at home against the LaSalle Sabres. The game started out great. At 9:07 of the first Dylan Dent took the puck end to end and tucked in a backhand to put the Ravens up 10 assisted by Luke Mahon. LaSalle came back on the powerplay late in the first to tie the game at a goal apiece and then went up 2-1 early in the second. Midway through the second, Brady Rickeard took a pass from Dylan and tied the game 22. This was the last goal the Ravens scored and LaSalle pulled away finishing with a 6-2 final. For many this was the first experience with travel hockey. This team won only one game prior to Christmas but then turned the season around and played .500 hockey for the rest of the campaign. It came right down to the final game of the playoffs where they came to within a few goals of the final four tournament. Many thanks to the coaching staff: Daryn Dent, Darin Rickeard, Dave Dent, Joe Amicarelli and Todd Quinlan who never gave up on this team. They worked hard through many extra practices and drills with the goal of seeing each player improve and they did! Thanks to the parents who got the players where they had to be, organized the fundraising and to the dads who laced up the blades to help with practices. Most importantly congratulations to all the players who never gave up on their team and continued to believe in themselves: #1 Adam Amicarelli, #30 Josh Scratch, #14 Josh Amyotte, #11 John Chittle, #4 Carly Davison, #12 Dylan Dent, #10 Jared Fuerth, #17 Jacob Gagnon, #7 Brendan Jones, #16 Luke Mahon, #13 Jake Maisonneuve, #15 Nash Prieur, #8 Grant Quinlan, #2 Brady Rickeard, #3 Brett Schmidt, #18 Jacob Watters. Have a great summer! up Ladies ONLY Aged 18 & ex Essex Recreation Compl Wednesday, April 18th, Wednesday, April 18th, Thursday, April 19th, Thursday, April 19th, 6:15 to 7:30 pm 7:45 to 8:30 pm 6:15 to 7:30 pm 7:45 to 8:30 pm Course #6869 Course #6870 Course #6871 Course #6872 The latest craze in exercise and fitness is being showcased in Essex pole dancing lessons. This "sexy and fun" pastime has gained popularity with budding dancers who will be able to tone up with a workshop being held this October 25th at Essex Recreation Complex. Our downstairs All Purpose room is the perfect private studio to try out a variety of skills and moves with Specialty Dance Instructor Larisa Makuch. For More Information, Please Contact Us At: 519-776-8992 All Print Classified ads appear on our website at no additional cost! www.essexfreepress.reinvented.net