Wednesday, February 14, 2007 · Page 18 HOCKEY HIGHLIGHTS Sharks and Lakers hold 73's to a point BY KEVIN E. NEELS As the playoffs get set to egin the Essex 73's find hemselves in the midst of a uge downward spiral. aving just one win in the ast six outings has the eam feeling a bit down on hemselves at the moment. an they get things turned round? Well, there is no omorrow as the playoffs re set to begin. Tuesday, in perhaps the 3's best game of the seaon, they came out fast and ard, embarrassing the heatley Sharks 7-1. The ssex power play was nontoppable in this game, coring six times. R.J. otts was the game's first tar, notching five assists. he locals led 3-0 after one eriod on goals by Chris arren, Mike Roach and anner Gallant. In period two, Wheatley otched their only goal andwiched between a pair f Essex goals by Dan roft and Tanner Gallant. Essex rounded out the coring in the final frame ith another pair of goals. yler Gallant and Mike epelaars did the damage. "We were puck hungry onight, and our power play as super tonight," said eremy Venables. "It was ice to have a full lineup onight also. We were geting tired playing with a hort bench." "I'll be the first to say it's ard getting these guys otivated when there's othing to play for," said ssistant Coach Jamie cDermott. "With playoffs tarting next week, that hould be enough motivaion right there." How tough has it been Mooretown Flags versus Essex 73's Fri. Feb 16 Mooretown at Essex 7:30pm Sat. Feb 17 Essex at Mooretown 7:30pm Tue. Feb 20 Mooretown at Essex 7:30pm Wed. Feb 21 Essex at Mooretown 8:00pm If necessary: "it's hard getting these guys motivated when there's nothing to play for. With playoffs starting next week, that should be enough motivation right there." Assistant Coach Jamie McDermott being the main man behind the bench in Coach Tony Piroski's absence? "Not that tough at all," McDermott said. "Besides, Tony is not that far away, and Jordy is doing a great job. He knows the game well, and I am sure that he gets some tips from his father. The veterans help do some coaching as well, which helps out a great deal." Lethargic, disinterested and lackadaisical are some of the words that could have been used to describe Saturday night's game in Kingsville. From the goaltending out, Essex did not show up for this game. Kingsville took it to the 73's in every aspect of the game. "It's hard to win when you don't do anything right," stated AJay Sweet. Kingsville jumped into a 2-0 lead after one period and never looked back. The Comets led 3-0 before Essex finally got on the board, but any momentum the 73's may have gotten died shortly afterwards when goaltender Eddie Wheeler misplayed the puck and it ended up in the empty cage behind him. In the final period the home team completed the scoring with a power play goal for a final score of 5-1 Kingsville. "We had no intensity tonight," said Sweet. "We were embarrassed. We have to realize that first place does not mean anything. for a 3-3 tie. It took just 11 seconds to get on the scoreboard, with Evan Stibbard doing the scoring. Wes Tan increased the lead at 3:08, and it looked like the 73's were off and running. The Tue. Feb 27 Mooretown at Essex 7:30pm Wed. Feb 28 Essex at Mooretown 8:00pm Fri. Mar 2 Mooretown at Essex 7:30pm less. Blenheim fought back to even the score in the third period with a pair of goals to send this one into extra time. Neither team could find the back of the net in the "We seem to have lost our focus, our whole team is struggling right now." Dan Croft We have to play well now, when it counts." "We don't seem to have our heads on straight right now," said Chris Barr. "I can't explain why we have been playing so poor of late, but we better figure it out soon or we will be done playing hockey sooner than we thought. Give Kingsville credit tonight, however, they were a desperate team, they did all the little things right." The regular season ended Sunday in Blenheim where the 73's started strong but faded fast and had to settle Blades got one back late in the period, but Essex regained the two-goal edge less than a minute later on a Dan Croft power play goal. Period two was score- extra period, but the Blades sure gave it their best shot, as they came close on numerous opportunities, including one puck that was behind netminder Ryan Barnett, but was cleared by his defense before going over the goal line. "We seem to have lost our focus, our whole team is struggling right now," said Croft. "I don't know if we are not taking it serious or what, but the playoffs are here. The other teams have been in playoff mode for a couple of weeks now, fighting for playoff positioning, and are at the top of their game. (We), on the other hand, are one of the weakest teams in the league." "We are not feeling real good about the playoffs," said Ryan Breault. "We are not playing as a team, too many individual efforts, which happens when a team is not playing well. We have to get this out of our heads, get back to our game, and soon." "We have to realize that first place does not mean anything. We have to play well now, when it counts." AJay Sweet Essex Minor Hockey Association ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Wednesday March 7th, 2007 · 7:00 PM Essex Civic Centre Council Chambers These items will be on the agenda: Reports on 2006/2007 Season Election of the 2007/2008 Executive New Business brought before the meeting for discussion The EMHA Executive has proposed several changes to the Constitution & By-Laws, to be voted on at the Annual General Meeting. Please review these changes by visiting the EMHA website at: www.essexhockey.ca Please submit any proposed changes to the Constitution & By-Laws in writing by February 21st, 2007. Please mail your proposed changes to: Essex Minor Hockey Association Box 111, Essex ON, N8M 2Y2 BASKETBALL Friday, February 23, 2007 Registration 6:30-7:00 PM Essex Community Centre Gymnasium TRI-STAR Essex Optimist Cottam Minor Baseball BASEBALL REGISTRATION SATURDAY MARCH 17th & 24th 11:00 - 1:00 RIDGEVIEW PARK - COTTAM HOUSE LEAGUE: AGES 4-16 ADULT RECREATIONAL CO-ED 25 AND OLDER MORE INFO CALL: RICK (519) 839-4317 TRAVEL ROOKIE, MOSQUITO, PEEWEE MORE INFO CALL: RAY (519) 975-1035 REGISTRATION FORMS AVAILABLE www.c-m-b.org EMAIL: registration@c-m-b.org GENERAL MEETING FOR BOARD CREATION ALL WELCOME SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24th 2:00 - 4:00 RIDGEVIEW PARK