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no: a - matinee cunaucu. “antenna FEURUMY tt, I.1 "My how unfortunate the chaps of Waterloo were dealt To be totally fair. the Siskin hospital ward cannot be such an upset." completely ignored, Todd Sheridan, one of the most im- "No doubt they gave it their best shot though. .. proved players on the club from his defence position. is still 'tttt sure they didn't go down losing without a fight." feeling the effects of a badly-sprained ankle from the Strat- Don‘t bet on it. If they were anything like Sunday night. ford game and will not skate until this weekend, Mike Cop- not only did Siskins not go down fighting. they could easily polino is still fatigued from the effects of mono. and Chris be accused of not answering the bell for round one, _ Young's separated shoulder is an indefinite question mark. At best, they should be congratulated for extending the Added most recently to the list is stellar defenceman It is not the end of the world when a good hockey club loses four games in a row as Siskins have done. Witness Mont'real Canadiens earlier this season, But it is a horse of a different color to openly display the lackadaisical who- gives-a-dam attitude Siskins mirrored Sunday, It just doesn't wash. Incredibly. the evil pestilence called losing reared its head for the fourth time In a row less than 48 hours after Siskins played. and lost. a reportedly WORSE exhibition of non-hockey 7-5 to New Hamburg Hahns, a club that earlier in the week dropped a 14-7 heartbreaker to Kitchener Bs Can't you just imagine the nice words being spoken about Siskins early Saturday morning at Cambridge Shamrocks" team party. after learning their playoff hopes had gone sewer city in a shocking turn of events in the Burg? Listowel Cyclone goalie Jim MacDonald played a solid game Sunday night as he and his mates upset Waterloo Siskins 6-5. But there was no way Mac- Donald was going to get to pounce on this puck in the first period as Jeff My oh my, it was pond hockey at its best Sunday night when Siskins closed out their regular season in a blaze of ig- nominy by losing 6-5 to Listowel Cyclones, a team that since Christmas has had trouble beating its own chest. But the only waves created were in the main lobby between periods where more than one disgruntled fan was over- heard berating Siskins lack of effort. As if stolen right from the pages of a Monty Python hand- book. Waterloo Siskins have come up with Something Com- plt 'ly Diff tt for their fans. It would s .n. if last weekend's action? is any indica- tion. that the team that annually prides itself on and treats its faithful to several long winning streaks per season has suddenly developed a startling affinity for losing. Ha. Ha. Now let's get serious "it's time we stopped usmg things like injuries as an ex- cuse," said assistant coach Dean Woelfle after Sunday's debacle in which he sat in for absent coach Jack Egers. “I wasn't in New Hamburg Friday but if they (Sishins) played as bad as I heard they did. they should have been hungry tonight, But they werent spirit of minor hockey week in Waterloo by playing like City League minor bantams. At worst. they should be chas- tized for total indifference - and no doubt will be before they open their best-of-five quarter-final against New Ham- burg Friday on the road. "I told them in the dressing room we dorft want to go into the playoffs on a four-game losing streak. let's go into the playoffs on a winning note, Then they come out and play like this __ a complete lack of hustle __ " was as if they were hypnotized by the puck." RICK CAMPBELL Bender IS) shovels it home for Siskins second goal. Waterloo will have to play much sharper in the playoffs than they did in the last week of the regulet, season if they hope to advance in Midwestern Junior 8 playoff action. It's been proven before that no man is an Islander unto himself, In Waterloo's case, they yet have the playoffs in front of them. But the future becomes the present at the drop of the puck 8 pm. Friday in New Hamburg, and unless Siskins get the lead out and start playing together the way they know how. the present will soon become history. So will their season, Actually. Siskins play of late has resembled that of Toronto Maple Leafs several years back. The enjoyed a successful season. then went backsliding dreadfully at the end before roaring back to provide the upset of the playoffs in beating New York Islanders "I think some guys on this club think they can just turn it on and turn it off anytime they want - but it just doesn't work that way." said Woelfle. "In order for this team to be successful. every single player down the line has to be working hard, giving 100% all the time.“ Woelfle cited a prime example: after Tom Abbott's goal drew Siskins to within 6-5 at 19:41. Waterloo yanked goalie Jeff Nickel and stormed the Listowel end for one final chance, That chance came too. when the puck was centred through a maze of legs into the open slot with eight seconds to go. But. at a time when Siskins should have been charg- ing the net like Lemmings to the sea - the puck sat un- touched for almost five seconds. Defenders of the cause will also point to the loss of first place as a temporary setback for Sisk.s. and arguably that could have taken some wind out of their weekend sails. But not to the extent that they should submit the feeble effort they did, Shawn Mulroney. who missed Sunday's game after being hit in the knee area with a puck. He has suspected ligament damage, -ThVs the injury that worries me the most, because Shawn has played injured for much of the year." said Woel- ne, lit he hasHsit out. yoanaye to know it)s pretty pad. ..