The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

22 * WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, May 30, 2007 The Kodiaks‘ Mike Flemming makes a break for the goal Satâ€" urday night against Barrie. 0e visanac roto Kodiaks win home opener e Kâ€"W Kodiaks got off I to a slow start in their home opener against the Barrie Lakeshores, trailâ€" ing 4â€"1 midway through the second period Saturday night at the Waterloo Memoâ€" rial Recreation Complex. When the sleeping bears finally awoke, they stormed back for a 7â€"6 win against the team that knocked them out of the first round of last waterloeo By Bos VRBANAC Chronicle Staff â€" 282 MARSLAND DRIVE, 519.747.3729 www . waterloomattress.ca Wel@~cSsER year‘s Major Series Lacrosse playoffs. e But what had Kodiaks supporters excited was that most of the production came from the team‘s young guns, including Ryan Benesch coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign for the Toronâ€" to Rock. Benesch scored the game winner, while another Kodiaks rookie, Jamie Rooney, added four points including two goals. A quick glance down the Continued on page 23 O W N E D he Sir John A. Macdonald Highâ€" I landers have been building for a senior boys rugby title since the first day the school apened three years ago. That year the school‘s junior squad became one of the first teams to win a WCSSAA title for the Highlanders. With most of the nucleus of that team now in the senior ranks, the goal was to do it again against a Forest Heights club they beat two years ago in that final. Highlanders win rugby crown Highlanders captain Rich Lebel said they wanted to send the graduating players who helped build the program home happy. And they did just that in a 22â€"7 win over the only other undefeatâ€" ed team in the league, the Trojans. "We just wanted this for the fifthâ€" year guys who won‘t be coming back," said Lebel, a veteran of that junior championship team who added two converted kicks in last Thursday‘s final at Forest Heights. The difference came in the condiâ€" tioning of the two clubs. The play was even up until the half, but the Highâ€" landers had some extra gas left in the tank to finish off the game, which was played in sweltering conditions. __ "We didn‘t want to give the ball up," said Lebel. "We wanted to just keep driving it until we scored." s Keaton Jones led the attack for the Highlanders with two tries, including the game winner and an insurance marker. Athar Zia and Keith Stinson very once in a while you catch E:ghming in a bottle, like the crop f good hockey players that was born in 1963 in the City of Waterloo. ;;xl;rl?;;:\t;arl‘(a ZnZ Eenthfi“n;s«;r\) we‘d come away with a’coupl‘c of Continued on page 25 o Remembering the dream team of 1977 Two of them went on to win a Memorial Cup in Cornwall playing alongside Doug Gilmour and Dale Hawerchuk. One even made it to the NHL for a short stay. Others stayed in town and helped the Waterioo Siskins to some champiâ€" onships, before going on to play U.S. college hockey or continue their careers in Europe. But they all trace their success back to a minor bantam hockey team that took to the ice in 1976â€"77 with Randy Musselman as the coach. That team SPORTS By Bos VRrBANAC Chronicte Staff By Bos VRRANAC Chronicle Staff Continued on page 24 Highlanders captain Rich Lebel tries to break through a Forest Heights tackle in last week‘s senior boys rugby finals. sos vrsanac moto had the other tries for the Highlanders _ points. l just saw what the defence "We just tried to take whatever they gave us," said Jones. "I was lucky to get the winner and then the exclamation point, but it was a team effort. â€" _ "If I didn‘t score 1 was just hoping we‘d come away with a couple of The class of 1977 as pictured when they played for the Waterloo Minor Bantam Bruins. Players of that exceptional year gather for a 30th reunion this week. points. l just saw what the defence gave us, and our team took it from there." â€" He also said all the long practices the team put in to improve their fitness TT