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20 + WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, December 26, 2007 e Sir John A. Macdonald Ttr'lighlanders' first meeting of the season against the Blueâ€" vale Knights played out like a grudge match in boys hockey action last week with ejections and tempers boiling over at times. It seems there were still some long memories about a semifinal series loss in last year‘s playoffs that the Highlanders had against the Knights, who went on to win their first WCSSAA championship. The Highlanders went into the series as the favourites after only dropping one game in league action last season, but the Knights played a better overall team game in the series. Highlanders on the hunt after tough lesson last year It‘s a lesson that has stuck with the Highlanders as they start this season as the prohibitive favourites with a couple of new Midwestern Junior B additions added to their lineup. Former Waterloo Siskins Eric Lekun and Brendan Lynch have joined the lineup replacing graduated players Connor McFarlane and Nathan Miller, who also played junior hockey. The two have added a little competitive fire to the Highlanders lineup, with Lynch providing a physical presence while Lekun has added some goalâ€"scoring prowess. Lekun‘s offensive talents were fter a year of playing cheerâ€" Al[;eader, the St. David Celtics ryson Johnson is happy to finally be pulling on the jersey of his school‘s basketball team. It was a long wait, admits the East Coast transplant who came to Waterloo with his brother Ben last year in search of better academic and athletic opportunities. Unfortunately, the Byzantine rules of the Districtâ€"8 and Central Western Ontario Secondary School Athletic associations kept the transâ€" fer students glued to the bench for the Celtics, not even able to particiâ€" pate in the team‘s practices. â€"_"To sit out was tough," said Bryson. â€" 8 â€" "It was tough not being able to play but at least my brother was Johnson finally suits up for surprising St. David Celtics By Bos VRBANAC Chronicle Staff By Bos VrBANAC â€" Chronicle Staff on display against the Knights at Albert McCormick West as his Highlanders trailed the Knights 3â€"2 going into the third period. The Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders Eric Lekun tucks a puck through the pads of the Bluevale Whight‘s Jake Heimpel in a 5â€"4 win last week. _ That‘s when Lekun scored a natural hat trick as he powered the here and we got to play a lot togethâ€" er." While that would have been a blow for most, the Johnsons turned the experience into a positive workâ€" ing on their basketball skills at Wilâ€" frid Laurier University while supâ€" porting their defacto teammates on the court. "It was OK because I was able to work on stuff," said Bryson. "But you always miss playing the Ben, 19, was able to earn that U.S. basketball scholarship he sought, playing club ball with the Waterloo Wildhawks, and just recently cracked the starting roster of the College of St. Rose in Albany, Bryson, 17, also returned to the court this fall for the Celtics as the team‘s starting point guard, providâ€" ing some leadership for a club that SPORTS Lekun could have had four goals if it wasn‘t for a brilliant stop by the Knights‘ Jake Heimpel on a partial breakaway. He was still Highlanders to a comeâ€"from behind 5â€"4 win. Bryson Johnson HROMCL laughing about that one after the game. e _ "He‘s one of my buddies," said Lekun. has been a bit of a surprise so far this season with a 5â€"2 record and enjoying a share of second place with Rockway Mennonite. "At first it felt really slow out there," said the Grade 12 student. "I wasn‘t used to the game‘s pace, and people were really getting in my face on my shot. "But now everything is back to where it was." The only game they haven‘t been in all season was their second meeting against Rockway last Wednesday in Kitchener. The game was tightly contested in the first quarter, but a second quarter run put Rockway up 33â€"17 in the half. The Celtics had no answer for the Rockway Flames‘ star centre, Colton Hood, who scared 24 points on the way to a 59â€"40 win over St. David. "We joked around after about it. "But 1 still got my three B0B VRBANAC PHOTO tonight." Lekun joined the Highlanders in October after starting this seaâ€" son with the Siskins. He said it was a need to simplify his life more than anything that made him turn to highâ€"school hockey as a outlet. "I had a lot of stuff going on," said Lekun. "It wasn‘t an easy deciâ€" sion, but right now it‘s what I needâ€" ed to do. "And I‘m having some fun playâ€" ing with my highâ€"school buddies. I‘ve never played with so much open ice, it‘s a lot more free wheelâ€" ing out there." There‘s been talk around the league that they are a team that can make a run at OFSSA, never mind the local league. While the Siskins are struggling at the .500 mark, Lekun and the Highlanders have high hopes for this season. And with a 15â€"1 record so far this season, the prognosticators might not be wrong, Their only loss so far this season has come against Forest Heights with all of their big guns out of the lineup. But Lekun said the Highlanders don‘t want to get caught up in expectations after last year‘s bitter playoff experience. "We‘re going to take it step by step, we‘re not going to get ahead of ourselves" said the 17â€"yearâ€"old Grade 12 student. "We‘re just going Continued on page 22 Bryson had 21 points in the loss but was disappointed with his effort. He felt it was his responsibility to get his teammates involved, and to push the ball against the Flames methodical halfâ€"court offence. "It was my fault," said Bryson, whose supportive teammates didn‘t share the harsh assessment. "I‘ve got to get everybody in the right _ "Our shots weren‘t falling, and 1 was probably taking too many, so I totally take the blame for the loss." But his terammates told him not to dwell on the game too much during the Christmas break. And Bryson said he‘ll bring a fresh perâ€" spective to the game in the new "I like to find my points, but Continued on page 23