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e Siskins bowed I out in five games in their firstâ€"round series against the Elmira Sugar Kings last Wednesâ€" day, extending their playâ€" off futility for another year. "From a talent standâ€" point I thought we could match up with them, we just ran out of bodies," said Siskins‘ GM Richard Burjoski, whose team lost a tough overtime decision in game three, and never lost any conâ€" test by more than two goals. "We had some key injuries and we just didâ€" n‘t play as hard as they did all year." Siskins on the right track A twoâ€"month stretch between November and January when the Siskins went winless proved tough to recover from. The club made some changes at the trade deadline to change that inertia, and even showed some strong signs of life at the end of the season going 6â€"3 in their last nine games, but it was too much to overcome in the end. "It‘s hard to pick up your intensity in the playoffs," said Burjoski. "They (the Sugar Kings) were in first place for a reason. merican college squash champion Aznd Waterloo native Miranda Ranieri nly had one loss in her final year with the Yale Bulldogs team. But it was that one loss that really showed what the young squash star was made of, said her coach Dave Talbot. In December, Ranieri, the top seeded women‘s squash player in the United States, was scheduled for a match in the middle of midterm exams. Ranieri, a biology student at the Ivy League school, was also sick with the flu. â€" But the 21â€"yearâ€"old is such a competitor that she went out and played the match, her coach said. And even though she lost, she showed why she won the Betty Richie Award for Local squash prodigy shows them how to do it in the U.S. By Bos VrBANAC Chronicle Staff . By Grec MacDonaLn â€"_ Chranicle Staff "They just ground us down even though all the games were close." â€"Richard Burjoski Siskins‘ general manager "They just ground us down even though all the games were close. We had an opportunity to win all those games, but when it comes down to it little things make a difâ€" ference." The Siskins will have a lot of changes in the offâ€" season with more than half the roster gone next year. Only nine players from this year‘s club are eligible to come back next season, although Burjoski said there is some good young talent in the mix. "We were pretty happy with their perâ€" Waterloo‘s Miranda Ranieri returns a shot during a recent competition formance and their effort at the end," he said. "But we‘ve got some spots to fill." At least he‘ll have a litâ€" tle more time to fill out the roster. Burjoski only joined the Siskins in April last year, so he wasn‘t able to do a lot of scoutâ€" ing in preparation for the season. That‘s not going to be an issue this year. "We‘ve been doing a lot of work the last couâ€" ple of months," said Burâ€" joski. "We‘ll be fully recruited by the middle of the summer. "I haven‘t been to a lot of Siskins games over the last couple of months because I‘ve been watchâ€" ing a lot of hockey. There‘s also a lot of kids coming to Waterloo for university so there is a consistent supply of players coming in." _ Burjoski is also excitâ€" | ed about the players | being developed in the Waterloo Minor Hockey system, and thinks that | at least six midgetâ€"aged kids could play for the | Siskins next season including some more goaltending help. \ "It won‘t be a comâ€" plete rebuilding project," said Burjoski. "Our third line, which is coming back next year, had an Continued on page 25 | SPORTS Wilfrid Laurier‘s Liz Knox turns away another good scoring chance from a McGill forward in Monday night‘s CIS championship game. Despite turning in a stellar effort, the undefeated Martlets proved to be too much for Knox and the Golden Hawks who dropped a tough 2â€"0 decision. Cathy Chartrand scored what would be the game winner as the No. 1â€"seeded McGill Martlets defeated the No. 3 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 2â€"0 at the CIS women‘s ice hockey national chamâ€" pionship Monday night in Ottawa. _ The silver medal brings Laurier‘s women‘s hockey national medal count to four, with three silvers and the gold the Hawks won back in 2005. "McGill‘s girls played as tough and as well as they could tonight," said Hawks‘ head coach Rick Osborne on the performance of the Martlets. "We were possibly suffering from some fatigue from playing our third game in as many days, includâ€" Hawks finish with silver BONICH SUBMITTED PHOTO ing playing a tough Alberta team." The Hawks beat the defending national chamâ€" pions Alberta 2â€"0 on Sunday night to get to the goldâ€"medal game. _ e o After a scoreless first period of backâ€"andâ€"forth action, the Martlets scored their first of two goals on the powerâ€"play in the final minutes of the secâ€" ond period. McGill‘s second goal of the contest was scored late in the third period on a fourâ€"onâ€"three by Annâ€" Continued on page 26 Chartrand put the puck on net while goalie Liz Knox was screened on a twoâ€"man advantage. _ WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, March 12, 2008 * 23 most valuable player in the league, Talbot "She got beaten, but it was really just a hiccup. It showed her determination," he The rest of the year, Ranieri dominated the competition, scooping up the MVP award and College Squash Association‘s individual title for only the third time in Yale‘s history. "I worked hard all year and was very happy that I succeeded. It was something I was working towards and a nice way to leave the program," said Ranieri, who attended Kitchener collegiate institute and grew up in Waterboo. Ranieri was a busy teenager, juggling squash tournaments, schoolwork and other sports such as soccer, basketball, volleyball Continued on page 25 PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE WeHITEHOUSEAMLU ATHLETICS W areve acerecmmae a vin ie mameere evaacact!