1- ---- -- SPORTS WEEK 86-87 looking good for Minor Bantams Most of the members of the Peacock-Crouch Minor Bantarms * are probably taking it easy this week and why not? After bringing home the All-Ontario "AA" championship two years in a row, the Silver Stick (1985), and battling their way to the rurnnpr- up slot in the 1983-84 Ail- Ontario's, the boys have racked-up the kind of credentials a bunch of 14 and 15 year olds can rarely lay claim to. But if the boys are thinking about other things besides hockey this week, co-coach Mike Primeau is already contemplating the coming season when most of the boys will be graduating to Major Bantam. Primeau, who last summer had the boys working out with weights in his garage, is drawing up a new weight traning program for the off season. It will be, according to Primeau, a prograrn condensed from Jr. "A" and the New York Islanders' training schedule but this sum- mer the boys will be working out on their own. In an interview last week the co-coach credited the team's out- standing season to the boys' maturity and self discipline, traits he said will help the boys to keep in shape this sum- mer. "They're old enough to do it on their own now," said Primeau who doesn't believe'the boys are about to sit back on their laurels. "They like to play hockey. It really seems to be their lifeline. They love it. They spend a lot of time around the rink and they do it because they want to. To be good you have to. These guys have learned you have to work hard if you're going to get anywhere." Although he said there's always a place on the team for anyone who proves they can do the job, Primeau expec- ted it would be pretty much the same team that will take to the ice next season. Unfor- tunately, one player who won't be back next year is goaltender Rick Milsap whose family is moving this summer. Rick, along with fellow goalie David Mitchell, was a key factor in the Minor Bantams' strong defensive play this year and Primeau said he would be difficult to replace. Already the . Minor Bantams have been in- vited to play in four major tournaments next year in centres outside the province and with the record they have achieved over the last three seasons, the Peacock-Crouch Minor Bantams will no doubt be at the top of the list for any team who is looking to make a name for themselves. However, said Primeau, the team's experience will be hard to. match next season and not many boys of that age have had the same opportunity to acquire the kind of cool- headedness under pressure that has characterized the Minor Bantams' play this year. "These guys have played under pressure ever since they were in novice...In tournaments they'll lay back and then they get in the final and people wonder where they came from. They just know how to bear down. And they look at playoffs as being no dif- ferent than the cham- pionship game in a tournament. They've got confidence in each other. They know anyone on the team can score a goal if he's given a chance," said Primeau. 'To make his point, Primeau pointed to Adam Foote's goal in the final seconds of the second game against Waterloo in this year's All-Ontario's. Down one FROM PG. 24 It was quite a season for the Brooklin-Whitby Peacock- Sean Holt, Chris Guilbert, Brian Mueggler, Trevor Rands, Crouch Minor Bantams who, for the second year in a row, Keith Primeau, Greg Rennie, Greg Kerr, Brian Shalfoon and have brought home the Al Ontario "AA" Championship Paul Windover. In the back row are goalie coach Paul Trophy. Seen here in the front row are David Mitchell, David Wilson, OMHA contact Jack Goddard, coaches Mike Grant, Tim Weber, Simon Ashdown, Adam Foote, Brian Primeau and Larry Windover and manager Vern Foote. Munroe, and Rick Milsap. In the second row are Todd Wilson, B - W Major Novices wmLakeshore Brooklin Whitby's Stonhard Major Novices wound up their season this year as the Lakeshore League "AA" champions after losing out a closely fought best of five championship series with the "AAA" Peter- borough Major Novices. According to coach Brian Dillon, the series was much closer than the final 3-1 tally wo.uld indicate. "They were ail close games. Probably the highlight of the year we were down 3-0 in Peterborough after losing the first two games in the series. With six minutes left to play we scored three goals to tie it up and then two more in over- time to win it 5-3," said Dillon last week. The novices then returned home for the last game and were narrowly edged out by the "AAA" club 4-3. It was typical of many of the games the team played this season. Ac- cording to Dillon the boys played all "AAA" tournaments this year and despite playing ,major centres such as Kitchener, the Brooklin- Whitby club was never beaten by more than one or two goals. In one of those tournaments earlier in the season, the boys emerged as the consolation champions. Going into the round robin leading up to the Lakeshore champion- ship, the Major Novices were leading the league. In the 62 games they played, they were 38-17-. 7 with a 252 goals-for and 140 goals-against record. "We never lost a game by more than one or two goals all season. It was a close one all the way," concluded the coach. The team's manager this year was Art Chai and Mike Primeau was the assistant coach. Nieuwendyk makes All- American Whitby's Joe Nieuwendyk was accor- ded All-American status this year after wrapping up an aggressive season as leading scorer on his Cornell University var- sity hockey team. Nieuwendyk, who spent most of the season hovering around the second and third positions on the team for goals and assists, surged ahead in the final games to finish the season with 26 goals and 28 assists for 54 points - this despite, missing three games to play with the Canadian Junior National team. One of the highest scoring sophomores in Cornell's history, Nieuwendyk was named to the Titan All America East squad by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The Cornell team finished their season 21- 7-4 winning the ECAC championships and losing out in the NCAA SEE PG. 22 The Brooklin-Whitby Stonhard Novice hockey team played their last game of the season on Saturday, against their fathers. Seen here are a-formidable pair of goalies, Christopher Mace and his dad Stewart. The "AA" club finished the year as champions of the Lakeshore League. Free Press Staff Photo What a team mmmi WHITBY FREE PRESS. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 16. 1986. PAGE 21 1 1