PAGE 18, WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1988 SPORTS Atoms advance in all-Ontario Whitby minor atoms have advanced to the second round of the all-Ontario hockey playdowns following two wins against Ajax last week. A strong offence was helped Whitby's as they defeated Ajax 5-1 and then 9- 2, to win all six of their first round playoff games. In the first game, Steven Holbiski and Steven Blais each had two goals for Whitby while Brian Scott added a single. Blais continued to spark the Whitby team, scoring three times in the second game against Ajax. Ian McNeil also had three goals while Scott, Jeremy Schott and Bryan Lodge each had singles. Whitby now advances to a second round match-up against Newmarket. In two tournaments during regular season play, the two teams split games, Whitby winning 2-1 and losing 3-1. The Whitby team, sponsored by Checkers Variety, won 43 of its 58 regular season games to finish in first place. Henry, Anderson teams dominate Skate-a-thon HANS REMPEL, president of the Whitby Kinsmen Club, signs a lap card for seven-year-old Fred Brun- well. More than 100 skaters turned out for the club's skate-p-thon at Iroquois Park on Saturday. Free Press photo Henry Street High School won the boys' and overall team champion- ships while Anderson won the girl's team title in the LOSSA swim meet last week at the Pickering rec com- plex. Derek Phillips, an Ajax Aquatic Club member who competes inter- nationally, was an easy winner in the 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 400 freestyle to lead the dominant Henry team which racked up a total of 359 points, well ahead of second-place Dwyer. Also placing first for the Henry boys' team were Jason Rushton in the 200 individual medley, Scott Spencer in the 100 medley and Stew Smith in the open 50 freestyle. Phillips' Ajax club teammate, Lori Melien, also won in the 200 medley, 100 fly and.100 backstroke to lead Anderson's girls' team. Heather Armitage of Anderson won the 400 freestyle and joined Melien, Michelle Primeau and Jody Walm- sley to capture the 200 medley relay. From the Henry girls' team, Julie Leswick, won the open 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle and Tracy Phillips won the 200 freestyle. Leswick joined Tina Doran, Leslie Doran and Claudia The rink of skip Dave Werry, vice Ron Cameron, second Barry Shep- pard and lead Murray Gorman won the John Bilida Memorial Businessmen's bonspiel at the Whitby Curling Club Feb. 6. Second prize went to skip Stan Gambell, vice Ian Jackson, second Drew Porter and lead Bob Winters. Third prize was won by skip Paul Barnett, vice Cliff Shepherd, second John Gardner and lead Doug Best. . The margin of victory for the Werry rink was 1-1/2 points. A plaqueof appreciation was also presented to Dave Miller, bonspiel chairman for the last nine years. Bob Purdy Jr. will be the 1989 Luddemann tn take the 200 freestyle relay. Armitage, Leswick, Leslie Doran and Primeau are members of the Whitby Iroquois Swim Club. chairman of the event. In ladies curling, the second draw for the Gus Brown Motors trophy was captured by the rink of skip Mary Parks, vice Helen Boyce, second Sharon Copeland and lead Lois Marks. Runner-up was the rink of skip Ann Chapelle, vice Marie Jacques, second Millie Chaszewski andlead Kathy Rob- bins. Second was the rink of skip Ran- dy Hygaard, vice Shirley Barnett, second Monica Duquette and lead Madeline Simpson. Consolation prize went to the rink of skip Jane Tooze, vice Eleanor Wilson, second Shirley Barnett and lead Jackie Gorecki. Jack Goddard honored for longtime service to minor hockey If anyone in Whitby is deserving of the title "Mr. Hockey," it is Jack Goddard. So it was particularly ap- propriate when, in January, God- dard was recognized for his 32 years of service to minor hockey here as he was given the chair- man's special award by the Canadian Minor Hockey Association. "I still like to watch the kids play," says Goddard, 64, who first -o became involved with minor hockey.when his own son, John, now manager T the London Life office in Peterborough, laced on the skates as a child. "I started out as a parent when my boy was playing. Now it's more or less a hobby with me," says Goddard, one of only two Ontario Minor Hockey Association mem- bers to receive the special award, presented in the Hot Stove Lounge in Maple Leaf Gardens for the 30th anniversary of Minor Hockey Week held last month. A native of New Liskeard, Ont., Goddard came to Whitby in 1948. He became involved with minor hockey as parent, then as coach for two years. then as assistant convener of the bantam house league, then as convener of the league. For the past 18 years, he has been the OMHA "contact man" for Whitby minor hockey. "Anything from the OMHA goes through me," says Goddard, who has almost memorized the OMHA's manual of operations. He has also convened the Brooklin-Whitby. Minor Hockey Association for four years, a job that includes arranging league meetings, schedules, team standings and match penalties to players. He remembers the beginning of the previous hockey season as "just chaos" when Whitby joined the York-Simcoe league on a trial basis. "There were too many teams thrown in and they just weren't prepared to handle it,'" he says, "Every rink I went to, people asked "When are we going back to the lakeshore (league)," Scheduling is much smoother since the return to the lakeshore league this season, he says. Hockey has become far more ex- pdnsive since the 50's when ice cosf $4 an hour,.registration was $10, and a full set of equipment was lit- tde more than a set of shin-pads cost today. But Goddard maintains that minor hockey, despite some problems . that include "politicking," is good value. "We've done very well," he says, "We're often criticized but we've got a lot of results showing." He mentions the number of players, such as Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts, who have made NHL or junior level hockey, and credits coaching for making the Whitby system more successful than other towns the same size; Some criticism has been made of the Whitby policy to "find the best coach avalable," even if from out- of-town "But I don't see anything wrong with it," says Goddard. A bigger problem, he notes, are the tough decisions that have to be made when two good coaches apply for the same position. "We have to pick one, lose the other, so we lose coaches every year. I find that the most frustrating." "There's probably things that could be changed...but on the whole we're putting on a pretty good show," he says. JACK GODDARD with his award from the Canadian Minor Hockey Association Goddard still regrets the one- year age increase that was im- plemented at all levels a few years ago. That change, along with the advent of high school hockey, has affected the higher age levels of minor hockey. "We had to use our minor midgets to field a major midget team," says Goddard. And he says junior hockey clubs are now taking minor midget players. In the case of Keith Primeau, Hamilton took the talen- ted 15-year-old out of bantam hockey. "They're not interested in the major midgets any more since the age change," he says. He notes that Whitby's ap- plication for a junior B team was rejected since Whitby didn't have an adequate number of midget age players to support the junior level. But Goddard says eight players from Whitby were previously taken by junior clubs. Lack of ice is no longer a problem since the second ice pad opened at Iroquois Park. However, Goddard feels that now may not be the time for Whitby to launch a junior team, since there are six B or C teams already in Durham Region. "We're just surrounded with them," he says. "If they start another one, it will just deplete us that mu.ch more." Hockey is also now competing with other activities such as cross country skiing and indoor soccer. So despite Whitby's growth, there is som - loss in the potential registration. "There's not the big families there once were. So even though the town is growing, the number of kids isn't growing that much. Minor hockey registration is now at about 970, the same as in the 1970's. But the numbers are now going up each year, he adds. Criticism of refereeing at the minor hockey level will always oc- cur, says Goddard. But he mentions that some Whitby officials are ever advancing through the ranks -Gil Nieuwendyk is a lineman for Newmarket Saints' games, Paul Ravary at junior A and B games, and Dwyane Phillips at junior B and C. Goddard has also witnessed the development of some fine Whitby players. Of Nieuwendyk: "He was always pretty good, and now he's grown a lot. He was on the small side before." Of Gary Roberts: "He was always- a good hockey player...more of a robust player." Goddard also saw Brad Dalgarno (New York Islanders). played minor midget hockey here before he was released to Markham's junior B team. He naines numerous other Whit- by players, including goalie Ray Reeson who went to Buffalo, goaltender Dunc Wilson who playèd in the NHL, Craig Donaldson of the Oshawa Generals, Derek Middleton of the Cornwall Royals, Craig Fisher of the Oshawa Legionaires, college player Mark Fisher and the Liuk twins, also playing college. SEE PAGE 21 Werry rink is first