Gav's Roundup from Edmonton

Image via Wikipedia Stewart out with busted hand.

Terrance Gavan - Voice Sports

I'm in Edmonton for the Grey Cup so will be attempting to get results and scorers from the events that went last week.
First congratulations to the Hawks hoopsters who are starting strong this year.
Image via Wikipedia Sdelf portrait Henri Matisse.Their win over PCVS and two close losses, loquacious earmarks for the club's chances this season.
Meanwhile the Hal High Hockey club started their season with a very strong 9-3 win over Lakefield College.
The Hawks will play a tournament in Ottawa beginning on Monday. Playoffs continue Tuesday and those results and more will be in the Voice next Thursday.
Keep an eve out for the Voice ... your place for Haliburton Sports.
Temperatures are great in Edmonton and because this is a high school sports site we thought that we could share that we will be attending the Henri Matisse exhibit at the Gallery today. 
Our teacher from Beausejour has convinced us (all 7) to accompany him.
We agreed to do this if he promises to put his vuvezela away.
Attended the Oiler game Saturday night, but probably picked the wrong night.
The evening prior, Matt Duchene put his stamp on the game with a goal and an assist.
The Avs lost 3-2.
Bad news tonight. Chris Stewart the Avs leading scorer got into a fight and damaged his left hand ... lost for an as yet undisclosed period of time.
That will put further pressure on the Avs youngsters and Sacco will have to perform some rehabilitative surgery to stitch together a few lines.
Reminder that yes, people do get hurt in hockey fights and it's never a good idea.
Especially frowned on when you're a bona fide sniper and in a pretty lively Northwest Division race with the Canucks.
Back to the Red Hawks.
Girls Hockey home opener is at the Dysart Arena on Thursday afternoon.
Bothe junior and senior basketball teams are playing and the wrestling team is gearing up for another eventful season.
Stay tuned to the blog and sports pages of the Voice for results.
In other events, the Haliburton Curling Club hosts the Bonny and Clyde mixed spiel beginning on Friday night.


Related articles

• Rematch in Edmonton (theglobeandmail.com)
• Hotels Offer Versatile Edmonton Vacation Packages During 2010 Grey Cup Festival (prweb.com)
• Cox: Toronto a perilous choice for 2012 Grey Cup (thestar.com)
• Hall Lifts Oilers Past Avalanche (nytimes.com)
• Canucks beat Avs to tie for first in Northwest (reuters.com)

Hawks Hoops win over PCVS - Hawkey Boys win 9-3

Special to The Voice Supplement from Jud Paul's Class
The senior boys’ basketball team opened their season with a 40-38
victory over PCVS.  In their next two matches the Hawks lost to last
year’s COSSA ‘AA’ champs, Thomas A. Stewart 51-43 and LCVI by a
single point.  Luke Watson scored 17, 15, and 25 points in the 3 games and
Jesse Lefebvre had 13, 12, and 10 rebounds in the 3 games. 


Hockey Hawks win opener
The Red Hawk boys’ hockey team opened their season with a 9-3 victory
over Lakefield.
We will have results in a jiffy from Edmonton.

Gav on Sports - Duchene responds to Sacco in only way possible

Image via Wikipedia Matty Duchene - Haliburton Hurricane

Terrance Gavan – Voice Sports

I turned to editor Stephen Patrick a while back on one of my haphazard drive-by’s to the subterranean depths of the Voice offices.

   “This. Is. Crap.” I said, measuring my words very carefully.

   The cause of my chagrin?

   Colorado Coach Joe Sacco’s benching of Haliburton’s Matt Duchene for the duration of the second period in a 3-1 loss to Vancouver back on Nov 5.

   We know the story.

   Sacco got pissed and simply didn’t play him during the second frame.

   Here’s what Sacco said to the press after the game.

   “The message was: Listen, I'm going to play the guys that I think give us the best chance to win during the course of a game,” said Sacco. “And I felt at that time, he wasn't one of those players.

   "That's why he wasn't playing at the time. He's got to look after the puck better than he has, especially coming into the blue line. He's turning over the puck too much. That gets contagious, it gets infectious, and you don't want to let that happen.”

   My problem was not with the remarks, nor was it with Sacco’s blunt assessment of one of his top players.

   Perfectly kosher for a coach to criticize a player.

   I draw the line at the public pillaging.

   What did he say to the press in the heat of the moment that could not have waited for a calm and rational airing in the comfort zone of a man-to-man in the dressing room?

   Matt Duchene is 19.

   He’s a studious young man.

   Smart as a whip.

   This is not the type of player – my opinion – that needs to be vilified via third party passive aggression.

Red Hawks Hawkey looking for a big season

Red Hawk Hockey girds for busy season

By terrance Gavan Editor - reprinted from Voice Sports

Lot of familiar faces skating around the old Dysart Barn last Monday evening.

   The Hal High Red Hawks were on the ice preparing for their home opener which goes down today (Thursday Nov 25) at 1:15 pm.

   The Hawks are deep.

   Returning vets literally falling from the old rafters at the Dysart et al Arena.

   That of course a good thing.

   High school hockey is not known for the continuity of its programs.

   Bumper crops are rare.

   Especially rare on the heels of a very successful season.

   So as another Kawartha Schoolboy season begins, we should take a peek back at last year. The Hawks had a stellar undefeated season – 12-0-1 – a Kawartha championship, a COSSA silver and a ride to the OFSAA tourney in St Catherines in 2009-10.

Hal High Hawkey - girls home opener this week

Marsden steps into coaching fray - Twin hats for Coach Griffith

Home opener Thursday, Dec. 2, at 3 pm

By terrance Gavan - Editor Sports

For the past several years girls at Hal High have played on an ad hoc Red Hawk hockey team.

   Go ahead and spit that alliterative howdy-do three times real fast.

   Tongue twisters aside – okay, she shoots she scores; had to be said – Hal High’s new principal Dan Marsden felt it was time to address an inconsistency.

   Coach Bruce Griffith – who has coached the fledgling girls club hockey team over several seasons - and Marsden took a long look at the six-year history of the club and decided to take the ad hoc out of Red Hawk this season.

   And so this year, for the first time since Cindy Mitchell first envisioned girls playing hockey in 2004-05, the squad is now officially entrenched as a full-fledged entity.

   They will now compete as members of the 11 team Kawartha League.

   The girls were supposed to play their first game of the season last Monday in Peterborough, but some unexpected activity shut that road trip down.

   “We were supposed to head to Peterborough to play Holy Cross, but that was cancelled due to a gas leak which closed down the roads in the area,” says Griffith. “Actually it worked out well for us because we haven’t had a practice with the full team yet, and this will give us some time to get a bit more organized. We’ve got practices scheduled for Tuesday this week and another one on Friday.

   Their next game is actually their home opener, slated for Thursday, Dec 2 at 3 pm.

   Griffith is probably the busiest man in Haliburton right now.

   He coached junior football in the fall, and now slides into a full slate of coaching duties with both girls and boys hockey teams.

   Marsden seems primed and ready to step into his new spot as coach of the Red Hawk girls shinny squad.

   Funnily enough, several players from the Red Hawks varsity field hockey squad will be donning skates to compete in this first season of competitive high school hockey.

   On Dec 13 the girls travel to Norwood and on Dec 15 they will be in Petawawa for a full day tourney.

   Make a note of that home-opening date.

   Thursday, Dec 1 at the Dysart Arena. It’s at 3 pm.

   See you there.

   Tips? gav@pardontheeruption.com

   

Two young Hal High students prepare for another year of Snowcross racing

By Terrance Gavan

What draws two young guys, Cody Withey and Kevin Brand to the eye-popping sport of competitive snow-cross racing?

   Call it a family affair.

   Call it an exciting way to warm-up a long winter.

   Mostly, it’s just fun.

   “It’s exhilarating, fast-paced and intense,” says Brand, an 18-year old, Grade 12 student at Haliburton Highlands High School.

   Withey, a 14-year-old, Grade 10 Hal High student says he’s been racing snow-cross for two years and just started racing ATV-Cross events last summer.

   “My parents threw me on a sled a few years ago and now … I just love it,” says Cody, who has just come off a very successful ATV racing season.

   He placed first overall in his final ATV event in Cobourg on Sept 12.

   Cody says that one sport meshes nicely with the other.

   Both involve taking substantial air over strategically built berms built into a bump and gun course.

   And you know what they say about big air.

   The air’s easy.

   It’s the landing.

   That. Gets. Ya’.

   “I like the competition, the travel … the jumps can be intimidating, but it’s a great sport,” says Cody.

   What started out a couple of years ago as a larger two-family pursuit has been whittled down by the vagaries of age, responsibility and getting on with life.

The NHL is right – No one gets hurt in a hockey fight – DOH!

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This probably not good for Canada's overall image as we move to
a better place and more respect on the world stage.

Pardon my Eruption

Terrance Gavan

Apropos of a recent dust up between New York Rangers forward Sean Avery and Edmonton’s Lav ‘The Impalee’ Smid, fans, pundits and players are gabbing.

   “Avery’s gutless,” says one player.

   “He’s a worm,” says another.

   “Lemme at him … lemme, lemme at him … I’ll moider da’ bum,” spits Sylvester the Cat.

   “Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid didn't skate Monday morning at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park after taking a sneak punch flush in the kisser from New York Rangers antagonist Sean Avery Sunday,” writes the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson. “He might not play against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

   “While the Oilers aren't throwing out the ‘concussion’ word, Smid did take a ripping blow to the head from Avery and had to be helped off the ice at Madison Square Garden.”

   First, I couldn’t give a tinker’s diddle about Avery.

Senior Red Hawks season ends in Cobourg

By Terrance Gavan - HSP Editor

Jenna Dibblee scored five points in her final game
as a Red Hawk. Great season for Senior hoopsters.

I don’t know what Cobourg’s famous for.

   If they had an Alamo we might talk about valiant stands in the face of overwhelming odds.

   But Cobourg has no such edifice … and as far as I know, no heroic backstory.

   Maybe someone invented an ice cream flavor there?

   And so perhaps we’ll just think of Cobourg as a place where a plucky flock Red Hawks flew smack dab into the roiling eye of a Hurricane.

   Or several Hurricanes.

   Or maybe we could just toss out some Twain: “Cobourg … a pleasant drive … spoiled.”

   Last Friday (Nov 12) the Hal High senior hoops squad dropped their sudden death Kawartha semi-final to Holy Cross down south in Cobourg, Ontario.

   Final score was 50-9.

   And lest you think that the Hurricanes blew through with the Hammer of Thor, you should know that both Red Hawk coaches, Sharon Dibblee and Brett Caputo, passed praise to the Holy Cross coaching staff.

   “We were clearly outmatched,” said Caputo on Monday.

   “They (Holy Cross) were very, very strong and they had some great shooters,” said Dibblee. “We were outplayed and outmatched.”

   Dibblee said that Holy Cross coaches kept their starters off the floor for most of the game.

Former Red Hawk Edward Cyr – cramming a lotta’ life onto a bursting plate

Burgeoning tri-athlete is competing at the Foster Grant Ironman in Florida

Ed Cyr entered in World Championships Triathlon.

By Terrance Gavan

   Edward Cyr is not a magician; or a juggler.

   And so we may begin by asking how young Edward keeps so many plates spinning on those wobbly, wonky and spindly wands.

   Known for his superb curling skills as a student athlete here at Hal High – he graduated in 2007 to attend Waterloo University in an engineering program – Edward Cyr is now finding joy, discovery and fulfillment in the challenging milieu of the triathlon.

   In Huntsville last month Cyr placed second in his age group and 61^st overall in the Muskoka Ironman 70.3 (miles) Challenge, finishing the swim, bike and run in 05:02:37.

   The second place finish in his age group qualified Cyr for this weekend’s Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida. 

   During competition this summer, Cyr also qualified for the long course worlds in Henderson, Nevada slated for November, 2011.

   His mother Gisele Cyr, now living in Peterborough, is his biggest fan.

   Gisele is headed to Clearwater on Friday She still fondly recalls watching her son compete for the first time.

   “It was the first triathlon I ever attended, and it was so emotional,” says Gisele. “My daughter Chantal and I were waiting by the finish line and as we watched Edward running in on Main Street in Huntsville we hugged each other, tears of happiness running down our faces. We were so amazed by his enthusiasm to compete in such an event. He was doing something he loved. We were so proud of him.”

   Pride, love and tears. 

   Apt summary for a sport made famous in Canada by the iconic Simon Whitfield, erstwhile Olympic Gold medalist, and the cranking machine most responsible for the sudden surge in popularity of this sport across Canada.

   Edward Cyr is relatively new to the sport, but he has already amassed some incredible results.

   He discovered the triathlon quite serendipitously, while watching a race with his girlfriend, Bridget Arnold, in Huntsville during the spring of 2008.

   Bridget’s dad Jamie Arnold – a longtime and highly regarded competitive tri-athlete - was competing that day.

   The 21-year-old Cyr, talking by phone from Kitchener last weekend, said his obsession with the sport grew from that one race.

   He watched intently.

   And. Something. Clicked.

Sad day for a charmed team –

Hawks bow to Lions in Kawartha gridiron finale

By Terrance Gavan

If you know the hurt.

   If you can recall a time when you cried after a tough loss in a sudden-death playoff.

   If you are familiar with the punctured pangs of “if-only’s” or “what-if’s” that play ceaselessly through a revolving loop of noodle-borne video.

   If.

   If, after a seminal loss, you have found yourself reflecting, somewhat bitterly, on a Rudyard Kipling rant and rhyme of the same name.

   Then you may find it easier to relate to the entrenched disappointment felt by a Hal High senior football team.

   A Red Hawks’ football team that found thwarted dreams at the end of no rainbow last Friday afternoon at Gary Brohman Field in a 21-7 loss to the Adam Scott Lions.

   The loss after a lovely season in the sun, wind and cold drizzle drifting off Head Lake.

    The Lions - who finished their regular season at 5-1 - won their Kawartha semi final 20-7 over Holy Cross last Tuesday. Adam Scott actually handed the Hawks their only setback of the season, a14-7 exhibition game loss on an off-Friday, earlier this year.

   Not much in the way of surprises in this championship final.

   The Hawks relied on their steady, sturdy tailback Tyler Wood to carry the ball. The Adam Scott coaching staff did its de rigueur homework and had several players keying on the Hawks most potent asset.

   Quarterback Scott Griffith was given a green light to throw the ball and completed several nice passes to Luke Watson.

   Early Adam Scott turnovers including a Watson interception and a subsequent fumble recovery gave the Hawks two strategic field positions from the Adam Scott 30 and 35 yard lines late in the first and early in the second quarter.

Senior Hawk hoopsters advance to Kawartha’s with OT win

By Terrance Gavan - Reprinted from County Voice

They ain’t called wild card tourneys for nuthin’.

   Six schoolgirl teams – three seniors and three juniors - gathered at the Red Hawks’ Nest on Tuesday (Nov 9) battling for three spots at the Kawartha Zone championships, which begins tomorrow.

   Two teams moved on from the senior pool and only one advanced from the junior side.

Clarke, Kenner and Hal High lined up on the senior side of the play-in tournament

The Hal High juniors hosted Holy Cross and Cobourg West.

   Several tie-breaker scenarios were embedded in the wild card template, but no formulaic pursuit was necessary for the juniors. The strong Holy Cross Hurricanes out of Peterborough ran the table – winning both contests - and qualified outright for the Kawartha junior finals.

   On the senior side, both Kenner and the Hal High Red Hawks (who qualified by virtue of their 38-36 win in overtime over Clarke in the day’s final game) are advancing to tomorrow’s tourney which is slated for Cobourg West HS.

   Hal High coaches Brett Caputo and Sharon Dibblee ran an impeccable tourney.

   Both Dibblee and Caputo share bench chores with both teams. Caputo is responsible for the senior club and Dibblee handles the juniors.

   Caputo was especially gratified and popped huge props to all his girls for some outstanding play.

   “We scored 30 points in our first game – a 44-30 loss to Kenner – and that was their best offensive performance of the year,” said Caputo just prior to the second contest against Clarke.

Bootie Call for Winterdance's Yukon Quest

Get your tickets now for the gala

Nov 20 at Sir Sam’s Ski Lodge

Calendars on sale now!

By Terrance Gavan

Booties for dogs?

   Surely you must be joking.

   No we are most certainly not … and don’t call me Shirley!

   Okay, so you may be forgiven for associating dogs in booties with Hollywood starlets, who drag Mexican miniature canines around in Gucci handbags.

   Put a block on your TMZ. Please!

   Booties have long been the mainstay of the working dog. Crazy as Elvis celebrities like Paris Hilton and her bejeweled and beslippered darlings are only copping an old time-honored paradigm; surfaced long, long ago when dogs were a staple and stable form of travel.

   My mum, a second generation Faroe Islander, grew up on a ranch in the Manitoba Interlake, and used to place booties on dog teams just before my Afi (Icelandic for granddad) Harry and several of my Icelandic uncles (Gusti, Pete, Bert and Henry) headed out to Lake Manitoba on winter-long, ice-fishing expeditions.

Season not over for the basketball Hawks

By Terrance Gavan - County Voice Sports
The Hal High senior and junior Hawks  hoopsters will host the Kawartha wild card tourney at the Hawks Nest on Tuesday, Nov 9.
The junior girls just missed out on a chance to qualify for the Kawartha finals last week.
The senior girls qualify for the play-in wild card spot because they have no AA opposition in the Kawartha West.
We will be updating this blog shortly when we gett an idea of the game times at the Nest.
meanwhile, because Brock HS has a week off classes (they start school a week earlier in August) all competitive  sports have a hiatus in the Kawartha West.
Both junior and senior Hawk teams hit the road to Bracebridge last week for a pair of exhibitions versus the AA Gravenhurst squads.
Results are listed below in Ms. Paul's weekly summary.
The Voice will be blogging live from the Tuesday tourney on Tuesday so keep this site bookmarked for the latest scores and updates.
remember to keep this site hoppin' with tweets to twitter.com/terrancegavan.
or send texts to www.pardontheeruption.com via 705-878-6371.

Weekly Round Up at Hal High - Nov 1-5 2010

Terrance Gavan - COUNTY VOICE SPORTS - ISSUE NOV 11
We hand out big props to Ms. Paul's class. The managing editor of the Hal Sports Pages as always wants to deliver kudos to the dedicated staffers who continually get us the goods here at HSP - TG

Lots going on this week ... see below for Kawartha Fooball Championship final result from Friday. (Nov 5).

Tuesday, November 2

The senior Redhawk football team advanced to the Kawartha final by defeating Brock 27-17.

Players of the game: Drew Paul, Scott Griffith, Nick Freeman and Tyler Wood.

Wednesday, November 3 
The junior girls’ basketball team played their best defense of the year in a game against Gravenhurst, with good transitions leading to great scoring opportunities.

Unfortunately, Hawks lost by 1 point. Player of the game to Casey Pringle for leading on the scoreboard and sinking 2 layups.

The senior girls’ basketball team took part in a defensive battle against the Gravenhurst Gryphons.

For the second time this season, the girls went into overtime but were unable to pull out a win, thus splitting the series 1-1 with the Gryphons.

Friday, November 5 - Football Kawartha Championship
Hawks lost to Adam Scott in the Kawartha senior boys Championship.
The score, 21-7, was not indicative of the game.
We will have the full gamer report up on this blog and also in the County Voice on Thursday, November 11.
The Lions led 7-0 at the half and went up 14-0 when a defensive lapse led to 3 missed tackles - and a possible five yard loss - and a 70 yard gallop for a touchdown.
The Lions stretched the lead to 21-0 in the fourth when Greg Baumgartner fumbled a punted ball in his own endzone leading to an Adam Scott touchdown.
Quarterback Scott Griffith finally scored on a scamper with less than a minute remaining in the game.
Jesse Lefebvre made good on the single.
Disappointing end to a yeare for a team that went 6-0 in the regular season.

Hal High Seniors win a squeaker to advance

Hawks triumph with a season on the line

Hal High seniors beat Brock Bulldogs 26-17 in ripper 

By Terrance Gavan - County Voice Sports

The Hal High game plan was simple.

   The Red Hawks goal transparent.

   The players aware of an uncomplicated and purposely straightforward game plan: Just do it.

   It being what they’ve been doing all year in a stellar, uncompromising and undefeated (6-0) season.

   Easier said. Than done.

   The Kawartha sudden-death semi-final gridiron faceoff against Brock High School on Tuesday (Nov 2) at Brohman Field was never simple.

    Nothing’s easy between the goal line spires.

   Football is a simple game played by players who are neither facile nor transparent – cue gathered moans from coaches everywhere.

   And so a stunning Hawks comeback - from a first quarter 14-0 deficit - and subsequent 26-17 victory played out in the familiar backdrop of a knee-knocking fourth quarter - over a formidable squad from Cannington will become one of those games that notch in noggins.

   Players who have jelled as a unit in a splendid autumn that, so far, has no fall.

   The Hawks knew going in that Brock would be relying on the arm of tall lanky, pivot, punter and placekicker Drew Emerson and the substantial evasive talents of their all-purpose tail back Jordan Bannister.

   The Bulldogs punched one in early in the first quarter and then Emerson fired a TD pass from the red zone at the midway point of the opening 12 minutes to put the visitors up 14-0.

FOOTBALL HAWKS READY TO RAMBLE TUESDAY (NOV 2)

Tyler Woods is a rambling man. The defense is ready. Scotty Griffith is prepaRED.
LET'S GET READY TO RAMBLE! tUESDAY AFTERNOON AT THE BROHMAN!

By terrance gavan - County Voice sports
and Managing Editor Pardon the Eruption Blogs
Exciting week ahead my peeps.
Beginning tomorrow the Hal High Red Hawks senior gridiron gang stomp da' turf in search of a Kawartha championship.
So get your butts out to the Gary Brohman field tomorrow (Tuesday nov 2).
Game time is probably 3 pm but don't5 quote me.
I still don't have a time and opponent yet but will airbrush this post like Harry Houdini as the info sifts in from my spies at HHSS.
Suffice to say that the season lies in bas-relief.

Judi Paul and friends sports update - Last week October 2010

Super job on our weekly updates.
Great big props to the contributors from the staff at Haliburton Sports Pages

Tuesday, October 26)
The junior girls’ basketball team had great offensive passing which led
to fantastic shooting opportunities and a 38-14 victory over St. Thomas.
Best games of the season for:  Alex Litwin, Julia Fedeski, Kelsey Eno and
Jaimie Dack. 

Sr Football

The senior Redhawk football team successfuly completed their undefeated
season with a 42-7 victory over Thomas A. Stewart.  Players of the game:
the entire offense for their best performance of the season thus far.

Jr Football


Congratulations to the junior Redhawk football team on a huge win over
Thomas A. Stewart – 30 to 7.  Scoring for the Redhawks were Connor Bird,
Louis Ferracuti, Riley Tait, and Monty Wheeler.  Game stars go to Gage
Shelly, Michael Kunkel, Ben Hicks and Alnoor Gawani.


Thursday Announcements
(Details of games that occurred on Wednesday, October 27)

The junior boys’ soccer team qualified for the Kawartha tournament after
a 6-2 win and a close, hard-fought 2-1 loss in the Wildcard games.  Goal
scorers were Tanner Ballantyne, Ty Nolan, and Darcy Schmidt.

Thursday, October 28
Basketball
The senior girls’ basketball team worked hard and put up 16 points
against the ferocious LCVI Spartans.

The junior girls’ basketball team finished the regular season in first
place despite a tough, one-point
 loss to LCVI. 

KAWARTHA CHAMPS
Junior varsity Field HockeyCongratulations to the Varsity B field hockey team for a great 1-0 victory
over Crestwood to win the Kawartha championship.