This is where the Lancers have been getting into trouble.

“Our hitters have been good all season long, we just have had troubles with our pitching and defense,” said coach Troy Shantz. “The boys really connect with the ball but have troubles keeping it within the fence and we lose a lot of runs that way.”

The Lancers faced off against the visiting Waterloo-Oxford Challengers at Lions Park last Tuesday afternoon, coming out on the losing end of a 21-16 decision. The loss drops the team into 13th place in the standings. The squad needs be in the top 12 to compete in the season-ending tournament that is used to determine the league champions.

“We did have a rough start to the season and we were better than most of the teams we played we just didn’t have the pitching we needed,” said Shantz.

The team is mostly new players who are playing for the first time together. Most of the players from last year graduated, forcing the coach into rebuilding mode.

“The guys are a great bunch and most of them do play in their own leagues. We just have had a hard time with a few key areas, but we are working on them and hope to compete in the final tournament,” said Shantz.
The team needs to win at least one more game to be eligible to compete in the all-day tournament next month.

EDSS slo-pitch player Brent Eby hits a single against Waterloo-Oxford at Lions Park on May 22. The Lancers would drop a 21-16 decision to the visitors dropping the team into 13th place in the standings. [colin dewar / the observer

“The pressure is on them but I am sure they will win at least one more game to make the tournament. We just have to work harder and not make any mistakes.”

Their final game is slated for Tuesday at Lions Park in Elmira.

Off to a better start this season is the EDSS girls’ slo-pitch team, which has a 3-3-1 record, good for sixth place in the standings.

Coach Brian Carter and new assistant coach Adam Hiller have been working hard to keep the girls motivated and on point during games.

“We have had a pretty good season so far, we really can’t complain,” said Carter. “We started off strong but halfway through the year we hit a bit of a rough patch but that is expected as we are a young team and are still finding our place.”
The majority of players on the girls’ squad are new to the sport and Carter said they have been playing very well for the most part.

Like the boys, the top 12 teams will compete in a year-end tournament and the lady Lancers have already secured their spot at the event.

“If the girls stick it out for the next few years we are hoping to have a really good team. This is the type of team that will be better next year and the year after as long as they keep doing the right things,” said Carter.

The girls have only one regular season game left to be played on May 30 against Sir John A Macdonald Secondary School before the league champion tournament in June.

After cruising through the lower-tiered First Division regular season with a perfect 7-0 record and not allowing a single goal, the Lancers had their first test of the season on Tuesday against the Bluevale Knights of the Premier League, falling 2-1 in penalty kicks and knocking them out of the Waterloo County Secondary School Athletic Association (WCSSA) playoffs.

Cole Martin jostles for position with a defender from Glenview Park in the first half of last week’s win. Elmira can advance to the CWOSSA playoffs with a win next week. [james jackson / the observer

Elmira will play Southwood Secondary School on Tuesday for the final berth in CWOSSA after Southwood fell 3-2 to Waterloo-Oxford this week. Waterloo-Oxford finished third in the First Division this season, well behind Elmira, but Finnie knows Southwood still presents a tough test.

“Last season Southwood was very strong and they got promoted this year and they seem to have done alright,” said Finnie. “They’re a tougher division up top, and they’re young and good defensively, but hopefully we can continue to play as well as we have.”

The Lancers sported a 7-0 record and outscored their opponents 21-0 en route to top place in their division, and Finnie credits their success to a well-balanced team and a strong effort on team defence. That balance was apparent when starting goaltender Mike Weber suffered an injury and backup Tyler Seguin sported back-to-back shutouts earlier this year.

Despite that dedication to defence the players also know what to do offensively when the opportunity arises, averaging three goals per game during the regular season.

“Our midfield is very good at dominating the ball, and our strikers are very skilled as well and can take advantage of mistakes that the other team makes,” the coach said.

The mix of players from all grade levels also bodes well for the team next season, as they will be moving up to the Premier League and will rely on that extra experience and ability to compete in tight matches.

“We have a very complete team, so when we get bumped up to the top league next year, we should be in good shape.”

The boys face Southwood Tuesday at 3 p.m. at 30 Southwood Dr. in Cambridge.

Accolades and trophies were handed out in healthy measures.

Although the team was eliminated from the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs in the second round against Stratford, head coach Dean DeSilva believes his team had a good year on and off the ice.

“People may look back and say we did not have a successful year because we did not win our last game but if you judge success on that, there are 25 teams in our league that did not have a successful year. I dare you to say that to teams that made it to the playoffs for the first time or went further than they have ever gone in the playoffs,” said DeSilva.

The Kings have eight players leaving the squad this year including goaltender Nick Horrigan, captain Colton Wolfe-Sabo, Andrew Smith, Brett Preistap, Brad Kraus, Michael Hasson, Riley Sonnenburg, and Scott Nagy (not pictured). [colin dewar / the observer

“These guys worked very hard everyday they were at the rink, it was incredible. They played through bad shoulders, bad backs, wrists, knees, everything and never once made an excuse for it,” said DeSilva. “Success is measured in different ways and the guys here need to take some time and appreciate some of the success they have had.”

In the month of November the team raised $5,500 for prostate cancer, only three hockey teams across Canada and each of those are major Junior hockey clubs with a lot larger fan base, raised more money than the Kings.

There are eight players leaving the squad this year and they are either heading to the CIS, OHL or the NCAA and that is a huge success for the organization, said DeSilva.

In celebrating the season, the Kings also said goodbye to some key individuals.

Those leaving the team include goaltender Nick Horrigan, who played 111 games as a King. Forward Brad Kraus played 153 games in the league, while forward Riley Sonnenburg wore a Kings jersey for 170 games. Scott Nagy racked up 192 games, forward Andrew Smith played 196 as a King, while forward Lukas Baleshta played 206 games for Elmira, putting up more than 200 points. Brett Priestap played 230 games in the league for Elmira and Cambridge. Captain Colton Wolfe-Sabo successfully played 266 games in the league between Waterloo and Elmira.

“This has been an incredible run playing four years in the league, the last two with Elmira,” said Wolfe-Sabo. “I will say that the support from the community in Elmira is phenomenal: it is so good here, especially for a smaller town you could not ask for more from a community. I will miss the guys, for sure, and playing in the rink, but I have to say the fans in Elmira are the best in the entire Junior B league.”

After all the awards were handed out DeSilva spoke to his team with an emphasis on the players leaving the squad.

“Opportunities don’t come along everyday and when they do you should embrace them, acknowledge them, be willing to change for them and don’t ever take them for granted because it is not how long you do something that matters but what you do while you are doing it that counts,” he said.

“The guys that are leaving us should be able to look back on their time playing in the league as a success. When they look back at their time with the Sugar Kings, I know they will smile,” said DeSilva. “All these guys will have success in everything they do.”

This weekend the club is holding its annual spring training camp at the Cambridge arena where officials will be looking for the next generation of Kings.

It will be a rebuilding season next year and DeSilva will be looking for players that have a hard work ethic and discipline on and off the ice.

“I am basically looking for a team of Cass Frey’s,” said DeSilva, who offered the vacant captaincy to the 19-year-old Frey last week. “We are looking for players that come in, work hard and never give up.”

There are more than a few holes to fill in the team next year and DeSilva said that players coming to the training camp will have a lot of opportunities to impress him and the other coaches.

“We will be getting back to old-fashioned Sugar King style of hockey next year.”

“The Jacks had one of those seasons that you might call a roller-coaster ride,” said Rick Grebinski, a member of the team’s executive.

“We got off to that 5-0 start and we were up in the clouds where it was sunny and everything was good in Jacks land, and then we had an injury here, a suspension there, a bad bounce here, and before we knew it we were down.”
The Jacks finished with a record of 19-14-2, fifth in the McConnell Conference standings. Playing a tough Ayr Centennial club in the first round, the Jacks were ousted in five games, with three of those matches requiring overtime. The final loss came on Mar. 1 in Ayr, a 5-4 overtime final.

Wellesley Applejacks gather to hand out the hardware after hard-fought season [JAMES JACKSON / THE OBSERVER

“I don’t think there was any night where a team could go into a game and say ‘these two points are ours.’”

The team recognized the past, the present and the future of the Applejacks throughout the evening, taking time to recount the history of each trophy and who they were named after.
“You look over at these awards and there is a lot of history with this organization,” said head coach Kevin Fitzpatrick. “A lot of great stories and a lot of great kids.”

In total eight players walked away with awards on the night, with the top award of the evening – team MVP – going to goaltender Josh Heer in his first season with the team.
Heer gave the team a chance to win on most evenings, playing in 24 games this season and finishing with a record of 13-10-0-1 and one shutout, .907 save percentage and a 3.17 goals against average. Heer was also one of four Jacks to represent the team at the all-star game, along with Geoff Parr, Corey Way and trainer Al Jones.

Other awards included rookie of the year (Reid Denstedt), the Martin Nowack Memorial unsung player award (Trevor Olender), the most improved player award (Derek Lebold), the Don Green Memorial trophy for most sportsmanlike player (Connor McLeod), the Coaches award (Josh Herd), the Ralph Jantzi award for most valuable local player (Shawn Fitzpatrick) and the John Egli award for top defenceman (James Mildon).

The team also gave some insight into next season, a year in which the team will be moved up to Junior C following the merger with the Junior D league announced last month, and Grebinski also informed the crowd that the team will be sporting new jerseys next season, with a preview available at their booth at the Wellesley Home and Garden Show from May 2-4.

Despite the early end, Fitzpatrick said it was a fun season and that the group had represented Wellesley well, and that their parents and families should be proud.
“We didn’t achieve our goals, but unfortunately only one team can do that,” he said at the end of the evening. “We’re looking forward to some big things moving forward.”

This year Mother Nature has been kind, allowing the regular season to kick off without a hitch.

Unlike last year, the high school team only has a few Grade 12 students and a trio of Grade 11s, but so far the team is off to a reasonably good start. They managed to tie Glenview Park in their first game, 3-3, but a 5-1 loss to Preston High on Tuesday left EDSS with one point so far this season, placing them fifth in the standings. That’s not a bad start to the season seeing as the team has a large number of Grade 9 and 10 players, said coach Jennifer Amos-Harrison.

Given the number of young and smaller players on the field, Amos-Harrison is happy with the way her team is performing.

EDSS fell to the visitors by a score of 5-1. [colin dewar / the observer

The girls tend to play strongly for the first half of the game, but lapses in the second half have left them  playing catch-up. Amos-Harrison would like to see them work on their ball control for the remainder of the season, as that is the area where they tend to second-guess themselves.

“We have two very strong forwards this year with Grade 11 striker Kristen Wiens and Grade 9 Kacie Martin, as both have proven themselves on the field and are showing good leadership.”

Although Martin is playing her first year with the team she does not let her smaller size deter her from taking much larger Grade 12 opponents as she is feisty, has great ball control and playmaking skills, said the coach.

Goaltenders Grade 11 Serena Cressman and 13-year-old Michelle Wang replace Yi Wang, Michelle’s sister, who graduated last year. Both netminders have maintained strong performances between the goalposts, showing they are quite aggressive.

“They know when to pick the right moments to challenge for the ball; they are both developing quite well. The goals they’ve had against them have been well placed shots,” Amos-Harrison said. “(Wang) is still very small and is up against some 19 year old girls but she is handling it very well.”

Despite the zero in the wins column, the girls don’t criticize or lose their enthusiasm for the game, she added.

“It is still very early in the season and it doesn’t matter, win, lose or draw, the girls are always happy and positive.”

“It was bittersweet, but the kids really held their heads high,” said team trainer Tim Rollins. “To finish third overall in the province is pretty fantastic.”

The Major Atom AA team collected their Ontario Minor Hockey Association plaques during the team banquet last weekend. Players include Josh Martin, Kayden Zacharczuk, Eli Baldin, Brody Waters, Austin Cousineau, Jake Code, Griffen Rollins, Lukas Shantz, Mackenzie Willms, Kurtis Hoover, Justin Taylor, Owen Harnock, Sam Davidson, Riley Demers, Cyrus Martin and coaches Tony Code, Rob Cousineau, John Robertson, trainer Tim Rollins and manager Leanne Rollins. [submitted

“Over the span of five games and two days, that’s a lot,” said Rollins.

The tournament started on Friday morning where the team earned a tough 2-1 win over North York, but dropped a 4-1 decision to the eventual champion North Bay Trappers that afternoon.

The team then secured a 3-2 win over London and a 2-2 tie with the Kitchener Jr. Rangers to earn a second-place seed after the round robin.

The team couldn’t put it all together in the semi finals against North York as they fell 3-1. North Bay would go on to beat North York 2-0 in the finals to take the title.

Rollins noted that the crowd for all of their games was incredible as friends and family made the drive from Woolwich to watch the team compete, making all of their games feel like they were being played on home ice – even in the match against the hometown team from Kitchener.

“We can’t thank the fan support we got enough, it was incredible, and they were home games for us,” said Rollins. “We were so excited, the boys in particular, to see the crowd and to see all the kids that came out.”

With their season now over, the team is already looking forward to next year and Rollins said the coaching staff are excited by the fact that most of the players from the current squad are planning to return next year and hopefully mount a defence of their OMHA title and make a return to the OHF finals.

And despite not coming home with the gold, the players understand just how much they actually accomplished this season.

“Although it was bittersweet losing they will remember this for a long time and I think that most of the boys by the time they left the dressing room were holding their heads real high,” said Rollins.

“They did Woolwich really proud.”

“After we got all the warm weather earlier this year we did start to get a lot of calls, but now since it’s gotten colder things have quieted down,” said Cathy Mendler, one of the EMSA’s organizers.

House league softball is co-ed and has four separate divisions: t-ball, which is for players born in 2007 and 2008, rookie ball (2005-2006), junior ball (2002-2004), and senior ball (1999-2001). Teams play twice a week, except for t-ball, which is only on Tuesdays.

The EMSA also has a boys’ travelling rep team that plays in the North Waterloo Rural Minor Softball League comprised of peewee (1998-1999) and bantam (1996-1997) aged players.

Cathy Mendler, one of the organizers of the Elmira Minor Softball Association, says they are trying to boost enrolment among the house league teams, as well as attract a few more sponsors and a house league convener following the departure of Greg Brubacher this year. [james jackson/observer

The league is also looking for a convener after long-time volunteer Greg Brubacher chose to step down this year because of family reasons, Mendler said.

“We want to thank Greg, who got things going again in house league three years ago, for all the hard work he’s done.”

The responsibilities of the convener range from dividing players into the different teams, to arranging the diamond times with township staff. Mendler said that she and her husband, Brian Blaxall, would help the new convener until they learned the ropes of the position, as he is the convener for the rep league.

“Some of the stuff is already basically in place it’s just a matter of making a few phone calls or emails,” Mendler said.

After a decade-long hiatus in Elmira due to low registration numbers, softball returned in 2009 thanks to the efforts of Brubacher in the form of the EMSA.

As Elmira began to grow, Brubacher noted an increasing interest in the renewal of a softball league for young players, and Mendler said this interest continues to this day and they’ve had some great success along the way, noting the midget rep team qualified for the Eastern Canadian Championships last year.

“Kids will gravitate back to a sport if that’s what they like. We’ve had kids play ball, go to soccer, and then they came back. It really depends on the kid.”

Anyone interested in enrolling their children in the Elmira Minor Softball Association, in becoming the league convener, or in sponsoring a team, contact Mendler at (519) 669-1377. The cost to register for a team is $70, or $80 after Apr. 18, and the season runs from the beginning of May to the middle of July.

On Mar. 31 the Twin Centre Stars Novice Rep. team were crowned the OMHA champions, one of three local teams to take the title, and completing the “triple crown” that included the regional and international Silver Stick tournaments earlier this season.

The Novice Rep team (7-8 years old) wrapped up their series against South Huron on Mar. 31 to take the series in four games, the Atom AE team (10-11 years old) finished up their series on Mar. 23 with a 5-0 win over Centre Hastings, and the Bantam Rep club (13-14 years old) finished off Blenheim on Mar. 27.

“That’s just amazing,” said Steve Krulicki, head coach of the Atom team. “To have three teams win in one year was amazing. There was a lot of excitement and a lot of buzz and lets hope the success continues and the fun continues next year.”

For the Novice Rep team the win finishes off what head coach Jamie Hislop called “the triple crown” of achievements for the 2011/2012 season. The team won the regional silver stick tournament late in 2011 and captured the international silver stick title in January in Michigan with a 5-0 record. The final component was the OMHA title, which they secured in front of a jam packed and enthusiastic home crowd last weekend.

“We really focused on a team atmosphere,” said Hislop. “The listened to everything we taught them and just went out and executed.

“It was a total team effort.”

The Atom club also had the opportunity to finish its series on home ice to a crowded arena, and didn’t disappoint, capping off a successful season that saw them finish with a record of 17-4-1 in the regular season and a perfect 15-0-0 in the playoffs.

“It feels great, it’s amazing,” said Krulicki, who won an OMHA title 20 years ago while playing in Kitchener and whose team was allowed to use the Applejacks’ dressing room during the game.

“Winning it as a player is amazing. You kind of forget over 20 years, but it was great to be a part of this and help the kids grow and get better.”

The road to the OMHA title wasn’t an easy one for the Bantam club. In their 13 playoff games, the team was either losing or tied heading into the third period on eight occasions, but managed to battle back for a 7-0-1 record in those games.

Head coach Brock Gerber said the team’s “never say die” attitude was apparent nearly every night.

“It was a great year of hockey with a dedicated group of players,” he said. “You’d need some luck, but I think it was mostly hard work by the kids and determination.”

“The fans were amazing and it was great being at home and not having to travel and everyone was cheering so loudly when we won,” she said, adding it was nice to get revenge on the Norwich team that had beaten RIT in last year’s championship game.

Elmira’s Erin Zach helped the RIT Tigers claim the Division III NCAA national championship earlier this month. Zach, a former EDSS star, contributed six goals and eight assists this year and the team is preparing to make the move to Division I play next season. [submitted

In the finals Zach said the coaches and players stressed keeping the game simple and just continue to play their own style of game.

“We just talked about how we should play our game and not take any dumb penalties,” she said. “Just keep up the good work that we had done all year, and go out and do what we can do.”

“This is a team that played hard thoughout the season. Going into the third period tonight at 1-1, we knew we weren’t losing,” said RIT head coach Scott McDonald. “We wanted it more, blocked shots, got in lanes, did all the little things that allowed us to win.”

The Tigers are now 54-3-3 over the past two seasons and shortly after the championship win announced they would be moving up to Division I play starting next season. Normally a two-year process, the team was admitted due to Niagara University dropping its women’s hockey program, a move announced last week.

Zach said that her coaches and teammates are taking a realistic approach to the move to the more competitive level of hockey. They’ve just won the national championships but are hard at work training for next season, she said.

“It’s definitely going to be different,” she said. “We’re hoping to be at least in the middle of the pack. It’s going to be hard but we’re in spring training right now and doing some hard lifting to hopefully bulk up a little bit and play on the big stage.”
Now in her second year of studying media arts and technology, the sophomore was accepted to RIT on financial assistance after starring for the Cambridge Fury and the EDSS Lancers, and was named the Central Western Ontario Secondary School Association MVP in 2010.

The finish was a frustrating one for players and management alike, as they had hoped to not only avoid a repeat of last year’s opening-round five-game defeat (also at the hand of the Centennials), but advance to the second round for the first time in more than four years.

The Wellesley Applejacks are preparing for an offseason of rebuilding as their roster is set for a major shakeup following a five-game round one defeat to Ayr. Players from this year’s squad include: Josh Heer, Derek Lebold, James Mildon, Mark Detzler, Bobby Gray, Justin Lebold, Kevin Howorth, Shawn Fitzpatrick, Mitch Metzger, Reid Denstedt, Rob Hinschberger, Jake Steenson, Josh Herd, Geoff Parr, Mark Hamilton, Connor McLeod, Corey Way, Blair Witmer, Spencer Geoffrey, Brett Vickers, Chris Bauman, Matt Sovereign, Tyler Eckert, Jordan Bauman, Trevor Olender. Head coach Kevin Fitzpatrick, assistant coach Jim Olender, manager Terry Brick, trainer Al Jones, assistant trainer Dan Hartung, volunteer Verna Metcalfe.. [heidi m. faul/images photography|

“We’ve talked to a lot of players for next year, and there are a few that we’re really interested in,” said Jacks head coach and general manager Kevin Fitzpatrick earlier this week. He said that the recruitment process was an ongoing on, and that they had targeted a handful of players that they are pursuing for next season.

In the Junior hockey ranks, the process of planning for “next season” is a perennial one, with the uncertainty surrounding call-ups to more competitive leagues, players leaving for school or work, and the ever-present reality of age.
With 19 players on the current roster 20 years of age or older in 2012, next year’s team will have a much different look than the squad that left the ice a month ago.

Each team is only permitted four over-age players, and while they carried two this past year, Fitzpatrick said they will certainly fill all four positions for the upcoming season – though he gave no indication of who those players might be.
Another source of uncertainty is the proposed merger of the Junior D and Junior C leagues, and Fitzpatrick is on that merger committee. He said they plan to meet a couple of times in April, and that there are about 25 points that need to be worked out, with league alignment being the biggest issue, but the list also includes league rivalries and potential rivalries, transportation costs, and the scheduling of home games.
“There are still a lot of variables,” Fitzpatrick said.

The timing for training camp for next season still has to be finalized, as it hinges on the outcome of the merger discussions, but as always, Fitzpatrick said the Jacks will ice a competitive team that can hopefully build on some of their success earlier this season.