THE CITIZEN. Prince George — Thursday, January 22. 1981 — 17
MACKENZIE WILL ASSIST EFFORT IN PRINCE RUPERT
Prince George tries again for north Games title
by MARK ALLAN
Citizen Sports Reporter
  More than 200 local athletes try to restore Prince George’s reputation early next month at the 1981 Northern B.C. Winter Games in Prince Rupert.
  The host community got the most points in the first four Games, including the 1978 event in Prince George, which featured a mind-boggling total of some 5,000 competitors.
  Prince George broke the pattern in Smithers by getting the most points there the next year, but was runner-up to the host community in Williams Lake last year.
  The host Cariboo region also won the region title, with the Fraser-Fort George (Prince George and Mackenzie) area second.
  The host community and region usually has an advantage in numbers, but Mackenzie is sending about 30 competitors
to bolster the Fraser-Fort George region.
  Prince George has three indoor soccer teams entered.
 Labatt’s Pastry Chef (Randy France, Graham West, Ron Jones, Randy McLeod, Richard Beerens, Fausto Mauro, Gaetano Mauro, Alfonso Miranda and Brad Stewart) is playing in men’s competition.
  Juan Rodriguez, Brian Cain. Terry Cain, John Gould, Pier Pandolfo, Jaswinder Kandola, Grant Marshall, Des Sawtell and Ranjit Ranu comprise the Prince George Strikers’ entered in the boys’ event.
  The D.P. Todd Trojans, with Laura-Ann Menzies, Kim Roberts, Shirley Prokopchuk, Wende Biner, Darlene Morlan, Lorna Rickets, Tracy Haiste, Tracy Stirling and Tania Burke, are in girls' soccer.
 The Prince George Volleyball Club qualified for the adult mixed event.
 Team members are Mary Gellame, Sandy Underwood, Donna Jenner, Margit Strobl, Janice Mainland, Randy Byman, Mark Barlow, Dave Allen, Ray Masson and Dave Robinson.
 The Prince George senior girls’ volleyball entry is comprised of Cynde Third, Helen Fuglem Monique Zetka, Patty Pasicnyk, Judy Anchikoski, Denise Barnes, Heather Hankins, Dolly Schinkel, Kim Florell and Monica Kupper.
 Wendy Warn, Colleen Sparrow, Lana Korolek, Dori Min-tenko, Tina Storey, Teresa Popowych, Louisa DePalma, Chris Nielly, Bonnie Dureau and Carrie Stephanson are the Duchess Park Junior Condorettes, who represent Prince George in junior girls' basketball.
  The junior boys’ basketball entry is from Mackenzie.
 Team members are Chris
Loat, Brid Harsent, Bobbie Lavigueur, Richard Cameron, Donnie Steve Katyk, Martin Lousand, Dale Manastarski, Tom Pojarski, Balraj Johel and Dennis O’Coffey.
 The Prince George Yellowhead Inn Goaltimers are entered in oldtimers’ hockey.
 The team is comprised of Jim Middleton, Rix Graham, Eric Reimer, Bob Weinard, Tom Endean, Bryan Kineshenko, Marv Graves, Bill Edwards, Jim Thorne, Jerry Hutchinson, Ian Meik-lem, Gary Williams, Jack Bellamy, Larry McDermid, Jack McEvoy, Harold Collum and Roy Trask.
 A Prince George bantam house league minor hockey league team selected for sportsmanship has Cheldon Allen, Darcy Bryant, Lome Sahara, Craig Atkinson, Glenn Morrison, Eric Stausgaard, Richard Pflanz, Darcy
Moshenko, Mark McFayden, John Cooper, Todd Blackstock, Ian Doak, Tommy Dale, Tony MacDonald, Robert Howes, Donald Hutchinson and Mike Edwards.
  Local wrestlers travelling to Prince Rupert are Drew Chamberlain, Russ Brandon, Tom Dale, David Meakin, Slavko Obranovic, Kurt Haw-kenson, Brent Case, Steve Bennett, Wayne Ter Heide, Gary Pederson. Robby Mitchell, Jaskarn Kandola. Tony Bjerkness, Kevin Hoeppner, Harminder Sangha, Lance Harris, Don Bassl, Perry Murray, Serunder Gill. Bruce Hal-sall, Mark Richter, David Kennedy, Mike Shelke, Brent Pearson, Lyle Sitter, Brian Stanley and Roger Murphy.
 Entries from the Prince George Judo Club are Doug Sturgeon, Kirk Bugler, Mel Gillis, Michael Buchenbach. Evelyn Lube, David Lea, Carlo
Cordero, Jim Samuels, Sandra Wookey, Brenda Sturgeon and Cindy Skakun.
  Prince George bowling qualifiers are Donna Hepwood, Lana Wilson, June Cutts, Terry Tasker, Graham Row, Brock Lewis. Sigge Anderson, Hazel Gibbs, Terry Phillipe. Stanley Carlyle, Frank Nor-kus, Jim Phillipe, Bertha Dic-kau, Effie Williams, George Gibbs. Gordon Hunter, and Elma Mathews.
  Cecile Podolski, Alex Allison. Cindy Slonski, Ken Chin. Dalyth Roberts, Gaetano Paghese, Andrea Horth, Duncan Kennedy. David Hapke and Mitch Verde are Prince George badminton qualifiers.
  The Prince George Barracudas qualified Thomas Cartwright, Marcel Konig, Kathy Richmond and Nathan Allen in swimming.
  Squash entries from Prince George are Barb Hoffstrom,
Glenys Hogan. Thea Stewart. Ralph Henly, Dave Hogan. Dick Raymond and Grant Hol-kestad, while Mark Allan is the only racquetball entry from the Fraser-Fort George region.
  Local archers entered are Hugh Nelmes. Larry Chow and Fred Rempel, while the region's table tennis contingent includes Mike Stewart, Sid Winsby and Victor Wong of Prince George.
  Table tennis qualifiers from Mackenzie are Cindy Graham. Terry Gelinas, Dick van der Meer. Kirby Romans. Patricia O’Donnell. Tony Metivier. Richard Jack and Cheryl Bryce.
  The only snowshoring qualifiers are Kerrin Dahl, Mary Ann Nikkei and Corrine LaB-rosse of Mackenzie, while the senior boys’ and girls' curling rinks are both from Mackenzie.
 Todd Shymanski skips the boys’ team, which includes Steve Barker. Darryl Dryland and Glen Stuparyk.
  The girls’ rink has Sheila Thomas, Linda Yuen Ling Chew. Kathy Ventress ami Dawn McQueen.
  Prince George darts qualifiers are John and Darlene Hepwood, Rod Bell. Doug Bull. Bill Cocker. Terry Grannon. Roy Jordon and Alan Schroder.
  Fraser-Fort George karate qualifiers from Prince George are Joe Papp. Robert Dow. Larry Jardine, Bob Wilson and Josette Landry.
 The seventh annual Games are Feb. G to 8. one month before the province-wide third annual B.C. Winter Games in Prince George March 5 to 8.
  More than 2.000 competitors are expected in Prince Rupert, which has a population of only 17.000.
 rivals, St. Louis Blues, are the suprise of the 1980-81 campaign despite a 6-6 tie with Hartford Whalers.
   The Blues, getting strong goaltending from Mike Luit and Ed Staniowski. are in second place over-all with 64 points, just four points behind the Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders.
   Al Secord scored two goals and had an assist and linemate Reg Kerr collected a goal and two assists as Chicago equalled a club record set in 1970-71 and nailed Montreal with its third straight loss.
   Darryl Sutter had the other goal for the Hawks, who haven’t lost since Jan. 3. Mark
 Napiere and Pierre Mondou scored for Montreal.
   In other Wednesday games, the scores were: Winnipeg Jets 5. New York Rangers 1; St. Louis Blues 6, Hartford Whalers 6; Philadelphia Flyers 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 0; Minnesota North Stars 2, Washington Capitals 1; Buffalo Sabres 6, Quebec Nordiques 5 and Edmonton Oilers 5, Vancouver Canucks, 1.
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KAATZ TO CANADIAN FINALS
Young skaters' success comes fast
by MARK ALLAN Citizen Sports Reporter
   Three figure skaters from Prince George might take different approaches at the Canadian championships.
   The competition begins Wednesday in Halifax, N.S., after practice Monday and Tuesday.
   Twelve-year-old Robert Kaatz and his sister Katherine, 11, represent the Prince George Figure Skating Club in the novice pairs event Wednesday.
   Former Prince George skater Eric Thomsen teams with Katherina Matousek of New Westminster in senior pairs, skating Friday and Saturday.
   The Kaatz are already farther than any skaters have progressed representing a Prince George club, while Thomsen and Matousek skate for the North Shore Winter Club in North Vancouver.
   Kathryn and Robert have been training with the same club since last summer, after winning the pre-
 novice pairs B.C. championship last year.
   Their mother Ann, who is with them in North Vancouver, says they’re excited about being in their first national championship.
   “They’re on a high.”
   They’ll likely just try to skate as well as they can, after a third place finish in this year’s novice pairs Western Canada final.
   However, their mother isn’t sure how the pressure will affect the young skaters.
   ‘“There’s a little anxiety, because it’s happened faster than we had anticipated.”
  Meanwhile, Thomsen and Matousek will undoubtedly be aiming for a Canadian championship.
   They were fifth last year and have been working hard since then, training twice with highly-regarded American coach Ron Ludington in Wilmington, Del.
   They skate in the senior pairs short program Friday and conclude Saturday with the long program.
Smythe no longer easy
 last
 SUPER DEALS ON 1980's
Dreadful first period helps Canucks lose
  EDMONTON (CP) - Harry Neale didn’t sound like a coach whose team had just lost its first game in its last eight outings.
   “We’ve got some passengers instead of rowers on our team now,” said Neale after watching his Vancouver Canucks drop a 5-1 National Hockey League decision to Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
   “I try to be realistic and realize you’re not wired for 80 games, but there has to be a minimum standard of performance, even if you’re playing with cancer.”
   In other games Wednesday: it was Chicago Black Hawks 4, Montreal Canadiens 2, St. Louis Blues 6, Hartford Whalers 6; Winnipeg Jets 5, New York Rangers 1; St. Louis Blues 6, Hartford Whalers 6; Philadelphia Flyers 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 0; Minnesota North Stars 2, Washington Capitals 1; and Buffalo Sabres 6, Quebec Nordiques 5.
   The Oilers struck for three first-period goals and the Canucks, coming off a 2-2 tie
 with Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night in Vancouver, simply couldn’t recover.
   “That first period was the worst period we’ve played all year,” Neale said.
    “It’s not the end of the world, but it might be the lesson we need. We’ve been drifting into this and winning and tying the odd game, and sometimes it is hard to make a point when you’re getting one out'of it.”
   Brett Callighen led Edmonton with two goals and assist. Jari Kurri, Peter Driscoll and Wayne Gretzky also scored for the Oilers who recorded their fifth win in their last eight games.
  Defenceman	Kevin
 McCarthy scored the lone Vancouver goal. It was the Canucks’ first loss since Jan. 3 when they were beaten 6-3 in St. Louis by the Blues.
   Callighen, with nine goals and 14 assists in his last 14 games, has played strongly since returning from a 25-game layoff after eye surgery.
   “I just feel confident out there now after the eye sur-
 gery was successful,” he said. “I started off on the right
  foot."
    Gretzky added two assists to go with his 25th goal of the season. giving him 80 points. He now stands five points behind league-leading Marcel Dionne, centre for Los Angeles Kings.
  Edmonton defenceman Kevin Lowe also had a three-point night, contributing three assists. Lowe, in his second year in the NHL, has fourgoals and eight assists in his last 10 games.
   “The team has played very well for the last 10 or 12 games ... we’re getting more people back and we’re getting some depth in our team.”
   Vancouver winger Bobby Schmautz said the Canucks have been struggling despite their recent unbeaten streak.
    “We just haven’t been going very good the last couple or three weeks. We got an awful lot of ties and the only good thing about it is our goalten-ders have been keeping us in the games. We’ve just fallen into a nit, I can’t tell you why.”
 Katherine and Robert Kaatz reached the Canadian final by placing third in the Western Canadian final in Red Deer
 week.
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Skalbania shooting for NBA Friday
   NEW YORK (AP) - If a successful tycoon like Nelson Skalbania wanted to join your business fraternity and was willing to pay you and your part ners $700,000 a piece for the chance to do so, would you be able to say no to him merely because you suspected your business might already be over-expanded?
   That’s the dilemma facing the owners of the 23 National Basketball Association teams, who in less than two weeks may vote on whether to award an expansion franchise to Skalbania in Vancouver. That would bring the NBA’s roster to a more logical 24 clubs and bring pro basketball back to
 Canada. Toronto was a charter member of the Basketball Association of America, the NBA’s forerunner, and the site of the first league game on Nov. 1, 1946. That franchise lasted only one season.
   Skalbania, who owns hockey and soccer teams in Calgary and has attempted to purchase Seattle’s American League baseball team, has agreed to pay the existing NBA clubs an entry fee of S16 million - $4 million more than Dallas paid to join the league last year. In addition, he is willing to waive his share of network TV money put up by CBS, which amounts to nearly $1 million a club.
   An NBA executive who has
 looked into Skalbania’s financial background says he found “some fancy numbers - very fancy numbers.”
    “This guy is loaded.” Another reason is that he expects to attract a sizable Canadian television contract for Canada’s only NBA franchise.
    Another is the fact that he’s already lined up pledges for more than 4,000 season tickets and hopes to have doubled that number before the question comes up at the winter board of governors meeting in Cleveland on Jan. 31.
    Before that, on Friday in Los Angeles, the NBA’s expansion committee will meet to discuss
 the pros and cons of Skal-bania’a Vancouver bid. This meeting, which will be attended by Skalbania and NBA deputy commissioner Simon Gourdine, is crucial.
   “A strong, positive recommendation by the committee carries a lot of weight,” noted Joe Axelson, the NBA’s director of operations. Such a recommendation could be enough to persuade recalcitrant owners to go along. Without it, Vancouver’s chances — at least for now - are virutally nil.
   On the positive side: there is a wealthy and enthusiastic owner in Skalbania; a first-
 rate arena, the Pacific Coliseum; the immense popularity of pro basketball in the Pacific Northwest, as evidenced by Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers; the basic logic inherent in going to 24 teams and four six-team divisions; and the attractiveness of adding a Canadian franchise.
   On the negative side: there is no tradition of basketball in Vancouver; realignment — Vancouver obviously belongs in the Pacific Division, but the Atlantic is the one with an opening — will not come easily; Skalbania was involved in the purchase and quick folding of Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association, which left bad feeling in that city; and many NBA owners believe there are already too many teams in the league and the quality of their product has suffered by being stretched too thin.
 British fighter next for Ali?
   LOS ANGELES (Reuter) -Muhammad Ali told a news conference Wednesday he might fight British heavyweight John L.Gardner in Tripoli, Bangkok, Manila or Peking — “or I might not fight anyone at all.” Ali, a threetime world heavyweight boxing champion who turned 39 last Saturday, was vague when asked when he expected to fight Gardner, the European champion.
SIX COUNTRIES FOR HOCKEY CLASSIC
Canada Cup resuming this year
  TORONTO (CP) - The Canada Cup hockey tournament will be revived in September following a five-year hiatus.
   Alan Eagleson, chairman of the international committee for Hockey Canada, said Wednesday in a telephone interview from Frankfurt, West Germany, he received “unanimous approval in principle” after two days of meetings for a Canada Cup in 1981.
   “An agreement will be drafted in the next few weeks," said Eagleson, chairman of the tournament that will include Canada, the United States, the Soviet Union, Finland, Czechoslovakia and Sweden.
  Eagleson said that he and Dr.
 Guenther Sabetzki, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, will present the agreement in April to representatives of the six countries at the world championships in Sweden.
   Also attending the two-day meetings were John Ziegler, president of the National Hockey League, and Lou Lefaive, president of Hockey Canada.
   Eagleson, also executive director of the NHL Players’ Association, said some of the countries were miffed by the cancellation of the Canada Cup tournament in 1980. It was cancelled because of the U.S.-led boycott — which Canada joined - of the Summer Olym-
 pics in Moscow, resulting from Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
   Regarding the difficulties of preparing for this year’s tournament, Eagleson said a lot of the countries wanted Canada to pay a penalty because of the cancellation of the 1980 event.
   “They said we should have to pay a penalty of $1 million or half a million dollars. And I said listen, ‘We’re not paying any penalty. The Olympic boycott created the reason for the cancellation and although the governmment of Canada was in favor of having it, the players weren’t and the American players weren’t, so we decided to cancel it.”’
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by Canadinn Press
   Most teams looked for an easy two points when the National Hockey League schedule matched them up with Smythe Division rivals.
   That’s not the case any more as a glance at the over-all standings will attest. Chicago Black Hawks are the current scourge of NHL rivals. They ran up a 4-0 lead Wednesday night en route to a 4-2 win over Montreal Canadiens.
   The Hawks, who are usually at or near the top of the Smythe standings at this stage of the season, would usually be struggling to hold top place to ensure themselves of a playoff berth.
   Instead, with their eighth straight win, they’re comfortably settled into 10th place two points behind three other teams - Montreal, Minnesota North Stars and Buffalo Sabres.
Their chief Smythe Division
SAM RAMSAY