The Prince George Citizen — Saturday, November 25, 1989 — 15 Award eases Eskimo pivot's pain Three Edmonton players receive honors TORONTO (CP) — Nothing will erase Tracy Ham’s disappointment in not reaching the Grey Cup this year. But the Edmonton Eskimos quarterback did concede being named the CFL’s outstanding player Friday night had eased the pain somewhat. “I’m thrilled to have won, but it can never make up for last Sunday’s disappointment,” said the 24-year-old signal-caller, the broad smile quickly vanishing as discussion turned to last Sunday’s 32-21 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “We viewed the films this week and it hurt to watch,” Ham said of the Western final that deprived the Eskimos, 16-2 during the regular season, of a date this Sunday at the SkyDome with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL title game. The Georgia Southern grad, who threw Centre lifts host Kings to two wins by BILL SEYMOUR Sports reporter Don Gaboury scored five goals and earned two assists Friday as the Pacific Valve Midget Kings cut a swath through the competition in Day 1 of the 15th annual Kinsmen midget hockey tournament. The skinny centre warmed a hometown crowd of 200 with a goal and two assists in Friday’s 7-4 win over the Saanich Braves in the feature game at Kin I. In the Kings’ earlier 5-2 win over Vernon, ne scored four goals, including a hat trick, and earned an assist. “I always try my best to score goals,” said Gaboury, 16. The Midget Kings, less their head coacn and captain, were scheduled to meet the Quesnel Midget Macks this morning at 11. Both teams were undefeated after Friday’s opening games. In other games Friday, Quesnel defeated the Nanaimo Clippers 9-4, Saanich beat Nanaimo 17-2, and Quesnel beat Vernon Coca-Cola 9-1. Midget Kings’ coach Mike Meehan said the wins were especially good following three straight losses in a tournament in Red Deer last weekend. Pacific Valve entered that tournament 14-0. “Obviously we are back on track and everyone is playing well,” Meehan said. “We have team spirit and everyone is together.” Meehan and Midget Kings team captain Eric Diedrichsen will watch the rest of the tournament from the stands. Both were handed gross misconducts for arguing with the referee at the start of the second period in the game against the Braves. The penalty comes with an automatic three-game suspension. Assistant coach Gibby Chase takes over behind the bench. The penalties came following a near-melee at the end of the first period. The Midget Kings were called to serve a minor penalty when the two teams returned to begin the second period. “We strongly disagreed with the call,” Meehan said after the game. In Prince George’s first game, Gaboury got the Midget Kings off to a quick start with a goal just 25 seconds into the period. His next two followed in the second period. Bob Haidish scored the other Prince George marker in the third with an assist from Gaboury. Gaboury credited his wingers Pat Meehan and Sean Ledinski for his goal scoring production. The two worked the corners and made the passes for Gaboury. Gaboury said the players regrouped following Red Deer. Last weekend’s losses were burned off in three good practices this week and helped the team realize what type of game they play best. Meanwhile, the Farr Fabricating Bantam Kings advanced to today’s playoff round of the Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds Bantam Tournament in Medicine Hat, Alta. Mario LeBlance earned three points and was picked the game’s most valuable player in Friday’s 7-5 win for the Bantam Kings over the Regina Flyers. It was second time LeBlanc was selected as an MVP in the 16-team tournament. Chris Kerr of the Bantam Kings was named the game MVP in an earlier 3-3 tie with Spruce Grove. a league-leading 30 touchdown passes and became the first CFL quarterback to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season (1,005 yards on 125 carries), beat out Ticat receiver Tony Champion for the award. Ham was one of three Eskimo winners at the league’s annual ceremonies, held at the Harbor Castle Convention Centre. It’s the first time in 35 years the winners have not received Schenley Awards. The distillery dropped its long-time sponsorship earlier this year. The other winners, in balloting by selected members of the Football Reporters of Canada, were: centre Rod Connop, Edmonton, top offensive lineman; line- backer Danny Bass, Edmonton, best defensive player; slotback Rocky DiPietro, Hamilton, outstanding Canadian, and defensive back Stephen Jordan, Hamilton, top rookie. Ham said he’s still “got a lot of learning to do” and predicts he’ll be “a lot tougher mentally” next season. A confident, yet modest, individual, Ham said he had “put up MVP numbers, but I’ve also been blessed to play on a team with a number of exceptional athletes.” For DiPietro, it marked the second time he’s been tabbed as the league’s top Canadian — he also won in 1982. He became the league’s all-time leading receiver with 655 catches, having surpassed Tommy-Joe Coffey (650) in what could be his final year as a player. However, the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native, isn’t about to call it quits just yet. “I’ve got a game to concentrate on right now,” he said. “I’ll wait a couple of months until I have a clear mind. “I just love this game; it’ll be hard to leave.” Finishing second to DiPietro was Saskatchewan slotback Jeff Fairholm. Bass, 32, is a nine-year veteran from Michigan State who had been an unsuccessful finalist on two previous occasions. Connop, who has played eight years for Edmonton, beat out Hamilton offensive tackle Miles Gorrell. The 30-year-old Burnaby, B.C., native, said he was accepting the award on behalf of the entire line. “Success on the offensive line is measured as a unit.” Jordan, 23, intercepted five passes in his first pro season and returned one 77 yards for a touchdown. The runner-up was running back Darrell Wallace of the B.C. Lions, who became a finalist after the actual balloting had taken place and he had finished second in the West to defensive back Enis Jackson of the Edmonton Eskimos. However, Jackson was subsequently disqualified because of time spent on the injured list of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. B.C. GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL Jamie Macoun of Calgary (34) slips past Detroit’s Sheldon Kennedy. 'Fluke' outburst boosts Penguins by Canadian Press It took the Pittsburgh Penguins four shots to score four goals. The Washington Capitals needed 50, but by that time it didn’t matter. John Cullen had two goals and the Penguins scored on their first four shots on goaltender Don Beaupre en route to a 7-4 NHL victory over the Capitals on Friday night. “It was a fluke game,” said Pittsburgh’s Rob Brown, who started it all with the Penguins’ first goal. “You don’t think you’re going to score four goals in four shots.” Meanwhile, the surprising Minnesota North Stars moved into first place overall with a 7-6 triumph over the visiting New Jersey Devils. In other games, the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 and the Detroit Red Wings rallied to beat the Calgary Flames 3-2. The Penguins led 4-1 after one period despite being outshot 18-5. Things didn’t improve for the Capitals in the second period as Pittsburgh scored on two of its first three shots. At one point, the Penguins led 6-1 despite being outshot 32-9. “You can’t win when you give up six goals on their first eight shots,” Washington coach Bryan Murray said. “We were climbing uphill all night.” Mario Lemieux capped Pittsburgh’s fourth win in five games by beating backup goaltender Bob Mason on a penalty shot at 4:19 of the final period for his 12th goal of the season. Lemieux, who is 5-for-5 on penalty shots in his career, was awarded the free shot after being hauled down on a breakaway by defenceman Scott Stevens. Brown opened the scoring at POWER PLAY HELPS Late goals lift Kings Trojans fall in fina The D.P.Todd Trojans finished second Friday at the B.C. girls’s A (small school) volleyball championship in Vancouver. The Trojans return home today after falling 15-5, 10-15, 15-9, 15-12 to Spring Valley of Kelowna in the best-of-five final. Trojans’ captain Adrienne Lindsay said the team could not muster a successful reply to Spring Valley’s serving in the final after peaking in their 9-15, 15-11, 15-13 semi-final win over St. Patrick’s of Vancouver. “I don’t think we played our best,” she said. “ I think we tried our best, but we couldn’t get in a rhythm.” Lindsay, a setter in her graduating year, and power hitter Joanna Jenkins were selected to the championships’ all-star squad. Trojan coach Randy France said he was hoping to finish first. After defeating St. Patrick’s the team’s confidence soared, he said. “We were hoping we would come first,” France said. “We were maybe a little overconfident.” France said he was proud of his players despite the loss. “We came down here hoping to get in the medals and that’s what we achieved,” added France. “We were ranked third in the province and we came second.” Marla Spike, Todd’s other setter, said the come-from-behind win over St. Patrick’s was her personal highlight of the three-day event. “They beat us in the round robin and we came back to beat them,” said Spike, 16. “It was really good.” Todd went 5-1 in the seven-team round-robin preliminary pool, its only loss a 12-15, 15-3, 1-15 defeat against St. Patrick’s. In the semi-final, the Trojans fell way behind again in the third game, but rallied from a 9-2 deficit to the 15-13 victory. Power hitter Tina Gavric said she and the other members of the Trojans came together as a coherent unit in the semi-final. She said the second-place finish was anti-climatic. “It feels pretty good but it would have been better if we were No. 1,” Gavric said. Meanwhile the boys’ volleyball team from D.P. Todd is out of the championship round but still playing at the B.C. boys’ A (small school) championship in Victoria. On Friday, the boys started on a losing note dropping a match against zone rival Quesnel Secondary School 15-5, 15-6. QSS beat Todd for the zone championship two weeks ago. The Trojans bounced back to defeat Smithers 15-5, 15-11 and finished fourth in the six-team preliminary pool, but lost their quarter-final match to Revelstoke 15-7, 15-6. The Trojans can finish between fifth and eighth. They meet Mt. Boucherie of Kelowna in their first consolation playoff match this afternoon. The boys’ A A (large school) championship begins Wednesday at College Heights Secondary School and Prince George Secondary School. 2:56. After Mike Ridley tied it, Kevin Stevens made it 2-1 at 8:49. Gilbert Delorme upped the ante to 3-1 39 seconds later and Cullen chased Beaupre at 12:49. Paul Coffey also scored for Pittsburgh. Steve Leach, Dino Ciccarelli and Dale Hunter also scored for Washington, which lost the game despite a 50-22 shots advantage. Stars 7 Devils 6 It took Minnesota until the last day of 1988 to get its 31st point but it equalled that amount by beating New Jersey for its seventh straight home victory. Rookie Mike Modano moved into a tie for the most goals by a rookie, scoring twice ana getting the winner at 14: 48 of the third period, to increase his total to 13. Wings 3 Flames 2 Calgary seemed well on its way of snapping a seven-game winless streak when goals 24 seconds apart in the final 1:02 of regulation time by Steve Yzerman and Gerard Gallant extended the Flames’ skid to eight, their longest slide in four seasons. Jimmy Carson also scored for the Red Wings, while Al Mac-Innis and Theoren Fleury provided the Flames with their goals. Flyers 5 Oilers 1 Philadalphia moved above .500 for the first time this season with its third win in four games. The Flyers held the Oilers shotless for the first eight minutes but were unable to take a lead until Tony Horacek scored at 15:58 of the first period. Murray Craven’s first of two goals made it 2-0 32 seconds into the second period. The New Jersey Devils visit the Winnipeg Jets at 5 this afternoon on CKPG (channel 2, cable 3). The Boston Bruins visit the Montreal Canadiens at 5 this afternoon on CBC French (channel 4, cable 5). The Vancouver Canucks visit the Los Angeles Kings at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on BCTV (channel 12, cable 11). SPIRIT OF GIVING ARRIVES by Associated Press It was appropriate that on the first big day of the Christmas shopping season in the U.S., Isiah Thomas was in a giving mood. Thomas dished out 16 assists and Joe Dumars scored 19 of his 31 points in the first half as the Detroit Pistons snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers’ five-game winning streak with a 101-82 NBA victory Friday night. “When Zeke (Thomas) is playing like that, we’re tough to beat,” Detroit coach Chuck Daly said. “Assists are where it’s at for us, as long as we don’t overpass. “But that was the key to us tonight and that’s why we won the game.” In other NBA games Friday, it was: the Philadelphia 76ers 121, Washington Bullets 108; Houston Rockets 85, Charlotte Hornets 81; Atlanta Hawks 103, Miami Heat 97; Indiana Pacers 118, Boston Celtics 111; Dallas Mavericks 99, Minnesota Timberwolves 89; Phoenix Suns 121, Orlando Magic 94; Denver Nuggets 122, Seattle SuperSonics 109; Portland Trail Blazers 125, New Jersey Nets 99; and San Antonio Spurs 90, LA Clippers 89. The Pistons, converting six Cleveland turnovers into 11 points, broke to a 35-25 first-quarter lead as Dumars scored 10 points and Thomas had 11 assists, matching the club record for a quarter he set Jan. 24,1985 against Golden State. Nuggets 122 Sonics 109 Fat Lever scored 24 points, Michael Adams added 23 to pace Denver to its fourth straight triumph. It was the Nuggets’ ninth straight victory at home over Seattle. Pacers 118 Celtics 111 Reggie Miller scored 19 of his 30 points in the second half. Swim trials chance for stars to emerge MONTREAL (CP) — For coach Tom Johnson, the Commonwealth Games are a chance to identify the next Victor Davises, Alex Baumanns and Allison Higsons in Canadian swimming. “These have traditionally been the games where we identify the kids coming up,” said Johnson, who will coach Canada’s team at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand Jan. 24 to Feb. 3. Trials for places on the team began today at the Olympic pool, with more than 250 swimmers from 54 clubs across Canada trying for 22 spots on the men’s team and 18 on the women’s. Freestyle middle-distance swimmer Turlough O’Hare of Vancouver, freestyle sprinter Patricia Noall of Montreal, backstroke veteran Mark Tewksbury of Calgary and backstroker Gary Anderson of Toronto are the favorites but tight battles are expected in several events. Only the winner of each event is guaranteed a berth on the team, with other places filled under a variety of qualifying conditions. The Canadian team is in a transition period with retirements in the last two years of former world record holders Baumann and Davis. Davis died Nov. 13, four months following his retirement, after being struck by a car near Montreal. Higson, the former world record holder in the 200-metre breaststroke, has turned to freestyle after a disastrous 1988 Olympics in Seoul. The team has also lost freestyl-ers Sandy Goss and Jane Kerr and individual medley swimmer Ray Brown to universities in the United States. Coaches are hoping for some surprises among the younger swimmers to build a team capable of challenging the Australians in Auckland. In Commonwealth rankings, Canada and Australia are tied at 5-5 in gold medal favorites among the men, but the Aussies hold an 8-4 advantage in favorites in the women’s events. England is also tough, dominating the men’s breaststroke with Adrian Moorhouse and Nick Gillingham. “I think it’s been shown that between the Australians and us, the rankings don’t really matter," said Swimming Canada vice-president Trevor Tiffany. “It all depends on how they swim on that day. “I think we have a good chance. We have a lot of good youngsters. One veteran they know about and desperately want is Czechoslovak defector Marcel Gery of Toronto, ranked No. 2 in the Commonwealth in the 100-metre butterfly, just ahead of veteran Tom Ponting of Calgary. The Chicago Bulls-Golden State Warriors game began at 12:30 this afternoon on KIRO (cable 7). The Sonics visit Dallas at 7:30 this evening on KIRO. r/ Enlace (yeonye 7 K? L i a The Prince George Spruce Kings scored three power-play goals during a five-minute power play late in the third period Friday and beat the Mustangs 7-5 in Williams Lake. Prince George, which pulled within three points of the second-place Mustangs, trailed 5-2 with three minutes to play when Williams Lake players Dave Ford and Scott Cross were both assessed five-minute majors for fighting. Only one Spruce King was sent off in the incident, which came at 14:11 of the third period. Darren Zinger was given a five-minute major for being the third man into a fight. It took Prince George three minutes to capitalize, but captain Brad Camozzi nad two goals and Gord Lennox one in a two-minute span to put Prince George up 6-5. Rick Kooses scored with one second left to complete the scoring. In the other Peace Cariboo Junior Hockey League game Friday, the league-leading Fort St. John Huskies beat the Dawson Creek Raiders 12-2. In Williams Lake, the Mustangs took a 3-0 lead in the first period on goals by Tim Schuette, Ford and Len Forschner. The Spruce Kings bounced back later in tne period, with Zinger and Troy Johnson tallying to maxe the score 3-2. But Williams Lake scored two unanswered goals in the second to restore its three-goal margin. Ford, with his second of the game, and Trevor Forsythe scored the last two Mustang goals. Brian Radmacher scored three minutes into the third to get the Kings within two. Camozzi had two goals and an assist, Johnson had a goal and two assists and Jeff Dodds assisted on the last three Prince George goals to lead the Spruce Kings’ offence. The Mustangs visit Prince George at 8 tonight in the Coliseum. Listen to the GREY CUP GAME TOMORROW j! Starting at / 3:00 P.M. dtOlJm Country Stereo 101.3 “Now... All over The Country!” POWER REGISTRATION Tuesday, November 28th (For Jan. - Mar. Session) 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Kin Centre Upstairs Lounge Learn Hockey Skating Techniques with Eric Henderson & Brian Toll i