SPORTS The Prince George Citizen ­ Monday, September 24, 2007 ­ 9 One goal enough for Treasure Cove by TED CLARKE Citizen staff Whoever put the slope in the field for Sunday's North Cariboo Senior Soccer League Division 1 final must have been watching too many episodes of the old Batman TV series. Remember when they used to tilt the camera for the fight scenes in the bad guys' hideouts? That pretty much describes what transpired at Glen Thompson Field in Sunday's winner-take-all battle between Treasure Cove Casino FC and the Powerhouse Hammers. For the first half, the fans gathered on the north end of the field had the best view as the Casino boys dominated the flow of play and stormed the net with more pressure than Hammers' goalie Andrew White cared to see. White's only mistake, 22 minutes in, led to the only goal of the game and a 1-0 Treasure Cove win. White came out to challenge Nick Buljevic but was left stranded when Buljevic chipped a high pass across the crease to Lyle Eggen, who saw nothing but net. "I was just in the right spot at the right time," said Eggen. "It was a sharp angle but it was a good ball from Nick and I just hit it as hard as I could low and it went in the net." As dominant as Treasure Cove was in the first half, Steve Carter earned his keep in a pressure-packed second 45 minutes. Todd Kuc, whose wide-open 20-metre shot in the first half sailed over the crossbar, had another glorious chance for Powerhouse on a breakaway that Carter smothered, and Jay Greenfield was equally frustrated after another close call. With 70 minutes gone, Carter showed great mobility to time his slide and turn away a short-side attempt by Jason Bremner. Powerhouse had no intentions of letting up. Barry Nakahara almost forced overtime when he rang a shot off the goalpost with two minutes left. "We kind of let down in the last 20 minutes but we came out with it," said Casino defender Nate Zurowski. "Carter made the saves to keep us in it and that's all we needed." Poor turnouts for games earlier in the season hurt Treasure Cove but they were nearly at full strength Sunday. Treasure Cove knocked off Mr. Quick 2-1 in the semifinal last week, which some considered an upset, but not Carter. Even without their best centre midfielder, Mark Schomberg, who was serving a red card suspension Sunday, they had what it takes to be champions. "We haven't lost in 10 games and we've really turned it on," said Carter. "Our defence played solid all year and I wasn't worried and they didn't get a lot of real good scoring chances. The ones they did get, I was able to get a hand or foot on and we won the game." Treasure Cove easily could have had a handful of goals to add to their collection if not for White's heroics. Not long after the goal, he stoned Kyle Griffith on a close-range shot and ended the half with a well-timed diving save on Griffith again. "The last few games we've really been taking it up a notch in the second half and we knew it was the last game of the season and we had to leave it all on the field," said White. "They had a lot of good chances in the first half but we owned the second half. We just didn't get that finishing touch. It just as easily could have gone the other way." Three MLB squads secure playoff spots ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- John Lackey and the Los Angeles Angels gave their fans another reason to unleash those rally monkeys. The Angels clinched their third AL West title in four years Sunday, with Lackey leading them to a 7-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners. After losing two in a row to the Mariners, the Angels clinched in their final home game of the season. Wearing red and roaring, a sellout crowd was on its feet to see manager Mike Scioscia's team return to the playoffs after missing out last season. Hours after Cleveland clinched the AL Central, the Angels locked up their spot. On Saturday night, Boston assured itself of at least an AL wild-card slot. The Angels' 91-65 record gave them an insurmountable 8 1/2-game lead over the second-place Mariners. Seattle was one game behind Los Angeles on Aug. 25, and two back when the Angels came to town two days later. The Angels swept the three-game series and the Mariners, who had lost five in a row at the point, went on to drop 10 of their next 12 and fall out of contention. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard struck out Sunday for the 195th time this season to tie the major league record. In the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals, Howard swung at and missed an 81 mph pitch from starter Joel Hanrahan for strike three. Howard matched the mark established in 2004 by Adam Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds. SPRUCE CITY WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION Citizen photo by David Mah Ryan Erickson of the Powerhouse Hammers tucks the ball in close to his feet to avoid the outstretched leg of Kyle Griffith of Treasure Cove Casino FC, while Corey Naphtali (13) and Todd Kuc (14) look on during Sunday's NCSSL Division 1 final at Glen Thompson Field. Treasure Cove won 1-0. OPEN HOUSE SEPT 29, 2007 11:00 am - 1:00 pm 1384 RIVER ROAD TO BE FOLLOWED BY A FISH RELEASE AT FERGUSON LAKE AT 2:00 (N ON HWY 97 - N. KELLY RD - FERGUSON LAKE ROAD) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION WELCOME! 00614221 `Old man' Carter enjoys a Sunday in the spotlight by TED CLARKE Citizen staff Don't tell Terry Carter he's too old to be playing a young man's game. Even the dreaded shootout was no match for the 65-year-old import from the birthplace of soccer. Carter's English accent might have diminished in the years he's lived in Prince George, but he showed no signs Sunday he was about to blend in with the crowd of players contending for the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League Masters Division crown. It was Carter's time to shine and he was absolutely brilliant in a 1-0 Brink Forest clearcut over Northern Thunderbird Air. "I hate shootouts," said Carter. "At the end of the day, you have to do your job and I just guessed right and made the saves. It was very close, those guys were trying their best." Carter made three saves on the first three shots he faced in the shootout before Fraser Corbould finally found the range. After Jim Elson hit the post, Brink shooters beat NT Air goalie Steve Fleck with the next three volleys from penaltykick range. Fleck, who kept it scoreless late in regulation time with a brilliant save off Ron Strobl, fell victim to Brink shooter Tek Fu and the celebration was on at Glen Thompson Field. "The game itself was typical of what we played in the masters division this year -- hard games and low scoring," said Carter, who won three Division 1 games this season for Treasure Cove Casino and also plays tournament games in the U.S. "It took one game at the end of the season to decide the top three places (in a five-team league) so going into the playoffs, why would it be any different?" Subway United won the Division 2 title, defeating 1201/Eric World of Leisure 2-0 on goals by Dusty Cassavant and Mandeep Bhatti. Damien Meehan earned the shutout for the understaffed Subway squad, which had only 11 players for the game. FLAT OUT NICE! ACS IS NOT TELEMARKETING THIS IS CUSTOMER SERVICE! 90 MORE SEATS 200 MORE EMPLOYEES We Care. We Deliver. Come join a premier customer service team! ACS is the leading provider of fully diversified, end-to-end, business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology (IT) solutions to commercial and government clients worldwide. With more than 55,000 people and a blue chip client list, ACS delivers comprehensive solutions for all segments of BPO and IT services. & ACS has recently expanded our Customer Care facility and is looking for 100 customer service agents to deliver GOLD STANDARD or FLAT OUT NICE customer service to their clients' customers. We are making a difference ONE customer at a time. Paid training $10.15. Base pay $10.15. Bonus incentives, benefits, 6 month wage reviews. Apply in person at: 1190 - 2nd Avenue Prince George, BC Call our Recruiting Line: 250-563-4800 Apply online: www.ACS-INC.com 00600985 Cariboo Cougars off to winless start by JASON PETERS Citizen staff The Vancouver Northwest Giants played a full pre-season schedule, the Cariboo Cougars didn't. Not surprisingly, the more cohesive team was easy to spot during weekend B.C. Hockey Major Midget League games at Kin 1. On Saturday night, the Giants won 5-1. In the Sunday morning rematch, Vancouver Northwest skated to a 9-4 victory. The games were the first ones of the regular season for both teams. "One of the advantages they've had over us, they've had the ability to play some exhibition games so their players have been exposed to this level and our new guys haven't," said Cariboo head coach Grant Williams. "There's still no question that we have work to do, but what we need to get better on are things that can be taught and can be learned. I'm still optimistic. We're going to do quite fine by the end of the year." In both games, the Giants' power play gave the Cougars trouble. The Cats were handed 14 penalties on Saturday and 12 on Sunday. In the opener, the Giants served only four penalties. "I think (Saturday) night, the game was dominated by the third team out there," Williams said. "The Giants and the Cougars didn't get an opportunity to show how they could play. We found out we can't afford to give up as many power-play opportunities as we did." On Saturday, the Cougars got their lone goal in the second period, courtesy of rookie forward Chapen Leblond. On Sunday, the game highlight for the Cougars was provided by veteran defenceman Justin Fillion. With his team trailing 7-2 late in the second period, Fillion ripped a power-play one-timer into the net. Fillion, a Prince George product, was set up perfectly by a soft feed from Nicolas DeSousa. "I just put it on net, and lucky for me it went in," said the 17-year-old Fillion, who would love to score a few more similar goals as the season progresses. "I hope so," he said. "As long as I just keep working hard every game, they should go in." Leblond, Kalen Spoletini and Brett Connolly notched the other Sunday goals for the Cougars. Alex Wright was the losing Cariboo goaltender on Saturday night and Paul Simoes was the Cougars' goalie of record on Sunday. Simoes, a 17-year-old from Vanderhoof, has locked up a spot on the team now that Damien Ketlo has decided to accept an offer from the junior A Prince George Spruce Kings. Ketlo joins a Kings team that already has stoppers Shane Mainprize and Devan Hartigan on the roster. Ed Dempsey, head coach and GM of the Kings, will have to evaluate his crease talent and make a move one way or the other. "That's good -- it forces Ed Dempsey to play the villain and he can make a decision on who he's going to move out of their organization," Williams said. "It means that's one less tough decision that I have to make." Despite the nine goals against him, Simoes played well on Sunday. Great shots and deflections didn't help his cause. "He was unflappable and stayed in and battled right through to the end," Williams said. "He gave us everything that he could under tough circumstances." The Cougars play road games Saturday and Sunday against the Fraser Valley Bruins. 1412 Patricia Blvd -- 614-1411 (behind Wendy's on Victoria) HUGE Selection of: WIN ME! - Toys - Movies - Lingerie - Mags - Oils - Hemp products 00610162 Customer Appreciation! "Enter with every purchase or rental" 5 - 32" Flat Screen TVs given away, one at the end of every month until Christmas! Losing weekend for Canucks ANAHEIM (AP) -- Ryan Getzlaf scored twice and Jonas Hiller made 40 saves as the Anaheim Ducks closed their exhibition season with a 5-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. Bobby Ryan, the second overall pick behind Sidney Crosby in the 2005 draft, had four assists for the Ducks. Todd Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists for Anaheim in his first game against Vancouver since being traded by the Canucks to Florida in June 2006. Bertuzzi played eight seasons with the Canucks from 1998-2006. The Ducks will travel to London today in advance of their two-game, seasonopening series against goaltender Jason LaBarbera and the Los Angeles Kings next weekend. The Kings wrapped up the U.S. portion of their pre-season play Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win against Colorado in Las Vegas. Getzlaf helped get the Ducks offence going, netting two goals in the first period. Francois Beauchmein and Corey Perry scored in the second before Bertuzzi netted his first goal with Anaheim in the third. The Canucks outshot the Ducks 4039 but couldn't beat Hiller, a 25-yearold goalie signed by the Ducks as a free agent in late May after he spent four seasons in the Swiss elite league. On Saturday, Jeremy Roenick, former Prince George Cougars winger Devin Setoguchi and Jonathan Cheechoo scored power-play goals to help the San Jose Sharks beat the Canucks 3-1 in a penalty-filled game. Dimitri Patzold stopped nine of 10 shots and the Sharks dominated the injury-depleted Canucks from start to finish, outshooting the visitors 37-10. Cheechoo capped the scoring in with his first goal of the pre-season. The Sharks, who held a 25-5 advantage in shots after 40 minutes, took a 21 lead with 1:31 left in the second period during a 4-on-3 power play. Setoguchi redirected a drive from the high slot by defenceman Christian Ehrhoff past Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo. The goal came after three fights broke out. The Sharks' Ryane Clowe and Craig Rivet came to the defence of captain Patrick Marleau, who squared off against Vancouver defenceman Nathan McIver. 2007 $ RAV4 4WHDR 369 48 mo. lease. $3,678 down payment or equivalent trade Financing from or Purchase for 1.9 % $30,915 IT PAYS TO READ THE FINE PRINT: Lease and finance offers for qualified retail customers only on new 2007 models sold and delivered before Sept. 30, 2007. Lease payments of $369 for the 2007 Rav 4 (BD33VP-A) based on a 48 month walkaway lease with $3,678 down. Total lease obligations are $21,390. Lease payments are based on a maximum of 96,000 kms. Northern climate packages, license, insurance, and applicable taxes are extra. Purchase price includes a maximum $1,515 for freight pre-delivery inspection and levies. 00612782