oc _ TALK By Mickey Place n a commendable effort avoid duplication of ‘erage, such as has occured viously, our most esteemed I efficient editor has re- sted that we, for this It at least, confine our arks to basketball. 'e will therefore omit I ment regarding our ve Hockey Panthers, ept to extend congrats for it being assured of a mi spot and to entreat | to maintain their drive that elusive first—place sh with is consequent rdS. here are lots of “If’s” in hockey situation but, we k, even more in the ’5 Basketball. 6 should be, after sday’s expected win over th and last playoff tion with St.‘ F.X. who 1 recently were on top of heap. ur boys had a most yable trip to Fredericton two games against the .8. Red Raiders (1-9). the first game, on Friday I t, it was close until well the second half but a 'ined surge suddenly gave a big lead as George rison went to' his bench great success and we ted to an 81-71 win. jan Alleyne was high for with 25 while Mike gan was right behind 24. _ obably looking forward t portant games here this ’end, Coach Morrison used his bench strength sively in the second ‘ and they responded in unl A.,- inra :tie for the- fine fashion. We enjoyed an 8 point lead at the half and had no difficulty in winning 85-73. Mike Morgan had 24, Tejan Alleyne 20 and Ty Norman 18. Now for the “lf’s”. By the time this is read we expect we will have beaten Mount A. and so will bring our record to 7—4 for 18 points. (The seeming irre— gularity is that games against N.S. teams are for 4 points instead of 2). Dalhousie is 7-4 for 24 points, Acadia 7-4 for 24, Saint Mary’s 8-3 for 22 while St. F.X. is 6-3 for 18. Mount A. and U.N.B. with one win each, are not in contention. These figures make it quite obvious that the Dalhousie and Acadia games here this . weekend are most crucial, as each edunts double in points. A boost of 8 points will put us well up in the standings with three contests remaining agains U.N.B. (two here) and\ one at Mount A. On the other hand, if either of the weekend opponents gets the 4 points we’ll have a dubious future. We note that, in a weekend win over Dalhousie, Skeeter Mower’s four-seconds-to—go two points gave Acadia 85—83 win while Chris Summer was high with 27. In the game here we hope that expatriates Skeeter, Chris and Dave Nutbrown will realize that we still like them but dearly love to trim them! We do want that playoff spot! Our Lady Panthers took to the road too, and certainly had a mixed—up weekend. They had little difficulty in overwhelming Mount Allison on Friday night but ran into real trouble at U.N.B. on Saturday. In the first game Coach Hermie MacNeil used his bench a lot, led 38-22 at the half and coasted to an 80-46 victory. Cathy Chandler had 18 and Sherrydawn Jones 18. The Pantherettes being on a modest winning streak, it was expected that the U.N.B. game would be a real contest. However the undefeated Red Bloomers (what a silly name!) came out hot against what was expected to be their strongest opposition, and took command from the start. The Pantherettes, on the other hand, started poorly and just never got going. The halftime score was 50-22 and ' it ended 85-42. Libby Baldwin was high for use with 14 while Debbie VMacAloney and Cathy Chandler had 10. Coach Hermie shrugs it off as “one of those games” and pro- mises much stiffer opposition when the teams meet here on February 18. With their record at 8-3, the team is in a second place tie with Dalhousie and seems sure of a spot in the playoffs to be held at U.N.B. on February 24 and 25. They play Dalhousie and Acadia here as the forepart of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday nights. In case of a final second- place tie with Dal, we could ensure a favoured playoff spot by a win over them on Friday. We’ll offer some sound advice (no charge!) If you want to see basketball games this Friday and Saturday you had better be in the gym early and we mean early! Also, we‘ll entreat you come prepared to cheer and make noise. To show real enthusiasm, we’d also like to see the Pink Panther in attendance, along with the beautiful attractive cheerleaders who so closely resemble those we see on T.V. ‘ Let’s show real»U.P.E.I. spirit But please, please not that drum. Not in that confined space! There should be a limit to enthusiasm! : shpa'spor't Lodge Panthers sweep STU ;- ' By M.U. Nchie The UPEI Panthers clinched a playoff berth as they defeated the St. Thomas Tommies 7-0 and 5-3 in weekendgames. The Panthers totally dominated play Saturday, as Norman Beck scored the winning goal 24 seconds into the game. The Panthers played disciplined hockey for most of the game, but at times descended into the scramny hockey played by St.Thomas. The potent line of Greg Gravel, Norman Beck, and John Panasuk collected twelve points Saturday. Beck scored 3 goals and an assist, Gravel picked up a goal and 5 assists, and Panasuk got a goal and an assist. This line dominated play with aggressive forechecking and backchecking and ef- fective of fensive rushes. Avelino Gomez recorded the shutout as he was given a light workout due to the efficiency of his defense and the back-checking forwards. The only times St. Thomas could get at Gomez were during powerplays, when the teams were playing balanced hockey. Sunday afternoon the Panthers won again, but turned in a much poorer showing as STU managed 3 goals, including the game’s first on a powerplay. The Panthers took mean- ingless penalties, including Steve Fulton’s match penalty for spearing. He showed a terrible lack of sportsman- ship after receiving this, throwing a tantrum going off the ice. Obviously a good example for the younger players in attendance. There were bright spots, however, as the line of Ron Carragher, Albert Roche and Bob MacDonald played a strong game. The STU goaltending was much stronger than it had been on Saturday, as the Tommies went to their second goaltender. The weekend set was little more than a practice for Wednesday’s game against U de M. This contest will be a forerunner of the Panther’s semi—final matchup. If the Panthers can main- tain their disciplined sytle of hockey and avoid stupid penalties, they are a good bet to take the AUAA crown. Sports bulletin: UPEI went down to defeat at the hands of Moncton Wednesday night at the Forum by a score of 3-2. We are now tied for second with Moncton in the AUAA. Next week’s game at U de M will decide who has the playoff ice advantage. a E v {Sibnzanao .OO_.OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'OOOOO. FAST FOOD SERVICE FEATURING: 0 SUBMARINE SANDWICHES STEAK SUBS. CAPTAIN BURGERS 'FISH & CHIPS GROUP & PARTY RATES AVAILABLE ‘«. goo-0‘06...- 892-9020 892-6465 “5 Kent 51. dean 7 DAYS A WEEK Charlottetown Mall OPEN MALL HOURS ‘Eomplete Floor of Hockey EQUim-ent ~ 8:92-62:14 m. ..-.<. AND lATE NIGHTS 10 A.M. - 10 KM. MON.-SAT. éfivfiauano oooocoooocoooooccoococoooocoocoooocoocococccocoocoocoooccooocoo ooooooccc oto..00000o0.00000000000.oooooooooooooooom0.0000000000000000. 3.0.63.0.000.0.90...OO00...OOO..COOOOOOOOOOOOOOODQOOOI9“ TheNetMGemw---“-"----_u-...-.-.w. .. . .. moi) bat!»th stiT v . f page9f. . I -.o,ng.,-l-_