The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 35

if 'f ir 6 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2004 C7 SPORTS Aestriaes sweep into alike picture Howard bumps Menard to pool New Brunswick rink moves to Canada Cup East quarterfinals bourg, Kelly VanderBeek of Kitchener, and Genevieve Simard of Val-Morin, are the other Canadians in the race. Whether they race or not this weekend is another matter. Yesterday's final training session was cancelled due to light snowfall and strong winds on the top section of the course. More high winds were forecast for today and tomorrow. NORWEGIAN BREAKS THROUGH Egil Gjelland of Norway won the first World Cup biathlon event of his career, beating Russia's Sergei Rozhkov in a men's 12.5-kilometre pursuit at Ostersund, Sweden, yesterday.

Gjelland clinched it by shooting clean from a standing position at the last range, while Rozhkov missed once and was forced to ski a penalty lap. Gjelland covered the night race in 34 minutes 0.21 seconds. He missed one target. Rozhkov, who had two misses overall, was 18.8 seconds behind. "I knew that Rozhkov blew it on the last shooting station and that gave me the upper hand," Gjelland said.

"I knew that I led on the last lap, it was nice to know. I had very good skis." Gjelland, a 31-year-old from the Norwegian alpine ski resort of Voss, finished eighth Thursday in the 10K sprint, the first part of the pursuit. Raphael Poiree of France, the defending World Cup overall champion, was 37.3 seconds behind in third place after missing three targets. Robin Clegg of Ottawa was 27th. Poiree leads the overall standings with 292 points after seven of 27 events.

Germany's Sven Fischer, who wound up 13th, is second (244), Eckhoff third (234) and Ole Einar Bjorn-dalen of Norway is fourth (223). Gjelland moved to ninth (169). Bjorndalen, a five-time Olympic champion, skipped the meet because he's competing in World Cup cross-country ski races this weekend at Ramsau, Austria. CITIZEN NEWS SERVICES Canadian racer Francois Bourque clears a gate on his way to a career-best World Cup Super-G race at Val Gardena, Italy, yesterday. past three seasons.

This was the third World Cup win of his career following a combined victory in Kitzbuehel in 2002-03, and a downhill in Lake Louise, last season. "I've always wanted to win here," said Walchhofer, who injured his left knee in downhill training on Wednesday and sat out Thursday's practice. "I didn't think I would be able to come back and win today." Miller, who was coming off back-to-back wins on Sunday and Monday, was satisfied with fourth. "Today was really tough because in super-G there is no training run, which makes it tough to know what to do and how hard to push," Miller said. "Especially this hill, it's got so much terrain, it makes it tough." Yesterday's race marked the first time skiers were subjected to blood tests under new doping procedures installed this season.

The top four finishers were tested. KNAUSS FAILS DOPETEST Veteran Austrian skier Hans Knauss said he tested positive for the steroid nandrolone after a World Cup race last month. The Austrian Ski Federation said it was informed of the positive case on Wednesday, stemming from Knauss' fourth-place finish in a downhill in Lake Louise, on Nov. 27. "You know me and I would never have done anything like that on purpose," Knauss said yesterday.

"I wanted to come out right now and tell you that." After being informed of the positive test by the International Ski Federation (FIS) on Wednesday, the Austrian team immediately flew Knauss to Vienna for a test of their own that came up negative. Austrian team media director Robert Brunner said the team had requested a test by FIS that would likely be completed within 10 days. Knauss, 33, has won seven races during his 14-season World Cup career. 1-2-3 finish in super-G knocks Miller off podium Michael Walchhofer and the Austrian "Wunderteam" restored skiing to its normal pecking order at Val Gardena, Italy, yesterday. For one day, at least.

American Bode Miller still held a commanding lead in the overall World Cup standings after Walchhofer won his first World Cup super-G race and led the first Austrian podium sweep and 68th overall this season. With Miller fourth, it wasn't quite the 1-9 sweep of Innsbruck six seasons ago, but the Austrians were content. "The whole Austrian team is very strong, so this is nothing special," said third-place finisher Benjamin Raich. "We're almost back to normal." With overall wins in the past five seasons, things won't get completely back to normal unless the three Austrians trailing Miller catch him in the standings. The same three finished 1-2-3 yesterday.

Walchhofer covered the 2.4-kilometre Saslong course in one minute 31.17 seconds. Defending overall champion Hermann Maier was second, 0.12 seconds behind, and Raich finished 0.47 seconds back. Miller was 0.86 seconds off Walchhofer's pace. Francois Bourque of New Richmond, finished a career-best 17th, in 1:32.64, and Jeff Hume of Whistler, B.C., placed 51st in 1:35.05. Erik Guay of Mont-Trem-blant, failed to finish after hitting a gate.

The race was the first speed event this season in which Maier finished ahead of Miller, shaving 30 points off Miller's overall lead. Miller has 780 points to Maier's 419. Walchhofer came second in the downhill here in each of the Osgoode LISA BURKE-WALLACE In many ways the Osgoode District High School girls hockey team is no different than any other. At the same time, there's no denying they stand out from the rest of the pack. So what is it that sets them apart? First, there's the fact they're currently undefeated in league play, with a 6-0 record.

Add to that the fact it's their first year playing Tier I hockey, and the feat becomes all the more impressive. "We were really nervous going into Tier 1," says captain Erin Sullivan. "We thought it would be a much tougher transition than it has been." 3Tw 5 t'- hockey girls step up without missing a beat BY DEREK LASCELLES Ottawa-area rinks made a push for the finals at the Canada Cup East curling tournament yesterday, but heading into last night's late draw two of three teams had come up short. Russ Howard's New Brunswick rink continued its run with a 7-4 win over Jean-Michel Menard yesterday afternoon, spoiling a much anticipated matchup for the Aylmer skip. Menard, who is actually the new guy on his team (lead Maxime Elmaleh and third Francois Roberge have curled together for 18 years), was anxious to meet the former world champion, whom he called the "one of the greatest players on the planet." Although his rink had played well so far, Menard knew his focus had to be more on Howard rather than advancing to tomorrow's final.

"Our goal is to give him a good game and, hopefully, win," he said. Howard, a veteran of 12 Brier teams he has won twice had kind words for Menard and his seventh-seeded rink, which also includes second Eric Syl-vain. "We expected to play them when we saw the draw. They're a great team. They damn near beat my brother (Glenn Howard) to go to the Skins game," he said.

Russ Howard said he has no formula to size up an opponent and insisted it is almost impossible to predict the outcome of a particular game. "We just won seven straight games to win a bonspiel, then went out to Humboldt (Sask.) and didn't win a game," he said, referring to a recent World Curling Tour event. We come here, on a bit of a downer, and we haven't given up a point yet." Howard advanced to the quarterfinals and his next match, at 10 a.m. today at the Ottawa Curling Club. Menard drops to the division, from where he could still advance to the final.

His rink plays at 8 a.m. at the Rideau Curling Club. In women's play, meanwhile, Jenn Hanna's Kanata-based rink (Pascale Letendre, Dawn Askin and Steph Hanna) lost 10-9 to Chrissy Cadourin of ThornhilLOnt. "We didn't play our best game. We had a couple of really good ends, we had a couple of really bad ends," said Hanna.

She remained upbeat, however, and said her team is young and plans on being around for awhile. "It happens," said Hanna. "It was a loss. You've got to bounce back after something like that. Our main concern right now is to go out and have a good game in the next one." Anne Merklinger's Ottawa rink (Theresa Breen, Susan Froud and Audrey Reddich) was set to take on Eve Belisle's Montreal-area quartet in a late match last night.

Ottawa fc I i Hfc.in JW If This year's team features seven Grade 9 students who have made an instant impact. "We were skeptical as to how we would do with so many new young players," said Sullivan, a Grade 11 student. "Right from start we played really well together. We just click." Like the girls, the coaches had their own concerns about the move, but felt confident they could at least be competitive. They had posted a 10-0 record the previous season at the Tier-2 level.

"We had enough girls try out that we were forced to make some cuts," said Gary Theoret, co-coach of the team. "It makes it really difficult, but shows how much girls' hockey has flourished. We're very happy we made the move to Tier While the playoffs are still a ways off, the team can't help but think of the possibility of qualifying for the provincial championships. "You always look ahead and see what the possibilities are," said Theoret. "We know we're going to have to work even harder, as a lot of the teams have improved since we first played them and they know what we can do." While there's no denying the Panthers are a dominant force, they're also noted for their good sportsmanship.

Earlier this year they led a game 7-0 and, rather than run up the score, they asked the official scorer to stop posting the goals on the score clock. They eventually went on to win the game 10-0 and won huge praise from their coaches for their actions. "They like to play hard, but know they don't need to rub it in," said co-coach Ruggles Pritchard. "As coaches we really stress gamesmanship and they go along with it 100 per cent." In addition to Pritchard and Theoret, Diana McArthy, a first-year teacher, has joined the team as manager and has been a great addition to the STEFANO RELLANDINI, REUTERS 17th-place finish in the men's WOMEN SET FOR DOWNHILLS The Austrian trio of Michaela Dorfmeister, Renate Goetschl and Alexandra Meiss-nitzer have collected plenty of podium finishes at Val-d'Isere. They'll challenge for more in this weekend's back-to-back World Cup downhills.

Dorfmeister, who won a giant slalom here in 1999, was quickest in downhill training Thursday. The multidiscipline skier won the season-opening super-G in Lake Louise. Meissnitzer, a three-time winner here, won a super-G in Altenmarkt, Austria, last week. Goetschl, the reigning World Cup downhill champion, was runner-up in super-G here in 1996, 1998 and 2002. She placed second in a downhill and super-G in Lake Louise earlier this month.

Canadian hopes are high, too, after Emily Brydon of Fernie, B.C., finished second in Thursday's training run. Melanie Turgeon of Quebec, Anne Marie Lefrancois of Charles- coaching staff. All three coaches are quick to praise their players. "They're very keen and enthusiastic," said Theoret. "They listen really well." The girls' attitudes, however, shouldn't really come as a surprise, given the team boasts seven honour-roll students.

The rest of the girls are also extremely bright. "We've always had a lot of smart girls on our team," said Sullivan. "I think it's really amazing that so many can do well in school and be active in so many sports besides hockey." Being a member of the Panthers girls' hockey team has also allowed a number of players to enjoy once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Four years ago, the team organized a trip to Finland and Sweden. Last year, they went on a tour that included stops in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria.

"The tour was remarkable," said Pritchard. "The girls went skiing in the Alps and saw irttfr irtri iifl iffilt Hi some of the concentration camps. It was an incredible experience." The school had full support from the parents and the majority accompanied their children on the trip. "We are extremely fortunate that the school and parents are supportive," said Pritchard. "All of the parents are a delight to deal with.

We really just are one big community." The tour was planned a year in advance to allow the team to raise as much money as possible to cover their expenses. "Some kids were able to pay for their whole trip," said Sullivan. "It was so much fun. It was an amazing experience. I wish we could do something every year." While there are no definite plans yet, the school is considering a trip to the U.S.

next year if all the details can be finalized. For comments or suggestions please contact burtermagma.ca. mmm Gar LrelBuI) mm mm mm S5EE MAIL TO: Canada's Walk ol Fame Contest 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1014 Toronto. ON M5E 1E5 MY NOMINEE Please include a separate piece of paper slating why you believe your nominee would make a great addition to Canada's Walk ol Fame (50 words or less). Who's eligible? Arts, entertainment and sport stars who were born in Canada or spent their formative or creative years here, have a minimum ot 10 years in their field, and have had a national or international impact on Canada's cultural heritage.

And your nominee Enter online at www.canadaswalkoffame.com or mail your entry, ensuring it reaches us by midnight December 31 2004 EST. If mailing, please write the name of your nominee on the outside of the envelope. For a list of previous inductees and further information on Canada's Walk of Fame and complete contest rules, visit www.canadaswalkoffame.com The Prize: Fletum air from Ottawa to Toronto via Air Canada, three nights luxury accommodation at a Toronto entertainment district hotel, and two Gala seats fa the Tribute Show and VP party. Approximate total value $3,380. If Ail E-Mail: Phone ii iffl-i it ifcf iifli Tj rfff i fti iif in A i 1 li iiTl l'i'T.