The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 18

B2 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN SPORTS THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1998 'I I 1 1, i i I 0-i Lynx open April 9 at JetForm Parent Expos return for June 8 exhibition By Jim Bray With January, thankfully, almost behind us, local baseball fans can take solace in the knowledge the regular season is a little more than. two months away. For Ottawa Lynx fans, it means a first look at a revamped International League and a return of the parent Montreal Expos. The Expos, led by Lynx alumni Ron-dell White, Mark Grudzielanek and Carlos Perez this season, will be in Ottawa on Monday, June 8, the Lynx have announced. It's the fifth time the two teams have met since the inception of the Lynx in 1993- Ottawa opens its regular season at JetForm Park on Thursday, April 9, the beginning of a sev- en-game homes- riifp tand against the cuna Scranton Wilkes- Louisville, Barre Red Barons and the Buffalo Indianapolis Bisons, one of and Durham three American iom Association teams absorbed by the revamped International league.

League, which 0 now features 14 teams in three divisions. Buffalo, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, joins Ottawa, Scranton (Philadelphia), Pawtucket (Boston), Rochester (Baltimore) and Syracuse (Toronto) in the IL North Division. Two more newcomers, the Louisville Redbirds (Milwaukee) and the Indianapolis Indians (Cincinnati) will play in the IL West with Columbus (New York Yankees) and Toledo (Detroit). The Indians' first visit to Ottawa is June 4-7, while the Redbirds are in town June 25-28. A fourth team, the Durham Bulls, has gone from being an A-ball affiliate of the Atlanta Braves to the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who debut in the American League this summer.

Durham, which joins Charlotte (Florida), Norfolk (New York Mets) and Richmond (Atlanta) in the IL East, visits Ottawa June 20-23. Complete Lynx schedule: See page B4. Senators: Commitment required Continued from page Bi "You may have thought something happened one way, but, when you watch the video, you see it didn't. When you see that feedback, you can say: I take responsibility for that" Martin was careful not to be too publicly critical. He also suggested yesterday was not the time to panic; the Senators are, after all, 2-2-1 since the All-Star Game on Jan.

18. He wouldn't isolate individuals, either. Asked about giving Yashin a long session on the bench in the third period against the Bruins, Martin answered that the team, collectively, had to improve. "We need to have have more involvement, more commitment, from everybody," Martin said. "Those types of games balance out; you just hope your team learns a lesson from it, but I can't explain the ups and downs, how we'll react." Yashin acknowledged that he and the team could play better.

"We were just not ready to play, we just couldn't catch the same level of work as the Bruins. They played better," Yashin said. "(Being benched) is not my decision. What can I do? It wasn't my best game." The Senators can be accused of trying to outskate and outfinesse opponents in recent games, which would be a dangerous tactic against the Rangers, whose roster includes Wayne Gretzky, Pat LaFontaine, Kevin Stevens and Niklas Sundstrom. By emphasizing tight checking in drills yesterday, Martin reminded his team of what it had to do to succeed.

"We haven't practised like that in a long time; it has been tough because of the schedule this year," he said. "We had good intensity, good focus and good concentration." Just in case the practice message didn't set in, Pitlick suggested fans at the Corel Centre should let players know when they're disappointed, as they did during Monday's game against Tampa Bay. "Fans aren't going to boo if you're working hard," Pitlick said. "But, if you're not working hard, they deserve to feel like they should get a refund." After tonight's game, Ottawa faces a whirlwind schedule until the Olympic break, playing mostly against teams ahead of them in the standings. On Saturday, the Senators play the Canadiens in Montreal, followed by a home-and-away series against the New Jersey Devils on Monday and Wednesday and home games Feb.

5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Feb. 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Despite his 1997 Formula One world championship, some writers attribute Canadian Jacques Villeneuve's success against Michael Schumacher to superior cars rather than his driving talent. Villeneuve has no axe to grind in defence of Formula One title until the 48th lap. When Villeneuve nipped past him, Schumacher rammed his Ferrari into the Williams car.

But Schumacher, not Villeneuve, landed in the gravel The sport's governing body rapped Schumacher's knuckles and a war of words ensued between the two. Villeneuve, 26, now dismisses that as "child's games" and says he wants to put 1997 behind him as he focuses on winning a second title in 1998. "I hope the competition will be on the course. It's too bad it became a battle of words. But at some point, you have to react as well." But Patrick Head, Williams' technical director, believes his star driver does want to set the record straight on which of the two is the better driver.

Formula One writers tend to regard Schumacher as being light years ahead of anyone else on the circuit in terms of talent. They put Villeneuve's title down to the fact that Williams makes better cars. "I think that Jacques wants to prove that that idea is wrong," Head said. "I Mask: Every dent, scratch has a story expect him to tackle the task this year in a calm and determined way." Still, Villeneuve said he won't adopt a special approach with the German. "Why should I have a different attitude? If he's fast, I'll have to fight against him and that's all." Villeneuve said he actually figures his teammate, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, will be his biggest threat this year.

Frentzen had a slow start last season, but ended second in the drivers championship. Villeneuve, a native of Iberville, who makes his home in Monte Carlo, sees Schumacher and the two McLaren drivers, David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen, as major competition. Last year was a rollercoaster for Villeneuve, who appeared to have an early lock on the championship but frittered away his sizable lead over the summer. He's hoping for more consistency and fewer glitches this season. The Canadian Press See your Senators take on the New York Rangers 'Mrs VOU CAM TELL BY I BY HELEN BRANSWELL SILVERSTONE, England The Formula One press corps seems intent on setting up the 1998 season as a grudge match between world champion Jacques Villeneuve and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.

But Villeneuve wants none of it. Schumacher is just another driver to beat, he contends. "I'm ready to fight against anyone that's competitive. I don't care if it's Michael or another driver," the Canadian said yesterday as his Williams team unveued its 1998 car. "Anyone that's fast, you want to beat That's all." It seems a rather relaxed attitude for a driver who could have been robbed of the championship by Schumacher in the 1997 season finale.

The two were in a fight to the finish for the title, with Schumacher, world champion in 1994 and 1995, one point ahead of Villeneuve in the standings. Schumacher led for most of the race and looked set to clinch a third title LYNN BALL, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Every mask is unique and they become collectables for the goaltenders. she says. "Some goalies want their nicknames or their number included. Some want a simple design but they never want just the team logo.

They don't want it resembling a bunch of stickers. The only constant is the team colors." Each mask takes about 30 hours to complete. It starts with her husband's gentle sanding of a plain, custom-fitted mask provided by the manufacturer. Then the artist takes over. "They become her babies, and no one is allowed to touch them until they're complete," John Ross says.

She's also protective of her process. "There are certain tricks that I have learned which I won't discuss," she says. But her basic steps are drawing the design on one side of the mould and then copying the design with a stencil to make a perfect match for the other half. Then she starts layering the paint with an airbrush. "I try to work a 9-to-6 day, but that rarely happens.

There are days when I'm up late at night. It's difficult to get help because each mask is an individual work. "I get as much artistic satisfaction out of a mask as I would from a adritet it? Continued from page Bi Although Ross won't disclose her income, she admits to be living a very comfortable lifestyle. There's a nifty sports sedan in her laneway and the couple are planning an extension on their house. They're also contemplating an overseas vacation or two.

Business was so good two years ago that they cut their honeymoon from two weeks in California to a weekend in the Niagara area. Recently, she was hired by sporting goods manufacturers KOHO and Heaton to provide designs for their masks. Ross was also asked to design an Olympic mask for Patrick Roy, who will be the other goalie on the Canadian men's team at the Nagano Games. Although the Colorado Avalanche goalie liked the design submitted by Ross, he has since opted to use the mask he now wears on the ice. Is he superstitious? You bet.

"He's a having a good season and he doesn't want to tamper with things," she said. "I can understand that. You know how goalies are. They resist change." Brodeur wants his mask to pay tribute to his children and his father Dennis, a goalie for the Canadian Olympic team in 1956. The Olympic mask of the New Jersey Devils goalie will be inscribed with "Nagano 1998" and "Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956," the Northern Italian town which hosted the Winter Olympics 42 years ago.

On the back of the mask will be initials of Brodeur's three children. Ross says every mask is unique and they become collectables for goalies. Fuhr, who now plays for the St. Louis Blues, has had five masks designed by Ross. She offered to touch up some of the dents and scratches on his old masks, but he flatly refused.

Fuhr says each mask has its own history. Each dent and scratch has a story behind it, and that's why he won't have them restored. "Masks are very important to the goalie," says Ross. "It reflects part of their personality, and the design isn't something they just flip out. The mask is often how goalies are recognized." That is why Ross spends considerable time discussing the prospective design with each goalie.

"I'll spend an hour or longer on the phone with them trying to get into their head for ideas to create a theme," Ticket information: 599-0300 BellSenators Fan Phone: 591-1385 Web site: www.ottawasenators.com fruur Fah lout Ticitf iiuicr to aiuiuiuti..