Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 26

C2 77ie Edmonton Journal, Friday, September 20, 1 996 Wmm hmfiMm to luwiw Dim sodd Siciliano gave up secure job to live out a coach's dream 1 Xli i II NAME Dave Siciliano, 50. EMPLOYMENT: Manager, Canada Games Complex in Thunder Bay, 1980-93. General manager, Community Services Dept. Thunder Bay, 1993-96. HOCKEY: Player-coach, 1975 Allan Cup champs.

Coach, 1989 and 1992 Centennial Cup champs. Assistant coach, 1993 Canadian juniors, world junior champs. A Hi -CS -lv 1 Ml! Stories by RAY TURCHANSKY Journal Staff Writer Edmonton As the teenagers buzzing around him skate towards their dream life in the National Hockey League Dave Siciliano is finally living his. In 1995 he was the successful general manager of the Community Services Department for the City of Thunder Bay. His wife Carol headed up the city's adult education program.

And there was a bantam hockey team Dave could coach "to get my jollies." "I had a stable environment in my job and also challenged myself in the hockey world as well, and got numerous opportunities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe," said Siciliano, whose only full-time hockey job had been in 1970-71 as a player-coach in Finland. "My aspirations in coaching full-time I had put on the side." Then, two things happened. "I took on a bantam team with a close friend. Well, we won the provincial bantam championship, something that had never been done A 1 II 1 1 a -s came to the conclusion that we were totally on the same wavelength with regards to the development of players, and an organization." Siciliano is a soft-spoken, pensive man, almost an anachronism in a league that has spewed the fire and brimstone of Scotty Monro and Punch McLean and Wild Bill Hunter. "I've always had a kind of balance to my life that I think is the most healthy.

I certainly have a sense of accountability and responsibility. But the people around me have to be accountable and responsible as well. My style has always been to 7 A i Jl i in Thunder Bay before, and the iuices eot flowins aeain and I eot give people a little leeway, a little rope, to see what they do with John Lucas, The Journal Edmonton Ice coach Dave Siciliano instructs his charges as they prepare for the season opener tonight in Defence, netminding question marks it." Siciliano grew up in Thun mi iu illuming mai i traiiy uu line coaching." Then Ed Chynoweth offered him the head coaching der Bay, playing junior and university hockey there. He found his year as Journal Staff position with his expansion Western Hockey League franchise, the player-coach in Finland too difficult, came home and mil wea earned his Master of Arts 'What we have to find out early on in the year is whether the older guys, especially at forward position, are going to lead this hockey club." Ice head coach Dave Siciliano 9 Edmonton Ice. "It's probably one of those latent dreams.

You only do the practical, logical thing all the men Jaroslav Obsut and Darren Wright, right winger Randy Favaro, plus centre Mike Dubinsky, who is questionable for tonight due to a month-old knee injury. The only player out for sure is centre Jared Hope, who after suffering two concussions that limited him to five games last year, is gone for a month with a knee injury. Until then the Ice's scoring should be led by six forwards with at least 15 WHL goals last season John Kachur (27 with Medicine Hat), Kevin McDonald (22 with Regina), Dubinsky (16 with Tri-Cities), Favaro (16 with Spokane), Scott Burt (15 with Swift Current) and Jay Henderson (15 with Red Deer). Yet the leading scorer as the club went 2-4 in the pre-season was its youngest player and one of its smallest. Charlie Mattersdorfer, 16 years old and 5-foot-9, had nine points.

Obsut will give the Ice defence its most offence he had 10 goals for Swift Current last year but the question will be his team play. The Ice is inexperienced at defence, with only Obsut, Ron Gri-mard, Garry Toor and Darren Wright in the WHL last year. If the defence and netminding take many nights off at the same time, it will be a long winter. Edmonton The day before the Edmonton Ice's first Western Hockey League game, trainer Rick Chamney burst into coach Dave Siciliano's office with a calamity. "We've got four pair of (size) 54 pants," said Chamney.

"We've got six pairs of 54 minimum butts." Siciliano just stared at the opening day roster he had labored over. "I've got to change my lineup already, based on a trainer," said the head coach. Tier One junior hockey returns to Edmonton this weekend after 17 years, as the expansion Ice play the Calgary Hitmen tonight in Calgary and 6 p.m. Saturday at the AgriCom. More than 2,200 tickets including 1,400 season tickets have already been sold for the building.

The Ice open play as the 18th team in the WHL, with the Central Division now made up of the five Alberta teams. The only team to finish above .500 last year, the Swift Current Broncos, is now in the East Division. "I have no comfort zone in regards to everybody below .500 or above .500," said Siciliano. degree in phys. ed.

and recreation from Northern Michigan University. In 1975 he was player-coach on Thunder Bay's Allan Cup championship team, and while managing the Canada Games Complex there he had a .741 win percentage coaching the junior A Flyers for seven years in the United States Hockey League. His team won the Centennial Cup Tier Two junior championships in 1989 and 1992, the latter with son Mark as a defenceman. That led to Dave's role as assistant to head coach Perry Pearn of Edmonton when Canada won the 1993 world junior gold medal. Now, going from bantam to junior is a reverse adjustment "The most difficult time I had was when I coached the bantams and for a month I realized there was no progress because of language, what I was communicating to them they couldn't understand.

So I had to change my communication with bantams. Plus I had to change numerous drills, break them down. What I've done here is go back to my old self." And live his dream. time." But his children Mark, now 22, and Christie, 19, were both attending Lakehead University. So at age 49 Siciliano took a pay cut.

Carol gave up her well-paying position. They sold their home and moved halfway across the country to a job that is only as secure as your last victory. "I hadn't had that blood transfusion to get that out of my system. It's probably something that's, been in the back of my mind for 25 years. It's something that I've always thought would be one of the ultimate challenges.

If Ed had maybe said to me, 'I've got this Memorial Cup potential hockey I'm not too sure that would have intrigued me as much as what I'm doing now. "The opportunity to work with Ed Chynoweth was a major factor. When you look at the volatility of coaching in junior hockey, and the expectations that owners have, sometimes it's a little unrealistic. Chatting with Ed so frequently I He still has 28 players around, 17 of them with WHL experience. The easiest part will be to pare down from nine to seven defencemen next week.

Other decisions will take longer. In goal, Leduc's Greg Tooke, 18, will be the backup this season. But the jury is still out on whether to keep Scott Rideout, 20, or Tim Winters, 19. Rideout, who played 27 games with the Hitmen last year, will start tonight in Calgary. The other unsettled matter is how many seasoned forwards to keep.

"What we have to find out early on in the year is whether the older guys, especially at forward position, are going to lead this hockey club. The second part of the puzzle at forward position is that we do have five 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old." The five 20-year-olds two more than the rest of the teams are allowed will be Rideout, defence- Armbro Operative surprises in the Little Brown Jug The Associated Press it Win, Place and Show Armbro Operative $5.80 $3.80 $4.20 A Stud Named Sue $8 $5.80 Mattduff $8 Wlnnen In Past 5 Year 1996 Armbro Operative 1995 Nick's Fantasy 1994 Magical Mike 1993 Life Sign 1992 Fake Left was fifth in the final. Lachance finished first with Armbro Operative and Firm Belief in the first two eliminations, setting up his dilemma in the final. In the first division, Armbro Operative started from the fourth post and stayed there before making his move on the outside at the three-quarters pole to win by six lengths over A Stud Named Sue, last year's 2-year-old pacer of the year. All Star Hanna was third, while Stout, the leading money-winner in the field with almost $1 million this year, never was in contention and finished seventh.

Firm Belief and Lachance followed a similar script in the second elimination, taking the lead from American Premier at the half and then slowly pulling away to win by six lengths in 1:52 2-5 over favored Scoot To Power. Mattduff grabbed third. Mattropolis, a 14-1 longshot owned and driven by Ohioans, won the third elimination in 1:52 3-5. It took a photo to confirm he beat Armbro Oliver by a nose. Oye Vay, believed by many to be the strongest in the 27-horse field, finished fourth and missed the final.

The third leg of the triple crown, the Messenger, is Oct. 12 at The Meadows. Delaware, Ohio Armbro Operative pulled the upset in the first heat and then overpowered the field in the final Thursday to capture the 51st Little Brown Jug, the second leg of pacing's triple crown. A winner of just three of his 18 starts this year coming into the first elimination, Armbro Operative stung favored Stout to win by six lengths and match Nick's Fantasy year-old Jug record of 1:51 2-5. In the final, the three-year-old son of Cam Fella was in third at the first two quarters, but climbed into the top spot by the three-quarters pole and held on to win by two lengths over A Stud Named Sue with Mattduff third.

The winning time was 1:52 3-5. It was the second Jug win for driver Jack Moiseyev, who also won behind Precious Bunny in 1991. Armbro Operative was driven by Mike Lachance in the first elimination, but Lachance elected to go with Firm Belief in the final. Firm Belief, in the lead at the half, faded to last in the nine-horse final. The combined 3:44 matched the world record for two heats on a half-mile track, set by Life Sign in winning the 1993 Jug.

4 tin i mi Armbro Operative, trained by Brett Pelling, is owned by Thomas Walsh Jr. of Woodbury, N.Y., and David McDuffee of Nashua, N.H. They won the Jug two years ago with Magical Mike. The winner paid $5.80, $3.80, $4.20, with A Stud Named Sue returning $8 and $5.80 and Mattduff paying $8 before 54,011, the second largest Jug crowd ever. Armbro Operative went off as the No.

2 favorite at 9-5 behind Firm Belief, who was even. Scoot To Power, the surprise winner of the Cane Pace Aug. 24, finished fourth in its try at taking the second leg of the triple crown for three-year-old pacers. Mattropolis, which set a lifetime mark of 1:52 3-5 in winning the third elimination, The Associated Press Jack Moiseyev drives Armbro Operative, right, down the final stretch for victory over second-place A Stud Named Sue at the Little Brown Jug r.iGn'sMckey League Zero tolerance for ref-baiting 1 40 Leagued jamesf fcxniDition The Canadian Press Excellent Game Times Halifax Team PaymentTlans Available Team Rep Meft Sept 24, 7:00 p.m. Office p.m.

Careers For Information DsnlrlsTifl Jfpenft Pnrrmpf Inolll ond-year certified referees in minor hockey hang up the whistle every season. The main reason they leave is they dont feel they need to put up with the abuse from coaches and players and fans." It's hoped the new policy will encourage young referees to stick with the program. The minimum age to become a minor hockey official is 12. There's a period of time where officials are going to learn; they're going to make mistakes," Baker said. "If they're not allowed to make those mistakes, they will never improve." Last season was especially rough for minor hockey referees.

In March a father in Thunder Bay, Ont, was charged with assault after he went after a 15-year-old referee following his nine-year-old son's novice game. And in one of the ugliest incidents in recent hockey history, members of the University of Moncton Blue Eagles swarmed a referee in Charlottetown after a controversial overtime goal by the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers. Referee Brian Carragher wasnt hurt in that attack last February, which led to the suspension of five players and an independent inquiry. The incident was captured on videotape and broadcast in 27 countries. "The ideo images of what happened in Charlottetown with the University of Moncton probably sparked a lot of discussion around the issue of abuse of officials," said Baker.

Minor hockey coaches better bite their tongues if they are unhappy with the referee's call. In an effort to stop young refs from leaving the sport in droves, Canada's governing body of amateur hockey has told its 31,000 referees to start handing out more penalties for abusive behavior. The new crackdown is aimed primarily at coaches, who are often the flashpoint for emotions in the rink. "If we can concentrate on the abuse that comes from the coach, perhaps we can eliminate some of it that comes from the spectators and the parents," said Dave Baker, Canadian Hockey's manager of officiating. No new rules are being added to enforce the zero-tolerance policy, but referees will be encouraged to call more unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

But players and coaches only get game misconducts if they have extended outbursts against a referee. If they shut up after the first penalty call, they'll only receive a minor. So three separate small outbursts could earn three minors, but no expulsion. "We really don't want to remove the emotion from the game," said Baker from his Ottawa office. "We just want to remove that abusive emotion directed at the official on the ice." VII 1 IV II IV VIUVV Career Opportunity Advertisements Phone Does your partner have GENITAL HERPES and you do not? Would you be willing to participate in a vaccine study to PREVENT the development of the disease? PLEASE CALL US.

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