Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 42

Sports C4 CALGARY HERALD Tuesday, October 12, 1999 AUTUMN GOLD CURLING Moth er-daughter deja Saunders finds herself in familiar family territory; Borst wins final IV GYLE KONOTOPETZ Calgary Herald Pardon Bronwen Saunders if she can't recollect the last time she rubbed shoulders with Cathy Borst on a sheet of ice. Bronwen wasn't born yet. It was 1978. Dorenda Schoenhals was winning the first Autumn Gold. Saunders' mom, Linda Wagner, then Saunders, was matching wits with a baby-faced Borst, then Cathy King, in the final of the Edmonton Medallion Classic.

"My mom was four months pregnant with me when she played Cathy," mused Bronwen, the host Calgary Curling Club skip, after Borst waxed her 8-4 in Monday's Au- QUOTABLE tumn Gold final In a classic role reversal, Borst 6 played the ac- inBrief From Herald News Services Two men qualify TIANJIN, CHINA Canada will send two male gymnasts to the Olympics in Sydney -next year after the Canadian men's 4sam finished 18th at the world artistic gymnastics championship on Monday. Canada needed to finish in the top 12 to send an entire team to SydneyThe two men who will represent Canada will be determined at later trials. The Canadian women's team qualified for the Olympics after finisjiing 10th on Sunday. Mafia power NEW YORK Under the bright lights of NHL arenas, Russian hockey players seem to be living the American dreanCBut some players maintain social or Uusi-ness attachments to reputed members of Russian and Russian-Americaior-ganized crime. The PBS news program Frontline examines these relationships anctthe possible effects they could have oa the NHL in its report "Mafia Power Ptey," which is to be broadcast tonight (10 p.m.

Channel 14). i. During its 10-month investigation, Frontline gathered evidence that reputed Russian organized-crime figures are using their power to extort money from their countrymen huhe NHL. More than that they are exploiting friendships with some players to help set up shop in North America Hnat scores two LOWELL, MASS. Left-winger Hnat Domenichelli scored two goals in the final three minutes, then assisted on Eric Char-ron's overtime goal that gave the Saint John Flames a 3-2 victory over, Lowell Lock Monsters in Amerjcan Hockey League action Monday.

complished, savvy 40-year-old skip in taking an awe-struck 21-year-old Saunders to schooL Back in '78, it was Linda Saunders, Bronwen's mom, who was taking a 19-year-old Cathy King to school in winning the Medallion final Borst, the runner-up at last My mom was four months pregnant with me when she played Cathy. Bronwen Saunders inniiinwiiii nmniif limiiii CTmMriiiii irf Marianne Helm, Calgary Herald Linda Wagner, left, and daughter Bronwen Saunders recall classic role reversal in matches against cathy Borst Quotable Farnham, also skipped a team in the Autumn Gold, her before three IT TH nrfT; winning opener losing straight. Asked It took me if her 20 wars to year's Canadian women's championship, pounced Monday on a couple of misses by Saunders, the former Alberta junior champ, to crack a three-ender in the fifth for a 4-2 lead and command of the game. With Saunders' confidence appearing shaken, Borst, the Edmonton skip who now plays out of the Red Deer Curling Club, stole deuces in the sixth and seventh. Then, after Saunders counted two in the eighth, they shook hands.

Saunders, who upset Scottish national champion Debbie Knox and U.S. national champion Patti Lank en route to the final chalked up the loss to Borst as a valuable curling lesson. I "This will be great for team building," said the second-year commerce Game Day mom offered any .1 sage advice, get tO the Bronwen said: Autlimn She said to relax and have fun. GOldtinal, That's why we T'llhaveVOll DlavthesDort.be- 1 iavc yUU Swift Current Bronqqs at Calgary Hitmen Game Time: 7 p.m. at the-C Canadian Airlines Saddledorfle know.

cause we love it." Both finalists Cathy Borst Also See student at Mount Royal College. "When you play the best, it brings up your leveL Maybe we were starting to were worn ragged, having taken the long road to the final via the C-event run out of steam (m the final). We I Results were out-curled." I know what it's like to be in that sit uation," said Borst. "I can remember playing people like Betty Cole (former The Records CALGARY: (7-0-1): first, WHL and- Central Division; Swift Current: (42-1) second, East Division. aorr, Head to Head Hitmen are 4-15-1 in lifetime regular-season games against Swift Current, and 1-7-1 at home.

Their only regular-season win at the Saddledome against the Broncos came on Oct26, 1997 in a 3-1 decision. The Broncos' 6-2 victory over Calgary here March 2 halted the Hitmen's overall unbeaten streak at 14, and home-winning streak at 11. Both are franchise records. .1. 1 Z' I 1 1 qualifying and C7 playing their sixth games in two days.

"On the last end, my mind just went blank," said Borst, whose team won $9,000 compared to Saunders' $6,000 payday. "Imagine how my front end feels. You're just wasted out there." Borst served notice her team, including longtime front-enders Kate Home and Brenda Bohmer and new third Glenys Bakker of Calgary, may be the one to beat in the provincials. "We were just consistent here," she said. "We were a little slow starting today but a couple of misses by Bronwen gave us our breaks." Borst reached her first Autumn Gold final by disposing of Calgary's Heather Fowlie (nee Rankin) 8-4 (quarter-final) and Renelle Bryden 9-8 (semifinal).

In qualifying for the playoff round, Borst bounced stalwarts such as '98 Autumn Gold champ Kim Gellard of Markham, Ont, Cheryl Kullman of Calgary and Marilyn Bodogh of St. Catharines, Ont. Edmonton star skip). I felt like I was on top of the world. You've got nothing to lose.

"Bronwen's got a great future ahead ofher." In her acceptance speech, a gracious Borst told Saunders: "It took me 20 years to get to the Autumn gold final I'll have you know." Saunders, with returning second Tara Runquist and two new players, third Evelyn Lamontagne and lead Brenda Turcotte, won her first game Friday over Knox and earned the shot against Borst by stunning Lank 7-5 in the semifinal Among her other victims was cash-circuit hotshot Sherry Anderson of Delisle, whom she beat 6-5 in an extra end in Monday's quarter-final Saunders, coached by Bill Hans, did not get to face her mom. Wagner, a former Canadian champion third with one-time Saskatchewan skip Emily Marianne Helm, Calgary Herald Skip Cathy Borst won her first Autumn Gold Curling Classic title on Monday. WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE Davis determined to make mark Hitmen Notes Tonight's game kicks off a four-; game, eight-day homestand wife-other games against Red Deer, Kam-loops and Prince George Last winter, the Hitmen went 9-0-2 out of the gates before finally dropping their first game at Kamloops oni)ct. 23 With Michael Bubnickar, notching a goal and assist at Medicine Hat on Sunday, and Robing Gomez recording one helper, all Hitmen skaters now have at least point to their credit LW Lyle ZZ Steenbergen has not dressed for, any games since he returned from a tryout with Milwaukee of the IHl-on Oct. 4 Fourth-year RW Sean (3-36) is off to the best statistical start of his career, anc) ris game-winning goal at the 'Hat was his first since the '97-98 season Brent Krahn has the WHL's best GAA (1.67) and save percentage (.940) RW Pavel Brendl is tied; with Kootenay's Jason Jaffray for' most game-winning goals (three) Jeff Feniak leads the league jri" penalty minutes (46).

Broncos Notes Calgarian Lawrence Nycholat leads the Broncos with four goals and nine assists in seven games. Nycholat, 20, has tallied eight of those points in the last two contests. On Sunday, he tallied three assists and set up LW Brett Allan's game-winner with 24 secuo onds left in OT as the Broncos won 3-2 at Lethbridge. That OT assist gave" Nycholat 100 in his four-year WHC career Bronco roster sits at 25" players: 15 forwards, eight defenee-men and two goaltenders Sopho' more RW Dustin Heintz announced his retirement recently because of recurrent concussion problems. The" former 'AAA' midget Saskatoon Cor tact had sustained his latest in aiiex-hibition game against Moose Jaw'on'' Sept.

4 Over-age Jeremy Reich finally saw his six-game points streak snapped at Lethbridge. Reich isthed career points leader among )) Broncos (84-107191) Veteran Bryce Wandler set a club record last year for lowest GAA in a season (2.56). Injuries rj Calgary: None. Swift Current: Craig Priestlay, mono, 3 weeks. Hitmen rearguard happy to get ice time TODD KIMBERLEY Calgary Herald He could have sat in the stands and stewed.

Instead, Wade Davis sat in the stands and watched Stewie. Last winter, Davis's status as a 16-year-old rookie Calgary Hitmen defenceman placed him at the bottom of the pecking order on the Western Hockey League club's seven-member blue line corps. Then, in mid-January, Davis's ice-time prospects became even bleaker when the Hitmen traded for defensive cornerstone Brad Stuart, the former third-overall pick of the San Jose Sharks who would later be named the Canadian Hockey League's defence-man of the year for the 1998-99 seasoa Davis, a native of Elkford, B.C., could have pouted, but chose instead to observe a future pro at work in both Hitmen practices and WHL games, which saw Davis scratched from 34 of 74 regular-season contests and all but two playoff tilts in '98-99. While Stuart has made a near-seamless transition to the National Hockey League, with three assists already to his credit as a Sharks rookie, Davis is vastly improved as a sophomore WHL defenceman. Still six months away from his 18th birthday, the six-foot-five, 198-pound Davis has shown remark-' able poise early in this 1999-2000 WHL campaign.

Davis, whose 7-0-1 Hitmen tackle the Swift Current Broncos at the Canadian Airlines Saddledome tonight, said there's no secret he just chose to learn from the best. 11 "The way I'm playing now is a tribute to Stuart," said Davis, who's eligible for next June's NHL entry advice on a play. He was there to show me and 99 per cent of the time, he did the right thing." Added fourth-year Hitman Matt Kinch, who's Davis's current defensive partner "Last year, a lot of guys knew Wade was going to be a good player. But under the circumstances, with the players we had around and the experience factor, it wasn't his time. "There's two ways you can take it You can be negative about it, or you can try to absorb and learn as much as you can.

He obviously took that second route." Davis, whose confidence has soared this season after playing in a pair of round-robin games at the Memorial Cup tournament last May in Ottawa, worked hard over the summer to add 10 pounds of muscle to his towering frame, which has grown nearly two inches in the last year. The former third-round, 1997 WHL bantam draft pick also received a hero's welcome on Sept. 14 when the Hitmen played an exhibition game against the Kootenay Ice at Elkford before 560 fans nearly one-fifth of the mining town's entire population. And this season, Davis has been teamed up with fellow rearguard Kenton Smith on the Hitmen's second power-play unit He has already doubled his offensive output of last winter with four assists in just eight games, and is second only to captain Brad Moran on the club in plus-minus rankings, at 8. Davis's intelligence, size and skill make him "a quality player who's going to get a lot better yet," said Hitmen head coach Dean Clark.

"I feel the coaches have confidence in me, and I have confidence in myself," said Davis. "That helps me to make the right decisions on the ice. It makes me that much better a player." Added Kinch: "His stock's going to continue to rise here. He's got it all. He's smart, he's big, he skates well and passes well.

With the guys he's got around here to play with, he's only going to benefit personally down the road." Craig Douce, Calgary Herald Wade Davis practises with Hitmen on Monday. draft here in Calgary. "I watched him pretty much all last year, and I definitely learned a lot from him. I think he helped me out andnot always directly. "Sitting in the stands, watching what he did.

Talk-inf to him in practice, going over things if I needed Todd Kimberley rl.