Star-Phoenix from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada • 28

C2 Sports Monday, November 15, 1993 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan The StarPhoenix Flames' Fleury getting back in the groove SP Services Calgary coach Dave King showed his pleasure with the Flames' dramatic 4-3 NHL win over Vancouver Canucks on Saturday by flashing a two-thumbs-up symbol of success. It was, he said: "A colossal, blood-and-guts effort (complete with) a crescendo finish." The performance of referee Denis Morel, however, drew a chorus of hoots from an Olympic Saddledome crowd announced at 20,042. "Go on strike! Go on strike!" was the chant directed at Morel in the third period as he assessed a tripping penalty to Calgary's Gary Roberts. That put Vancouver on its second power play of the period and sixth of the game. The fans' disenchantment with Morel began early as the official called five penalties before the first period was half over.

It continued in the second when Calgary's leading scorer, Joe Nieuwendyk, was hurt in a collision with Jiri Slegr. The Vancouver defenceman was not assessed a penalty in the incident. An apparent goal by Nieuwendyk wasn't upheld by the video-replay official. The angry crowd blamed Morel. The shift was the last of the game for Nieuwendyk, who left with an injury to his right thigh.

It was not clear how badly he was hurt. Stepping up to fill the offensive void was right winger Theoren Fleury and his line, co-starring Robert Reicnel and centre German Titov. Fleury produced the game-winning goal and added three assists to extend his point streak to six games. "Our line has played exceptionally well the past four or five games," said Fleury. The Montreal Canadiens are in an ugly mood.

The Stanley Cup champions are on a three-game losing streak after dropping a 3-2 decision in overtime to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday at the Forum. Defenceman Lyle Odelein and forwards Gilbert Dionne, Paul Di-Pietro and Pierre Sevigny were told they won't play in a return match tonight in Ottawa. With Kevin Haller back in the lineup and Patrice Brisebois about a week away from returning from a knee injury, Odelein is starting to feel pressure. "Obviously, someone's going to get traded here because there's eight defencemen and they all need the chance to play," Odelein said. The usually talkative Dionne refused comment on being scratched.

"He's got two goals," said coach Jacques Demers. "We needed a change, that's all. "He told the papers the other day he can score 50. Well, he's on pace to score 15." Another 'spiel, another jackpot for Peterson rink we did play well enough to win." In the final, the Regina rink made no mistake. Playing conservatively and keeping the ice clean in spite of the three-rock free-guard zone rule, Peterson jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third end.

In contrast, the Powell rink third Heather Moore, second Janet Plante and lead Janet Gummer struggled and missed a number of shots. In the fifth end, Peterson took complete control. Powell, with last rock, missed her first shot. Then she tried to raise two of her stones into the eight-foot. But her shot was heavy.

It bumped one stone out of play and left the other untouched. Peterson ended up stealing a point to go ahead 4-1. Peterson scored two more in the seventh end. But Powell wasn't ready to quit. In the eighth, she made a difficult raise takeout to score two.

However, the Grande Prairie, rink ran out of rocks in the last two ends and Peterson's team didn't give an inch. In spite of the loss, Powell was pleased with the second-place performance. The team lost its first two games and qualified for the final out of the event. They defeated LaDawn Funk of Edmonton 9-7 in the other semifinal. The Powell rink has been together for less than a year and the Classic was the first bonspiel they've entered.

"We're extremely happy with how we did," said Powell, who won $5,000. "To be in the best ladies' 'spiel in the country and to be runners-up in our first year, that's great." As for the Peterson rink, they've been pinching themselves to see if they've been dreaming. NHL braced for strike by officials TORONTO (CP) NHL referees and linesmen likely won't be lining up at the red line tonight. And you won't find them on a picket line either. Barring a major break in contract talks, the 58 refs and linesmen who make up the NHL Officials' Association will be on strike when teams suit up for scheduled games tonight in Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary.

Replacements from the minor pro and junior ranks will officiate, and NHLOA members have pledged they will not disrupt games. Last-ditch negotiations between the league and its officials were held in New York on Sunday, but no progress was made. "We met for a couple of hours and it wasn't productive," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement hours before the midnight Sunday night NHLOA strike deadline. Said Don Meehan, who is negotiating on behalf of the NHLOA: "It was productive from the extent that we sat down and talked, but nothing was resolved." No negotiations are scheduled today. Meanwhile, NHL players apparently have been asked not to talk to reporters about the refs or their replacements.

But that didn't stop Wayne Gretzky from speaking his mind. "We will find out in 10 days just how important our officials are," said Gretzky. "It is going to be very difficult for those (replacements), extremely difficult I would not want the job they are coming into." Bettman, who will monitor tonight's games in a New Jersey television studio, and his chief hockey lieutenant, Brian Burke, plan on addressing each team about on-ice conduct before the games. "We're going to explain that this is a difficult time, that they are professionals and we expect them to act as professionals," said Burke. Money is the key issue in the dispute.

The officials want a 60-per-cent raise in the first year of a new contract while the league has offered 29 per cent. First-year referees earn first-year linesmen earn $33,000. The NHL's proposal would result in a cost of about $5 million, or approximately $190,000 a club. The officials' proposal would cost $6.5 million, or about $250,000 a club. "I am not paying $1.5 million or anywhere near close to it," Bettman said after NHLOA members voted 58-0 Friday to reject the league's offer.

Added Burke: "This is not a Persian Bazaar where we're haggling over $100 for a rug. They've already pushed us further than we ever intended to go." SP Photo by Gord Waldner At one point in the final, Sandra Peterson (r) and third Jan Betker were giving conflicting instructions to their sweepers, but $10,000 richer, they are laughing all the way to the bank in the last year." Scheirich and Funk came away with $2,700. Qualifiers Maureen Bonar of Brandon, Sherry Anderson of Prince Albert, Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary and Michelle Schneider of Regina took home $1,500 each. Momesso tempers his outbursts By Nicole Fleming of The StarPhoenix It's been a profitable three weeks for Regina's Sandra Peterson. The world champion has won three consecutive bonspiels in the last month collecting a cool $26,000 in the process.

The roll started in Kelowna, where the Peterson rink took $9,000 to the bank. Last week, in Thunder Bay, they won $7,000 at the SunLife 'spiel. The rink hit the jackpot Sunday in the SunLife Classic at the Nutana Curling Club. Peterson's crew defeated Karen Powell 64 in the final. That was worth another $9,000.

Also, the Peterson rink won $1,000 in bonus money for winning both SunLife 'spiels in the same year. "It's been a very good year," said Peterson, sporting a huge grin. "We started out slow in Regi-na. We didn't curl well and we were booted out of a small 'spiel that we usually do well in. That kind of gave us a kick, made us realize that the other teams are good, too.

It got us back into reality." Rocky starts seem to agree with the Peterson rink which features Jan Betker at third, Joan McCusker at second and Marcia Gudereit at lead. They lost 9-5 to Sherry Scheirich in the opening draw, but rebounded to win seven games to reach the final, including a 7-4 semifinal victory over Scheirich. "That game was just a matter of kickstarting us again," McCusker said of the opening loss. "We didn't play well enough to win in that game. After that, Canucks' VANCOUVER (CP) The jeers have turned to cheers for Vancouver Canucks left winger Sergio Momesso.

Momesso has turned over a new leaf by sticking mostly to hockey as he harnesses a hair-trigger temper during his ninth NHL season. The 28-year-old from Montreal is playing with a far different temperament and the rewards are gratifying. Momesso has seven goals in 16 games; he has served only 22 minutes in penalties; he gets more ice time; management made him an assistant captain. It's all pretty exciting stuff for the strong-as-a-bull forward It's no day By Dave Leaderhouse special to I he Marfboentx PRINCE ALBERT It's a safe bet that when John Phillips penned the song California Drea-min' for the folk-rock group The Mamas and The Papas, the inspiration wasn't hockey. However, thanks to Wayne Gretzky's move to Los Angeles in 1988, hockey has become very popular in the sun-belt region of the United States.

At Ice Mania '93, the annual midget AAA hockey tournament in Prince Albert which wrapped up Sunday, fans were able to gauge the development of the sport in sunny California. Thousand Oaks Thunder from California, one of 14 teams in the tournament, went 0-4 and was out-scored 64-5. "We were kind of embarrassed, but happy with our play we did our best," said Adam Gar-mger, a 16-year-old goaltender for the Thunder. The scoresheet may not show it, but without Garinger the games would have been more one-sided The Thunder allowed more than 600 shots on goal in the four games. For his brilliant performance, Garinger was named the tournament's top goaltender.

"That (award) makes all the "This is unbelievable," said McCusker. "But then so many unbelievable things have happened to us "I suffered last year with an up-and-down season. I've been trying to just play hockey and let the other stuff take care of itself." The fiery Momesso earned 200 penalty minutes last season when he was confrontational with opposing players and on-ice officials. His production dropped to 18 goals and 20 assists. Momesso often found himself playing on the third line with Petr Nedved and Jim Sandlak.

Both are no longer with the team. Now the recharged Momesso skates alongside Greg Adams and Jose Charbonneau. They chip in with the odd goal and check tena Falls when the Cataractes made it to the Memorial Cup final before losing to the Prince Albert Raiders. A serious knee injury his first season in Montreal slowed Momesso. So did his undisciplined play and he was shipped to St.

Louis in 1988 with Vincent Rien-deau for Jocelyn Lemieux, Dar-rell May and a second-round draft pick (Patrice Brisebois). Momesso doesn't want more surprise trades. "My goal is to play consistent, and if I do that, the points and goals will follow," he added. "By being consistent I'll get more ice and play better." whose reputation before this season was that of a player who reacted adversely in tense situations. "I wanted to have a good focus this year, not take too many bad penalties, just play hockey and avoid the distractions," Momesso said.

"A few penalties used to take me off my game." Momesso, a third-round draft of the Montreal Canadiens 10 years ago, is earning the respect of Vancouver fans, who often picked on Momesso with catcalls when things weren't going well for the team. "I decided this on my own," Momesso said. "I was hurting my performance. at beach for California goaltender Sobry leads Blazers to title ciously, especially Momesso when he's using his ample body on the forecheck. "It's nice to hear the fans on my side for a change," said the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder.

"It feels good." Momesso has broken the habit of constantly jawing with opposing players. He was often drawn into needless penalties in the past. "Serg has worked hard and kind of beat the rabbit ears things," said Canuck coach Pat Quinn. "He's a good, solid player, sometimes an unrecognized player because we tend to look at points." Momesso had 146 points in his last year of junior at Shawinigan just incredible," he said. "They move the puck a lot faster and really try to dominate.

But each game we played we got better and better, so we will take this home as a positive." Garinger, who has been playing hockey for eight years, caught the attention of a number of scouts during the tournament. In fact, the Lebret Eagles of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League placed him on their protected list. Further seasoning in the SJHL might lead to scholarship opportunities for Garinger with colleges in the U.S. Just before Garinger and his teammates left Prince Albert for a series of exhibition games in Duck Lake, Shellbrook and Mel-fort, he was told a story regarding Ron Hextall, currently the No. 1 goaltender for the New York Islanders and one of the NHL's true characters.

In a game in 1980 against Prince Albert, Hextall, then of the Melville Millionaires, faced 105 shots and allowed 21 goals. "It really is kind of funny because I used to have an attitude problem, too," said Garinger. "Through a lot of work with my coach I have overcome that. I just hope I can take (hockey) as far as I can." PRINCE ALBERT The Saskatoon Blazers turned in a convincing defensive effort to defeat the Edmonton Southside Athletic Club 6-3 in the final of the Ice Mania '93 midget AAA hockey tournament Sunday. The favored Edmonton squad reached the final averaging 12 goals a game, but could not solve Saskatoon goaltender Rick Sobry.

Ryan Melnychuk, Joel Bosch-man, Rodney Eberle, Ryan Wempe, Barry Nelson and Jamie Leidl scored for the Blazers, who held period leads of 3-0 and 5-1. Steven Rein-precht, Trevor Killips and Boyd Olson replied for Edmonton. Sunday's victory capped a banner week for the Blazers, who lost just one game in the tournament. The Blazers opened with 5-2 wins over Fort hard work worthwhile," said Garinger. "It keeps you going." Thousand Oaks, which is located just outside Los Angeles, plays in a seven-team league.

The clubs schedule their own games, with the top four teams at the end of Saskatchewan and Tisdale, then lost to defending champion Pembina Valley Hawks from Manitoba in their final game of the round robin. The Blazers defeated the Calgary Buffaloes 5-3 in the quarter-finals and downed the Saskatoon Contacts 5-1 in semifinal play. The Blazers are the first Saskatchewan team since the host Prince Albert Raider Min-tos in 1988 to win the tournament. The Lethbridge Y's Men defeated the Contacts 7-3 to place third The game was tied 2-2 entering the third period. The A.

Raider Mintos downed the Pembina Valley Hawks 6-4 in the consolation final of the 14-team event, LEADERHOUSE the regular season playing off to decide the representative for the California state championship. Garinger said the trip to Prince Albert will definitely benefit the team later in the season "The calibre of hockey here is.