The first half was pretty one-sided, with City dominating the play. They were rewarded for their efforts and continuous pressure with a goal at the 44th minute of the half when Sean Bailey, with a wonderful effort, controlled the ball and sent a nice pass to Tyler Bailey. The pass allowed Orien McIntosh to tap the ball in for the home team.

The second half saw the Royals put on a big push, resulting in a bit more work for keeper Vlasis Aroutzidis. One of his saves, in particular, prevented Saugeen from tying the score.

In the 53rd minute, there was a scramble in the goal-mouth area and Aroutzidis made a stop on a sure goal, diving to his right and gathering the ball into his arms. A big sigh of relief was heard on the City bench.

Kurtis Bailey got the second Stratford goal 10 minutes later with a spectacular volley that hit the back stanchion so hard and came out so quickly that most people watching were surprised to see the referee pointing for a re-start at centre field.

At the 77th minute, defender Luke Zehr went on a wonderful foray down the field and was brought down in the box; the resulting penalty was saved by the Saugeen keeper.

With five minutes remaining, Saugeen pulled to within one when, after some defensive lapses by City, the visitors were able to convert.
This was City’s first actual game of the season as last week’s game was defaulted by Guelph Rangers.

Upcoming: City-SWRSL play their next game this Sunday, May 26 versus St. Clements Hawks at Packham Road, starting at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, May 21 – Milverton at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 26 – Kitchener Midgets at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, May 29 – Stratford at Elmira, 9 p.m.

Thursday, May 30 – Stratford at St. Marys, Teddy’s Field, 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 4 – Stratford at Milverton, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 5 – Embro at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 11 – Stratford at Tavistock Midgets, Optimist Park, 8:45 p.m.

Wednesday, June 12 – St. Marys at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, June 13 – Stratford at St. Marys, Teddy’s Field, 8:30 p.m.

Monday, June 17 – Mitchell at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 19 – Elmira at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 25 – Stratford at Tavistock Midgets, Optimist Park, 6:45 p.m.

Wednesday, June 26 – Stratford at Kitchener Midgets, Rosenberg Park, 8:30 p.m.

Monday, July 8 – Kitchener Midgets at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 10 – Tavistock Midgets at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 11 – Stratford at Embro, 8:30 p.m.

Monday, July 15 – Embro at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 30 – Stratford at Milverton, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 31 – Elmira at Stratford, Packham No. 2, 8:30 p.m.

TBD – Mitchell at Stratford, TBD, Packham No. 2

Tournaments

Mitchell Mets annual – June 7-9

Legends tourney, Kitchener – June 21-23

Junior Eliminations, Owen Sound, June 29-July 1

Winning pitcher Braeden White gave up two runs over his four innings of work, striking out six batters. Hardy Westman struck out three batters during his two strong innings of relief.

Tyler Gould rapped three singles for Stratford, while Garrett Culliton, Jordan Sinclair, Cal Ferguson and White all had two hits apiece. Indians’ call-up Nathan Graff made a couple of stellar plays at second base and catcher Culliton threw out a runner trying to steal to end a late rally by the Sox.

Stratford plays host to the Jack Grasby Memorial tournament on the May 25-26 weekend, with eight teams in action at Dufferin and Optimist parks.

The ice of the curling rink was replaced by glitz and glamour on Saturday night, as the Mount Forest Curling Club hosted a 50th anniversary celebration in recognition of five decades inside its current clubhouse.
Affable raconteur and curler John Williamson took the podium as the evening’s master of ceremonies, and started the gala evening off with a festive and fun-filled tone. He noted the crowd, numbering more than 200, was filled with familiar and friendly faces.
“Fifty years is a long time,” quipped Mr. Williamson. “That’s before Paul McCartney’s other group, and the Leafs still had two Stanley Cups to win.”
Piper Jim Stewart piped in the club’s past presidents, who were recognized for their leadership and dedication in keeping curling alive and thriving in Mount Forest. Special recognition was given to Mike Rundle and Bill Cockburn, who served as presidents from 1968 to 1970.
Dale Small then gave a brief history of the cub, which was formed in 1902. In more than 110 years of curling, therre has been many achievements and notable dates. In 1963, when the move was made from Elgin Street to the current facility, the club boasted 73 members.
“We are fortunate to have a strong curling club in our community,” said Mr. Small, “thanks to the efforts of all those who came before with their hard work and commitment.”
Club President Don Flemington said the past 50 years have “been amazing” and the club is strengthened by the quality of its volunteers. Let’s treat tonight as if it is a regular curling night, he told those in attendance, and meet with friends and have a great night.
A delicious roast beef dinner was served by the Egremont Optimists, and the evening included door prize draws, raffles, and a live auction. Items up for bid included dinner for six, a spa package, his and hers leather jackets, and a jersey autographed by world champion curler Glenn Howard.
An extensive historical display was prepared by Glenna Barton, Velda Francis and Elma McFarlane. The celebration committee of Jane Bell, Sherry Burke, Don Flemington, Val Hamilton, Julie Poluck, Angie Stortz and Elizabeth Wolff is to be commended for their efforts in making the night such a success.

LONDON – It was a storybook end to Sean Consitt’s final season of junior hockey.

Game Seven on home ice.

One game for the Sutherland Cup.

But even days after the Jr. ‘B’ London Nationals defeated the Cambridge Winter Hawks 4-2 at the Western Fair Sports Centre on May 4 to win the Cup in seven games, the Hensall native said the reality was still sinking in.

“I still can’t really believe it right now,” Consitt told the Times-Advocate. “When I lifted it I just still couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Thinking about it now,” Consitt said, trailing off. “I don’t know. It’s crazy.”

To add to the drama, the Jr. ‘B’ championship was the first in the Nationals’ 80 year history.

While he admitted it was a cliched end to the season, it certainly wasn’t how the 5′ 11″, 172-pound forward thought his season would play out in September.

Consitt started the season as captain of the St. Marys Lincolns, with plans to guide them to a Sutherland Cup championship.

But unfortunately, things didn’t go as expected and the Lincolns dealt their captain in advance of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s (GOJHL) trade deadline for cash and prospects.

“At the start of the year I wanted to win the championship in St. Marys, but things went south,” he said. “It’s too bad it had to end in St. Marys but I can’t thank the London Nationals enough.”

Still, after four seasons with the Lincolns, Consitt admitted at first it was a little awkward joining that Nationals.

“Playing in St. Marys we always hated London,” he explained. “They were always the superior team, like the Yankees.

“So going there was nerve-wracking because a lot of the guys that I played against I kind of hated.”

But Consitt said after a couple of weeks he felt comfortable, adding the team gelled heading into the playoff run.

The move from St. Marys to London also meant a role change for Consitt, who was used to playing a key part in the Lincolns attack. But in London, he settled into more of a secondary role.

“We had our first line of (Noah) Schwartz, (Paul) Hopkins and (Tyler) Bryden,” he explained.

“They’re definitely first-line players.

While he said playing on the second line was different because you’re not playing as much, he just focused on chipping in where he could.

Consitt contributed eight goals and 19 points in the 15-game GOJHL playoff run to go along with two goals and nine points in 11 Sutherland Cup playoff games.

That included scoring an overtime game-winner against the St. Catherines Falcons in the Sutherland Cup round robin, clinching home ice for the Nationals in the final series.

As well as the production Consitt provided, he noted the Nationals also relied on him for leadership, especially among the team’s younger players.

“If you see a 17 year old look up to a 20 year old, he’s just going to follow exactly what the 20 year old does,” he said, noting he tried to be a vocal role model in the dressing room. “Just telling the guys from experience, telling them what to expect.”

Moving forward, Consitt, who has completed a two-year police foundations program at Fanshawe College, said he hopes to play Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) hockey.

While he noted he would take an opportunity to play in the NCAA, he’s focused more on education.

“I want to go to university,” said Consitt. “I want to get more education at the university level and if I can play hockey there that would be cool too.”

In the interim, he’s still trying to digest the fact that he’s a Sutherland Cup winner.

“It’s what you dream of,” he said. “Not too many people win the Sutherland Cup, let alone go to the last game.

“It’s almost not even real yet.”

EXETER – As the South Huron Rush women’s soccer team gears up for their London and Area Women’s Soccer League season, head coach Tim Hundey is optimistic about the team’s chances.

The team finished last season in fifth place of the league’s Third Division with a 6-8-4 record, the squad’s best showing since joining the league.

While Hundey said he was optimistic last year and it didn’t quite work out, he said the Rush have a strong roster this year.

“We have a lot of the same girls back,” he explained. “We’ve added some athleticism too.”

He noted the team will be without Abby DeWeerd, a defensive cog in the middle for the team and co-captain for the past two seasons.

“We’re going to miss her,” he said, noting the team should be able to fill the void.

“Chelsea Brintnell last year really stepped up for us.

“She’s back this year and she should be able to lessen the blow.”

He noted the Rush can expect steady goaltending as keeper Tristen Caldwell is back this season.

Hundey added the Rush could be high scoring this season as last year’s leading scorer Lynn Weber is back with the team and former scoring leader Melanie Lalonde has returned to the club.

“There’s potential,” he said, noting last year the Rush had a balanced attack. “In soccer it doesn’t always work out that way.”

Still, he said he expects a better finish than last year.

“We were consistently in every game but we got in a slump in June where we were tying and losing,” he said. “I think we should do better than last year.”

He noted the Rush should be quick this year, with speedy striker Adrienne Wise returning and with the addition of university track star Katie Anderson.

“She’s fast,” Hundey said of Anderson with a laugh. “Katie’s probably fitting more in the midfield but she’s so fast I might have to throw her up front.

“Or on defence. Speed in general, I can use anywhere.”

He noted the Rush may take some time to gel as a team since they’ll only have had a few practices before getting into a game.

“It’s going to be a lot of scrambling,” Hundey said of the first few games. “(It will take) a month at least, but everyone is doing the same thing.”

The Rush opened the season at home against German Canadian on Monday after the Times-Advocate had gone to press. The team is next in action May 20 on the road against Oakridge.

BRANTFORD – Chalk up another win for local fighter Zack Vines.
And even though he was victorious in his May 11 welterweight Muay Thai battle, he was still disappointed with the latest result. The 29-year-old Listowel fighter defeated Oshawa opponent Marko Hunter in the second round in Brantford’s Canada vs. USA event on Saturday night after he was injured by a devastating push kick from Vines and unable to continue.
“I wanted to get into that third round – I was just starting to get into a groove,” said Vines, who now sports a perfect 2-0 record in World Amateur Muay Thai Association of Canada (WAMTAC) sanctioned events.
Vines had previously fought Hunter in his first unsanctioned Muay Thai event, a fight that he lost. That was not to be repeated though, as he was prepared for what Hunter brought to the table. The lanky Oshawa fighter blitzed Vines at first with a flurry of punches that split open his lips, but Vines was able to hold him off and wait for his chances.
“He came out exactly the way I thought he would,” Vines said. “Into the second round, I just weathered the storm and started to pick him apart a little bit.”
After catching a couple of Hunter’s high kicks and sweeping his legs out from under him, Vines was backed up on the ropes when Hunter attempted a big left hook. Vines countered with a push kick to the chest that Hunter was unable to recover from, and he threw in the towel following the completion of the second round.
“I feel good,” said Vines. “I’m injury-free and came out with the win.”
Including Vines, three of the four Phady’s Muay Thai fighters out of Cambridge came away from the event with wins. Cruiserweight Mark Bowman from Listowel also competed in his first sanctioned WAMTAC bout. A student of Vines, Bowman went the distance with a much larger opponent but lost by unanimous decision.
“I’m really proud of him – he went through a war,” said Vines.
Vines will be taking part in a WAMTAC exhibition event in Toronto next weekend, while Hunter has already challenged him to a rematch in Oshawa later this fall.
“Most likely I’ll do it,” said Vines. “At this point I’m planning on it. Apparently I’m a hot commodity all of a sudden.”

.

What great weather to start out our golf season. The ladies opened their year with a brunch and golf on May 5t. All ladies in attendance received a newsletter and a calendar of events for the upcoming season. After being greeted by our president, Elenor Roppel, we were served a lovely brunch. All ladies were given a gift certificate from Smelzer’s Garden Centre. As well, there were draws for the numerous lovely plants they donated. The share the wealth winners were Sally Park, Joyce Turner and Lorraine Arnold.
On May 8, the ladies played an alternate shot with the winners being Jackie Harvey and Chris Wells. The most honest winners were Lindsay Dwinnell and Rosalie Zettler.
Don’t forget to take part in the pin day events on May 15 and 22.
The mixed seniors started off with a big band on May 6. Congratulations to Pauline Pegg on her hole in one on number two. She beat Tom by four strokes on that hole. The ladies cleaned up on the winnings except old sandbagger, Bruce Heimpel. Pauline Pegg won first with a net 64, Carolyn Kelly was second with a net 68 as well Bruce Heimpel won third with a net 68. Chris Evans won fourth with a net 72 and Tom Pegg won fifth with a net 72. Carolyn Kelly won closest to the pin on number 13 and Tom Pegg was closest to the pin on number 17.
The winners of the senior mens on May 9 were Bryan Astles who took first with a net 66. Second place went to Bruce Heimpel with a net 67, third and fourth were shared between Jim Cooper and John Usher. Fifth place was also shared between Ted Hnatkowski and John Woods with a net 72. Dave Evans and Jim Cooper won closest to the pins.

It was a productive day for the 77 Madill athletes who made the trip to St. Anne’s in Clinton to compete at the annual invitational meet convened jointly by St. Anne’s, Central Huron, and Madill. The weather cooperated with the athletes running, jumping and throwing in summer-like conditions.
For the Grade 9-12 athletes, this was a warm-up meet for Huron Perth next week. For the Grade 7-8s, it was preparation for their school meet the end of May and the District C Legion Meet June 15.
The Madill athletes performed well, earning a total of 58 ‘personal bests’ as well as 10 first places, nine seconds, nine thirds and 11 fourths. Once again, many of the 13 Madill relay teams were able to improve their baton exchanges in preparation for upcoming races.
In the Midget Girls division, Madeleine Gallaher topped the bar at 1.40m to win the event. Teammate Karissa Schiestel managed to improve her throwing results with every meet. She placed second in both shot put and discus as well as third in javelin. The 4X100 Midget Girls relay team of Dawn and Tiffany Uyl, Sarah McLean and Victoria Jacobs blazed their way around the track to a third place finish.
In Junior Girls, Jayden Anderson Johnston leaped 4.80m in long jump to win the event. Teammate Jessyca Scott fared well in the throws winning second in javelin and third in discus with ‘personal best’ throws.
Madill Senior Girls showed their strength with several top finishes. Leah Hutchison won the high jump soaring over the bar at 1.55m. Kelsie Eadie leaped 10.05m in triple jump and 4.57m in long jump to win first and second respectively. Naomi VanStuyvenberg also performed well winning the long jump with a jump of 4.59m, earning second in triple jump and third in discus.
Although the number of boys on the Madill team is not as large as the number of girls, they had some promising results.
In Midget Boys, Lyndon Smith won the triple jump going a ‘personal best’ 5.51m. Stuart Cameron continued to improve on past performances. This time he bettered his discus throw by 7m throwing the implement 44.09m and winning second. Cameron also won the shot put event with a heave of 14.09m. Teammate Justin McKague cleared the high jump bar of 1.75m to win first place for the third consecutive meet.
In the Senior Boys division, Luke Dailleboust won first place with a leap of 6.44 m in long jump. He also sprinted the 110 m hurdles to a second place finish. Anthony Vader hurled the javelin 43.73 m to win the Senior Boys event. Vader also won fourth in both high jump and discus. Jesse Fortier had a strong performance in all his events with top five finishes in 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles, and long jump. The 4X100 relay team of Jesse Fortier, Anthony Vader, Justin McKague, and Luke Dailleboust passed the baton around the track in a new ‘personal best’ team time of 46.43 s to win third place.
This year’s high school team is young with a lot of developing talent. The athletes are looking forward to the exciting challenge of competing well at Huron Perth to gain qualification for WOSSAA the following week (top six at Huron Perth).

Laura Barr, in the 90 kg. division, made the Ontario team as did Stratford’s Clayton Pye at 75 kg. at the Summer Games trials in Beamsville earlier this month. Barr is a member of the St. Marys Wrestling Club.

Pye, a Grade 12 Northwestern student, had to defeat the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in Canada to make the provincial squad.
Barr, a Grade 12 student at Medway in Arva, and Pye will be training with Team Ontario and travelling to the U.S. for tournaments in preparation for the Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Aug. 2-17.

Two other members of the St. Marys club, Amber Fergusson, of Seaforth, and Jamie Steckly, of Stratford, also competed at the Summer Games trials, but did not make the Ontario wrestling team.

SNO-PITCH CHEQUE PRESENTED TO RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE

A cheque for $2,700 was recently presented to a representative from Ronald McDonald House of Friendship in London.

The money was raised at the annual St. Marys Sno-Pitch tournament, run for the third straight year by the St. James Club of St. Marys.

SIMPSON HELPS REVOLUTION WIN BRONZE AT PROVINCIALS

KITCHENER – St. Marys resident Shauna Simpson helped the Stratford Revolution U-19 girls capture the bronze medals at the basketball provincials here recently.

Revolution finished first in their pool in round-robin play, but lost a heart-breaker to an Ottawa team, 51-46, in the semi-finals. Simpson had 11 points in that game.

Stratford defeated another Ottawa team, 52-32, for the bronze.

MURRAY & ANN EGGERT MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

The Rostock Athletic Society presents the 1st annual Murray and Ann Eggert Memorial golf tournament Saturday, June 15 at St. Marys Golf and Country Club.

It’s a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Admission is $100 per person. The format is a best-ball foursome.

For more information or to register, contact Randy and Cathy Wicke at (519) 393-5725, e-mail c.wicke@quadro.net or call Bonnie Fisher at (519) 305-1397.

Registration forms can be dropped off at Northern Reflections in the Stratford Mall or the Rostock Post Office.

All proceeds will go to the Rostock Ball Park Restoration Project.

TENNIS CLUB OPEN HOUSE ON MONDAY, MAY 20

St. Marys Social Tennis Club is hosting an open house on Monday, May 20.

Come down to the tennis courts at 7 p.m. to meet members, play a few games, and find out what the club is up to this year.

Contact Andrea Macko-Hodges for more information at 519-280-1240 or andrea.macko@gmail.com.

LONDON SALUTES CANADIAN BASEBALL ON JUNE 28

LONDON – The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, along with Lerners Lawyers and the London Convention Centre, is hosting the 3rd annual London Salutes Canadian Baseball breakfast on Friday, June 28 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. here at the London Convention Centre.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to hear from these four special guests: George Bell the only Toronto Blue Jay to win the MVP award, Tim Raines a Montreal Expos legend, Fergie Jenkins the greatest Canadian pitcher ever, and 2011 Inductee and the best closer in Blue Jays’ history Tom ‘The Terminator’ Henke.

Other guests include Inductees Rob Ducey and Jim Fanning.
For more information, call the CBHFM at 519-284-1838.