Belleville Bulls centre Joseph Cramarossa is
hauled down from behind by Barrie Colts defenseman Jonathan Laser on Feb. 18th.
at the Yardmen arena, in Belleville. Cramarossa was awarded a penalty shot on the
play and snuck a backhand through the five-hole of Niederberger. The Bulls won
this game 3-0 over the Colts, in front of 3,664.
Photo By: David Zammit

By David Zammid

Belleville Bulls took to the ice on Family Day with only one thing in mind – to beat the Eastern Conference leading Barrie Colts.

After a 3-0 win, the Bulls were in top spot, one point ahead of the Colts who have played two more games than the Bulls. Bulls winning streak was extended to six games now, in front of a huge Family Day crowd of 3,664.

Game time was moved from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. as the Colts got stuck in traffic on the 401. A tractor-trailer had rolled over and closed the 401 from Cobourg and Grafton.

The game was filled with lots of speed. Around the four-minute mark, Colts forward and Belleville native Zach Hall raced up the ice with the puck and rifled a wrist-shot off the post. The bounce off the post caromed into the neutral zone area.

The Bulls countered with two power plays in the second half of the frame but were unable to capitalize on their scoring chances. The first period saw the score end at 0-0.

The second period opened the same, with both teams using their speed to advantage. The Bulls were first to strike.

Jordan Subban, with time and room, went from his own blue line to the top of the circle in the Colts zone, when he fired a wrister towards Colts goalie Mathias Niederberger. It bounced right to Bulls forward Tyler Graovac, who wasted no time potting his 31^st of the season past a sprawling Niederberger, to put the Bulls up 1-0. Malcolm Subban played great for the Bulls in net, preserving the 1-0 lead for the Bulls heading into the last period.

Subban continued his great game in the third. He also received a gift when Andreas Athanasiou’s wrist shot hit the post and bounced into the Bulls corner.

Bulls forward Joseph Cramarossa received a breakaway pass halfway through the third, but was hauled down in the slot area and was awarded a penalty shot. Cramarossa came in with a lot of speed and snuck a deke through Niederberger’s five-hole to make it 2-0 for the Bulls.

Subban was the story on this night as he held off the Colts late in the game to help his team to victory. Brendan Gaunce sealed the deal with an empty net goal with 1:31 left in the third period.

The Family Day crowd was announced at 3,664. With the big win, the Bulls move into top spot in the conference and move their winning streak to six games now.

Durham’s Kenesha Stinchcombe-Brown reaches for the ball past Lancers guard Martine Gauvin. Photo by Taylor Renkema.

By Taylor Renkema
Courtesy of The Varsity Voice

Ryan Barbeau’s team led by 21 points at halftime, but the final score was much closer than he would have liked.

The Loyalist men’s basketball team faced off against Durham last night, coming out with a 75-66 win over the Lords.

“Tonight for some reason it was like ‘oh, we’re playing a not-so-great team so we’re just not going to play hard,” he said. “But, a win’s a win, so we just get out of here and move on.”

The Lady Lancers were also in action, clobbering the Lords 72-35.

Durham’s men team outscored Loyalist 42-30 in the second half and cut the lead to just six points, but the Lancers held on for the win.

Durham guard Randy Osei pushes around Loyalist’s Pat Kalala in action on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Photo by Taylor Renkema.

Matt Miller led the way for Loyalist with a game-high 17 points and eight boards. His teammate Brayden Gohn had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lancers play their final home game on Friday, Feb. 8, against the Algonquin Thunder, who sit third in the league with a 12-3 record. Loyalist is currently in fifth place with 11 wins and six losses this season.

The first-place team in the OCAA Men’s East Division, Seneca, has 28 points, while the Lancers have 22 points with three games left in the regular season. The top six teams make playoffs.

Barbeau said his team will need to step it up if they’re going to be a contender against a top team.

“If we play like tonight we’re going to get pounded,” he said. “We just need to be tough, we need to execute what were doing.”

The men’s championships are being held at Seneca College this year, from Feb. 28-Mar. 2.

Barbeau said despite the win, he was not impressed with how his team played.

“We didn’t play with any intensity, we didn’t play basketball the way we have been playing lately, which has been really good,” he said.

Lancers Sam Goff and Alex Aguiar try to block Durham’s Kelsey Hare during a game on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Photo by Taylor Renkema.

In women’s action, The Lords defense couldn’t control Lancer guard Jenni Thompson, who had 27 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals in the victory.

The Lady Lancers have won five of their last six games and sit third in the OCAA East Division with a 10-5 record. Durham has dropped three straight and is currently in ninth place with a 3-12 record.

The Loyalist women’s team has 20 points, eight behind top-seeded Algonquin. The sixth-place team, Centennial, has 14 points. The championships are held at Humber College Feb. 28-Mar. 2.

Lancer forward Brayden Gohn dunks the ball in this compilation of four images. Photo by Taylor Renkema.

By Taylor Renkema

Courtesy of The Varsity Voice

It was a defeat so heartbreaking that players were walking off the court with time still ticking away on the clock.

The Lady Lancers dominated the Georgian Grizzlies 80-35 on Saturday, Jan. 12 in the Lancers’ second home basketball game of the New Year.

In men’s action, the game went to overtime on Saturday, with the Lancers barely squeaking past Georgian 85-81.

The men’s team is now 5-3 since former head coach Rich Whitfield was fired on Nov. 21. Interim head coach Ryan Barbeau took over after Whitfield was let go due to “differing philosophies” between Whitfield and Jim Buck, Loyalist’s athletic director.

The first home game was Friday, Jan. 11, when the Lancers hosted division rivals Seneca.

Lancers guard Pat Kalala drives for the net through three Seneca defencemen. The lancers fell 77-63. Photo by Taylor Renkema.

Both teams also played the Seneca Sting on Friday, Jan. 11.

The Lady Lancers were up first, beating the Sting 55-48 on Friday. Loyalist’s men lost 77-63 in a hard-fought game against their division rivals.

The win moves the Lady Lancers into third place in the OCAA East Division, with a 6-4 record. The men currently sit in fifth place, with a 7-5 record.

Lady Lancer Jenny Richardson spikes a bal past Seneca’s Amy Sayaveth. Photo by Taylor Renkema.

Taylor Renkema

Courtesy of The Varsity Voice

Getting knocked down is easy, it’s getting back up after each fall that shows determination, passion, and skill.

This was especially true for the women’s volleyball team at Loyalist, after being swept 3-0 by Cambrian on Sunday, Nov. 25.

The women faced off against the Seneca Sting on Nov. 28 and came out with the win in three straight sets, with scores of 25-13, 25-19, and 25-16.

In men’s action, Seneca won the first two sets 25-23, and 25-22. Loyalist held on to take the third set 25-20, but Seneca quickly finished the game off in the fourth with a score of 25-20.

Katie Glass, a veteran on the women’s team, said it’s not always easy for the team to put a big loss behind them.

“An old coach of mine always told me ‘we have eyes in the front of our head for a reason, we never look back,’ and I think as a team we’re good at keeping that mentality,” she said.

Second-year player Jenny Richardson said whatever the team struggles with during a game is usually the focus of their next practice.

“Serving was definitely one of our weaknesses today, so we’ll definitely be doing that in practice on Monday,” she said.

On the men’s side, Loyalist head coach Dave Templar said the game isn’t over until the last point.

“When your back is against the wall it’s sometimes easier to draw a bit of energy,” he said. “And at the same time, being up 2-0 it’s easy to let your guard down, so we tried to capitalize on that.”

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On Saturday Nov. 24^th both teams took on Boréal College. The women won against Boreal 3-0 with set scores of 25-16, 25-11, and 25-22.

The men were up next, beating Boréal 3-1. The Lancers won the first set 25-18, lost the second set 25-11 and came back to win the third and fourth sets 25-18, and 25-19.

On Sunday, the Lancers took on the Cambrian Golden Shield. The women were up first, falling 3-0, with set scores of 26-24, 25-16, and 25-23.

On the men’s side, the Lancers swept Cambrian 3-0 in straight sets, with scores of 25-12, 25-16, and 25-16.

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TORONTO, Ont. (11/11/2012) – Maurice Mann makes his first touchdown of the season playing with the Toronto Argonauts Nov. 11, 2012 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON. The Argonauts secured their spot to the semi-finals playing against the Edomonton Eskimos winning 42-26. Photo by Alicia Wynter

Toronto Argonaut wide receiver Maurice Mann is in final preparation mode for Sunday’s matchup against the Calgary Stampeders.

The six-foot-two, Seaside, California, native said he is looking forward to winning his Grey Cup ring on Sunday.

The Toronto Argonauts will be facing the Calgary Stampeders at the Rogers Centre.  Mann said he has been looking forward to playing in the Grey Cup his whole career, and plans to win with effort.

“I’ve never been to or played in a Grey Cup,” Mann said in a brief email.

Mann made his first touchdown of the season Nov. 11, playing against the Edmonton Eskimos.  He celebrated his touchdown placing the ball on an orange end-zone pylon and kicking it into the stands for the fans.

“We have to put a good game plan together to try and counter their aggressive style of play.”

The Stampeders won their western final against the B.C. Lions last Sunday at their 100^th Grey Cup playoff finals.

The Argonauts have a 2-0 record with the Stampeders in their regular this year season, which can give them a boost for their upcoming game.

Mann was traded by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for Argonauts import defensive back Dee Webb, and became a Toronto Argonaut on Oct. 11, 2011.

Mann has racked up 2,875 yards, with an average of 12.7 yards per game, 226 catches, 68 long catches, and 18 touchdowns over his five-year CFL career playing between the Edmonton Eskimos, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts.

Mann, goes by the nickname ‘Mo’ Mann and runs a training program called P5 Elite that concentrates on educating athletes.

“It means a lot to me because of the tradition it represents and a lot because I’m happy to be doing this with my teammates and close friends.”

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (06/11/12) John Dixon (right) defends a Kimura attempt from a grappling partner in training. Dixon will travel to he provincial championships in Toronto on November 24. Photo by John Boldrick.

John Dixon was tired of getting beat up when he would wrestle with friends, so he finally decided to do something about it.

“We’d wrestle and they would kick my ass. Now, it’s not exactly like that,” Dixon said.

His relationship with his parents has also improved, something Dixon attributes to his strict training regiment and focus.

“In a positive aspect, Ever since I’ve started training I’ve kind of cut out drinking and partying and stuff like that so if anything we’re closer than we used to be,” he said, “They’re not a big fan of the boxing or getting hit in the face or anything but they do love the grappling aspect.”

Dixon currently trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing and Muai Thai at Belleville’s only Mixed Martial Arts gym, Loyalist MMA. While it’s the only local club, Dixon thinks it’s one of the best in the province.

“This place really is phenomenal mixed martial arts club, even for all of Ontario, regarding the price and how good the coaches are- it’s really a great place,” he said.

The gym has prepared Dixon for any competition he may face and he’s getting ready for just that.

November 24 marks the 2012 Ontario BJJ Championship. It’s an event that features fighters from all different gyms from all over. This year, Loyalist MMA will have two representatives, including Dixon.

For Dixon, it’s just his second competition. After training for nine months, he took started coming to the gym less frequently and ended up taking some time off. Now, Dixon is back training whenever he can and regrets the time he missed.

“It was a mistake that’s for sure. I guess I had gotten myself in pretty good shape, thought ‘I’ll start coming less and less’ eventually I got completely out of shape and thought ‘You know what, it’s time to go back’ then I remembered how much I actually loved it here and I have missed a day, unless I needed to rest, since,” he said.

This time, Dixon is more focused than ever. He has his eyes set on some new goals that he intends to follow through on.

“This time around I’m more serious, I’m ready to compete, I’d like to do amateur MMA, like to get a couple muai thai fights, a couple boxing matches,” he said, “I just thought ‘why not?’ If I’m here I might as well compete, I might as well better myself.”

Along with a renewed passion, Dixon is also able to train more comfortably now. He has a Rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which the body releases protein into the blood stream and can clog the kidneys.

This time around, Dixon is on a new medication that treats the condition, allowing him to train freely without his condition being a problem. Health isn’t the only obstacle in the way of Dixon’s training.

The 21 year-old Toronto native and former Loyalist College student will be attending Queen’s University in January. While balancing a schedule that includes both school and training would be challenging for most, Dixon plans to manage both.

“We’ll see what it’s like when I get there, I’m not really sure how heavy the course load is going to be but I’m hoping not,” he said.

He also plans to train at the local gym twice a week. If Dixon cannot find the time to come out to Loyalist MMA, there are other options available.

“They’ve got the wrestling team there if I can’t make it down for BJJ at least I’ve got the wrestling and they’ve got a boxing club as well,” he said.

Dixon trains under Loyalist MMA’s BJJ trainer, former fighter and brown belt Mark Loft.

“His coaching is phenomenal. Great guy. He’s here to train, he’s not here to benefit himself, he’s here to teach newcomers. He’ll never let anyone really fall behind he’s always there to help anyone that wants to come out and train,” said Dixon.

While no one knows what the future holds for Dixon, he dreams big.

“Five years from now I hope to have at least a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I’d like to have a few boxing matches under my belt. Some Muai Thai fights under my belt and hopefully quite a few amateur MMA bouts,” he said.

While the temptation of going pro is in his mind, it might not be a reality for the upcoming science major.

“I’d love to but there is some stiff competition out there. There’s some really good guys. I don’t think I’d ever be able to go professional but I would like to make a good run at amateur,” he said.

Lancer veteran and new captain Kirsten Talsma (5) gets some help from Kristen Curtis (10) to block a spike from Fleming in exhibition action on September 26th. Talsma has just broken the service ace record, previously held by Landis Doyle of Humber. Photo by Taylor Renkema.

By Taylor Renkema

Kirsten Talsma is the face of a new record- and she didn’t even know until hours after it happened. A fifth-year Lady Lancer and setter, Talsma broke a volleyball record in the Loyalist home opener Wednesday night.

Talsma said it feels great to break the record, but she wasn’t expecting it.

“I didn’t even know until my coach texted me that night after the game,” she said. “I want to keep building on it.”

She said the record wasn’t on her mind heading into the game.

“I was just thinking about getting my team pumped up for the game,” she said.

Landis Doyle of Humber College formerly held the career service ace record with 194 career aces. Talsma now has 196, and still has 18 games left to play in her final year of eligibility.

Loyalist women and men came out on top against the Fleming Knights on Nov. 7, winning both games 3-1.

Talsma’s teammate Katie Glass said she was unstoppable.

“She’s just an unreal player and she hustles to every single ball, she gets there every single time, no complaints,” Glass said. “She gets there and she gets the ball up and makes it a playable ball.”

On the men’s side, Loyalist head coach Dave Templar said 2-year left side veteran Jared Moelker was on fire.

“He had 22 kills, and we don’t score a lot of those points without him,” he said. “He was playing a really intense match, he seemingly couldn’t be stopped.”

Men’s captain Josh Lappala said it was lucky the game didn’t go to a fifth set, like it did last time these two teams met in an exhibition match last month.

“That would have been a huge momentum swing for them, and who knows what could have happened,” he said.

Lappala said they try not to think about the overall goal.

“It’s about the little goals. We break it up into 5, 10, and 15 points and focus on that,” he said.

The Lancers travel to Peterborough on Saturday to take on the Trent Excalibur.

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Lady Lancer Haley Sisler (44) shoots for 2 points while teammate Sierra Cauley (23 Blue) watches. Photo by Taylor Renkema

By Taylor Renkema

Lady Lancer’s head coach Chris Eligh had some spirited words for his players during a second quarter timeout.

After watching his team allow 16 unanswered points, he shouted at them to “show some pride in their G** damn team”.

The women’s team seemed to take his words to heart as they battled back from the 16-point deficit in the second half to win 51-48. In game two of the doubleheader, the men lost 74-73 after losing a 9-point lead in the first half.

Eligh said despite the win, he was not impressed with the way his team played.

“There was no heart. I just told them to show some heart and pride, that’s all they’ve got to do is show some heart.” he said.

Haley Sisler, 3-year veteran and guard/ forward, said the comments helped fire the team up.

“It give us a reality check and it gets us back in the game” she said. “That’s what we need, because we clearly weren’t playing well together and it gave us a push and made us play a lot better.”

The women were missing on of their star guards, Jenni Thompson, who had a recurring ankle/foot injury, said Loyalist’s Athletic Director Jim Buck. Before the game Buck said he thought it could be a tough game with a short bench of just eight players, but after the game he said the women found a way to make it work.

Martine Gauvin, a guard and 2-year veteran of the team, said while she was glad they came back and won, the team could have done better.

“We absolutely didn’t play at our standard, we definitely played at their standard,” she said. “But it’s a good thing we came back.”

Sisler said even though they won, it was a poor start to the season.

Lancer's guard Melyssa Holder battles for the ball with Colts guards Nicole Campbell (3) and Tamara James-Francis (23). Photo by Taylor Renkema

“We haven’t been practising very well together lately,” she said. “We’ve just been very sluggish lately and that reflected on our game.”

Centennial guard Kadeja Hughes said her team should have fought harder.

“Loyalist is a team that we had a lot of back-and-forth with last year, so we definitely expected that this game was going to be a fight. “

In men’s action, a last minute three-pointer brought the Lancers within one point of tying the Colts. Men’s head coach Rich Whitfield said he’s not surprised his team lost.

“How can you win a game when you miss 14, 15 foul shots?” he said. “And then give up 20 offensive rebounds? You just can’t win at this level doing that.”

In the 2011-2012 season, Centennial won the OCAA East Division Championship, and Loyalist was in ninth place of the 11 teams.

Lancer Brayden Gohn slam dunks the ball after a breakaway pass. Photo by Taylor Renkema

Colts head coach Jim Barclay said Loyalist has improved each of the three previous games against Centennial.

“They shot the lights out in the first half, they had eight 3-pointers, we only had two,” he said. “So in the second half we had to step up our defense.”

Natiel McKenzie, a point guard/ shooting guard for the Colts, said his team had to keep pushing until the very last second.

“We’ve got to keep coming out each quarter hungry. We don’t want guys getting lazy, thinking the game’s over. To see 14 [Matt Miller] hit that 3-pointer in the last seconds of the game, that just shows you that the game’s never over until the buzzer rings.”

The Lancers had a nine point lead in the first half, and by the end of the third quarter the Colts had taken over, leading Loyalist 58-53.

Guards Matt Miller and Pat Kalala led the Lancers with four 3-pointers each. Kalala said it’s not always easy keeping the morale up on the court.

“You try to lead by example,” he said. “Through the pre-season, coaches have really stressed on me being a leader. I really didn’t want it at first, but I’m pretty much used to it by now. You try to get everyone to pay attention to the game, and get them vocal.”

Kalala said there’s one major difference with this year’s team.

“We have different personalities, but the best thing about being on this team is that everyone gets along, and everyone likes to hang around with one another.”

Whitfield said the team has a lot to work on, including foul shots and rebounding, but echoed Kalala’s thoughts.

“We’re a team, we’re a family. It really is one for all.”

The Loyalist women’s soccer team knew they had a lot on the line heading into Wednesday night’s game.

With their post-season dreams hanging in the balance, the Lancers lost 2-0 to the Centennial Colts

Lancers captain Stephanie Turk thought the refereeing could have been better.

“I didn’t agree with some of his calls, but what can you do?” she said. “The ref makes all the decisions, it’s not like you can tell him what he can and can’t do, right? So, unfortunately, that’s just the way it goes.”

It was a “win and you’re in” situation for the Lancers, and the loss means Loyalist just misses out on the last playoff spot in the East Division. Turk says it’s tricky keeping her teammates calm, cool and collected when the game gets rough.

Head Coach Steve Whitehead agreed, adding its up to the ref to keep things under control.

“It’s rough soccer,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it, there’s a lot of hard tackles on both sides. I wouldn’t say one team is worse then the other, but the referee tried to keep control of things.”

Whitehead said he also thought the refereeing seemed to be skewed, but said it’s up to the players to win the game and put the ball in the net.

Heading into the game, the Lancers had one win, three losses and three tied games. One of those draws was against Algonquin, which is one of the top teams in the league. Whitehead says despite the loss, the team has improved since last season.

“Overall it’s the best season we’ve had in about seven years, since we made the playoffs last time, and I really thought we were going to make it in tonight. Playing at home field and the support we got from everybody was really fantastic.”