Cleveland Junior Barons Information

[Eric Rickin]

I am totally amazed by the scale of junior hockey in Canada. I
heard Windsor on the radio last weekend, but I think I just got
Sarnia (jr. b, I think) on 1070 AM. Imagine, a jr. B team on
Radio! Imagine, a jr. A team on radio!

Anyway, here is an article from the cleveland Plain Dealer about
the Junior Barons. This will give all you canadians an idea of
just how small Jr. Hockey is in America. I go to see their games
at a public rink with long benches as the seating. No ice rink in
the Cleveland area has normal seating! The team has to scramble
for ice time (along with most high school teams) at weird times,
like 5 AM! And, a maximum of 70 people per game, most family, is
excellent. Anyway, enjoy..

Rejuvenated Junior Barons Set For Opener; By Joe Maxse

Keeping late hours is nothing new for members of the Cleveland
Junior Barons hockey family.
Gathering at 10:15 pm on a recent night at the Brooklyn
Recreation Center to practice was typical for the team. They say
it's just part of the price to pay if junior hockey is to gain
popularity in northeast Ohio.
Competing for a second season in the seven-team Northeastern
Junior Hockey League at the "B" level, it has been a struggle to
build a local following. Bust as optimistic General Manager Gene
Petre likes to point out, "It's the top hockey game in town that
offers a lot of enjoyment."
Petre, 53, a sales representative for the International
Exposition Center, said his hockey interest goes back to following
the Barons in the American Hockey League and helping establish an
amateur hockey program in North Olmsted.
"A group of us decided to reactivate the Junior Barons (which
has disbanded in 1985) last year," said Petre. "Our philosophy is
that with all the talent in this area, why not stay here and play
for the Junior Barons?"
"The better players compete against a limited talent level in
the high school leagues. They have a desire to play at a higher
level."
The Junior Barons play 60 games; high school teams play 24.
Six players on this year's team have decided to forego their high
school eligibility to play junior hockey.
The Junior Barons' budget, $35,000 last year, will approach
$45,000 this season, according to Petre. Each of the 20 players
must contribute $600.
Goaltender Steve Dolak, 18, commutes to games and practices
from Erie, Pa. Winger Chance Petinoit, 18, makes the trek from
Toledo.
"Some people might say it's crazy," said the 5-8, 145-pound
Dolak. "But I have dreams like anybody else. It keeps me going."
While winding up in the National Hockey League might seem the
stuff of youthful optimism, a more realistic step is to land a
college scholarship.
"I'm hoping for a Division I college coach to look at me,"
said Petinoit, who graduated from Toledo's Sylvania Southview High
last year.
"I made it to the second to final cut of the St. Paul (Miss.)
Junior Vulcans (1991 National Junior American champions). They
basically said get another year of maturity."
Jim Curley, 19, a forward from North Olmsted High, said he is
attending Cleveland State part time this year with the hopes of
being offered a college scholarship.
"It's almost impossible to go straight from Cleveland high
school to college," Curley said. "It's a big jump. This is a lot
faster, more physical style of play, plus a lot more games. I
would like to get a shot at college hockey."
Don Lange, the team's marketing director, said Bowling Green
State University has signed four local players who left their area
high school teams to play junior hockey elsewhere.
"That's the best testimonial to what we are trying to do,"
Lange said. "Those players left Cleveland because there was no
junior hockey here. We want to give them a place to play so they
can be seen and be offered a college education."
Coached by Bob McNamara, a former goaltender in the Buffalo
Sabres' organization, the Junior Barons begin league play Saturday
night at 8:30 at Parma Heights' Greenbrier ice rink against the
Rochester Monarchs. The teams meet again Sunday morning in Rocky
River at 11:15. Tickets are $3.50 adult, $2 students.
"At this point, we depend of ticket and program sales," Petre
said, "Getting ice time, especially on Sundays, is a problem we
have to face. We would like to get the business community behind
us, but it's a struggle. We're sticking together because we've
made the commitment to the players and they're committed to us."
The Barons earned a playoff spot last season by finishing
fourth with an 18-27-4 record.

Roster: Goaltenders: Sean Gannon, sr, Euclid High School; Steve
Dolak, graduate, Erie (Pa.), Cathedral Prep High School; Mark
Gartner, graduate, Mentor High School.

Centers: Alex Gordon, jr, SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL; Don Gartner,
graduate, Mentor; Mark Kendel, graduate, Euclid High School.

Wingers: Keith Stevens, sr, St. Edward High School; Mickey Gibson,
graduate, St. Edward High School; Keith Bilczo, graduate, Rocky
River High School; Kyle Koennecke, sr, Kent Roosevelt High School;
Chance Petinoit, graduate, Sylvania Southview High School; Matt
Oliver, sr, Villa Angela/St. Joseph High School; Jay Gannon,
graduate, Culiver Military Academy; Chuck Kurilko, graduate,
Trinity High School; Caleb Wyse, graduate, Cleveland Heights High
School.

Defensemen: Geoff Grim, sr, SHAKER HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL; Brent
Pelphrey, graduate, North Olmsted High School; David Petre,
graduate, North Olmsted High School; Jim Curley, graduate, North
Olmsted; John Morgan, Bowie, Md.

(Ahem, I go to Shaker Heights High School!)

Schedule: Oct. 5: Rochester, Parma Hts. Greenbrier, 8:30 pm
Oct. 6: Rochester, Rocky River, 11:15 am
Oct. 19: Syracuse, Greenbrier, 8:30 pm
Oct. 20: Syracuse, North Olmsted, 3 pm
Oct. 26: Pittsburgh, Greenbrier, 8:45 pm
Oct. 27: Pittsburgh, Rocky River, 11:15 am
Nov. 3: Kent State, Rocky River, 5 pm
Nov. 9: Rochester, Greenbrier, 8:30 pm
Nov. 10: Rochester, North Olmsted, 3 pm
Nov. 23: Philadelphia, Lakewood Winterhurst, 5 pm
Nov. 24: Philadelphia, Winterhurst, 10 am
Jan. 4: Detroit, Greenbrier, 8:30 pm
Jan. 5: Detroit, Rocky River, 11:15 am
Jan. 11: Pittsburgh, Greenbrier, 8:30 pm
Jan. 12: Pittsburgh, Rocky River, 11:15 am
Feb. 1: Detroit, Greenbrier, 8:30 pm
Feb. 2: Detroit, Rocky River, 11:15 am
Feb. 8: Buffalo, Greenbrier, 8:30 pm
Feb. 9: Buffalo, North Olmsted, 3 pm
Feb. 22: Saginaw, Greenbrier, 8:30 pm
Feb. 23: Saginaw, Rocky River, 11:15 am

--
ab...@cleveland.freenet.edu (Eric Rickin) [Preferred!]
ab...@po.cwru.edu (Eric Rickin) [Alternative to above!]
ad...@yfn.ysu.edu (Eric Rickin) [What a choice!]