March - June 2003

FAMOUS WAXERS COME UP ONE WIN SHORT OF DREAM
Congratulations to Alumni Adam Oates and Steve Thomas who had a terrific run with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.  Going to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Disney magic ran out as the Ducks lost 3-0.  Due to an overwhelming interest in the story of the former linemates reunited after 21 years, we have now posted 4 photos of the pair including their team photo from 1981-82. NOTE: The files are quite large and will take some time to load. (Click here for photos)

LAWSON TO REPLACE PATRICK
Congratulations to Alumnus Tom Lawson who on Tuesday, signed his first NHL contract when the Colorado Avalanche scooped up the UHL Goaltender-of-the-Year.  A terrific accomplishment for Lawson, who in the recent past suffered an career-threatening knee injury, only to return to form thanks to the help of former Waxer therapist, Steve Horsley.  The Waxers look forward to seeing Lawson don an Av's jersey, perhaps with the familiar number 57 on the back.

MORE ALUMNI INVOLVED IN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
There is another Alumnus of the Oates and Thomas teams that can boast being a Champion this year, and that is their former linemate Dave Nicholls.  After playing for the Waxers in the 1980-81 season, Nicholls went on to win the last Memorial Cup in Kitchener (1982) and an IHL Turner Cup in FLint (1985), and is now the Assistant Coach for the Memphis RiverKings (CHL).  The RiverKings are the Maple Leafs “AA” affiliate, and just won a back-to-back President’s Cup Championships!

WAXERS PLAY BIG ROLE IN TWO OT WINS
Adam Oates and Steve Thomas continue to be impact players in the NHL more than 20 years removed from their last team together - the 1981-82 Markham Waxers.  Trailing 2-0 to the New Jersey Devils, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks stormed back to evwen the series behind two overtime victories.  The first was on a goal setup by an Oates face-off win and the second was a result of Thomas' 15th career overtime goal.  Keep it up Ducks!

A WAXER TIE TO THE CALDER CUP
The Markham Waxers can boast a tie to the Calder Cup Finals of the American Hockey League through Raffi Torres of the Hamilton Bulldogs.  Raffi is the older brother of Waxer Daniel Torres and is a Coach Herrington Alumnus (1997-98).  This is the second consecutive year that Raffi has played for the Calder as last year he lost to Chicago (coached by Waxer Alumnus John Anderson) while a member of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  A NHL trading deadline deal sent Raffi from the New York Islanders to the Edmonton Oilers and landed Raffi down the road in Hamilton.  The Bulldogs hope Raffi scores often in the Final series as they are undefeated in the playoffs in games in which he bulges the twine.  Best of luck to Raffi and the Bulldogs!

ALUMNI TO ADD NAMES TO MEMORIAL CUP
Markham Waxers Alumni, Jesse Boucher and Stephen Spott of the Kitchener Rangers were crowned CHL Champions on Sunday night after a dominant performance at this year's Memorial Cup.  The Rangers swept through the tournament winning all 4 games, capping off their storied year with a 6-3 victory over Hull in the Final.  For Boucher, it was a terrific way to end an unusual season that saw him start in the NCAA only to return to the OHL in December.  For Spott, who has coached in the OHL since guiding the Waxers in the mid-90s, it is his first Memorial Cup (in his first appearance) and exorcises some of the demons after being OHL Finalists on two previous occasions.  Congratulations to Bouch and Spotter from all of the Waxers!

SECOND ALUMNI DUO TO PLAY FOR THE BIG PRIZE
Alumni Jesse Boucher and Stephen Spott became the second duo of former Waxers to advance to the ultimate championship (the first being Adam Oates and Steve Thomas of Anaheim) as their Kitchener Rangers beat Kelowna 4-2 on Wednesday night.  Finishing the round robin portion of the Memorial Cup Tournament with a perfect 3-0 record, the Rangers earned a bye in to the Championship game Sunday night at 7:00 pm. GO RANGERS GO!

BOUCHER KICK-STARTS RANGERS TO SECOND WIN AT MEMORIAL CUP
Trailing 1-0 to the Hull Olympiques as the second period opened, Jesse Boucher scored his first postseason goal on a laser beam slapshot to get the Kitchener Rangers on the board in their second game at this year's Memorial Cup.  The Rangers took over the game at that point scoring the winning goal shortly after and took a 4-1 decision which guarantees them at least a  spot in the national semi-final.

OATES AND THOMAS TO PLAY FOR LORD STANLEY
Markham Waxers Alumni, and only current NHL players, Adam Oates and Steve Thomas are off to the Stanley Cup Finals!  Oates scored twice in game 4 as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks swept the Minnesota Wild to become the Western Conference Champions.  The Ducks now sit back and wait for the winner of the Ottawa-New Jersey East Conference finals.  Best of luck to the Ducks! (As a side note, also on the Ducks is Steve Ruchin who was a teammate of both Head Coach Russ Herrington and Goaltender Coach Sean Basilio at the University of Western Ontario in the early 1990s.)

BOUCHER AND SPOTT OFF TO QUEBEC CITY
Markham Waxers Alumni Jesse Boucher ('02) and Stephen Spott (Head Coach '95-'96) of the Kitchener Rangers won the Ontario Hockey League Championship with a 4-1 victory in game five over Ottawa Saturday night in Kitchener.  As a result, the Rangers will now represent the OHL at this year's Memorial Cup to be held in Quebec City.  Before a standing room only crowd of 6,427, the Rangers dominated the 67s, as they had for the majority of the Finals.  Spott, the Associate Coach and Assistant GM, had been to the Finals twice before while coaching in Plymouth and this was his first victory.  For Boucher, who wears #10 for the Rangers, this also marks his first chance at a Canadian Championship, and his second Provincial title as he won the OFSAA Championship in 2000. [Rangers website]

LAWSON LEADS FORT WAYNE TO UHL CHAMPIONSHIP
Markham Waxers Alumnus Tom Lawson ('99) led the Fort Wayne Komets of the United Hockey League to the Colonial Cup Championship, defeating Quad City 4 games to 1 in the best of seven series.  Lawson, the UHL Goaltender-of-the-Year and First Team All-star, shone in the playoffs earning a 11-1 record through three rounds of the playoffs and collected 2 shutouts in the twelve games. For his efforts, Lawson capped an incredible season by being voted the UHL Playoff MVP. [Komets website]

TWO WAXERS GET DRAFT NOTICE
Two 1986 born Markham Waxers were selected today in the Ontario Hockey League's annual Priority Draft by the top two teams in the OHL currently battling in the League Finals.  Goaltender Anthony Guadagnolo (left) was selected in the 6th round by Ottawa while forward Jeff Weiss (right) was selected in the 10th round by Kitchener.  Guadagnolo, the first of two goalies Ottawa selected (the other in the 11th) finished the season with the second lowest goals against average in the South Division with a team leading 2.897 mark and had an overall record of 17-3-3-1.  Weiss, the only left-hand center selected by the Rangers, missed the majority of the first two months with a broken collarbone and finished the year with 6 goals and 10 assists in just 34 games. With the selection of the two, the Waxers now have a total of 9 OHL drafted players on their roster.

WAXERS ALUMNI HAVE SUCCESSFUL YEAR
The Markham Waxers are pleased to share that the success of the Waxers in the 2002-03 season was not simply limited to the current hockey club, but also with numerous Alumni playing in leagues around North America. [article]

ROOKIE TRYOUT CAMP
Again this year the Waxers will hold a tryout camp for players living in Markham (regardless of team) or players that played with the minor Waxers. Many invitations have been sent out however, there may be many players eligible that the team is not aware of.  Those players can contact General Manager Larry Herrington at 905-470-2927 for further details. 

..FROM THE DESK OF MIKE HAYAKAWA..
APRIL 1, 2003
Give the Markham Waxers an A plus for effort in last Friday's Provincial Junior A Hockey League semi-final contest against the visiting Wellington Dukes. While in most instances a performance of that magnitude would have enabled them to emerge with a win, it wasn't enough as their postseason party came to an end as they were swept in four straight that culminated with a 4-2 loss. [article]

 2002-03 SEASON IN REVIEW
THE ANNIVERSARY SQUAD CELEBRATES MILESTONES IN FINE FASHION
The 2002-03 season marked a number of special milestones for the Markham Waxers.  To start, Markham was celebrating 100 years of participation in the Ontario Hockey Association.  In addition, the Waxers were honouring 40 years of Waxer teams as the first Waxer club took to the ice in the 1962-63 season.  To top it all off, the Waxers iced a team that featured the highest total of Markham residents to date as 16 players from this year's team fit in to that category, including all 7 of their 1986 born players. [season in review]

BEST SEASON IN 30 YEARS COMES TO AN END
There is a saying that "all great things must come to an end" and that is what happened Friday night as the Waxers season ended behind a 4-2 loss to Wellington.  Playing their best game of the series, the Waxers could not prevail over the tough Dukes squad.  It was a terrific season for the Waxers who marked the 100th and 40th Anniversary Season with Markham's first Division title since the 1972-73 season and won their first OPJAHL South Division Championship. [recap] 

..FROM THE DESK OF MIKE HAYAKAWA..
MARCH 26, 2003
 WAXERS' CHALLENGE IS TO WIN GAME FOUR . . . ONE SHIFT AT A TIME   
When the Wellington Dukes bus their way to Centennial Arena tomorrow to face the Markham Waxers in the fourth game of their best-of-seven Provincial Junior A Hockey League semi-final series, chances are they might be bringing the brooms with them. [article]

SOUTH DIVISION CHAMPS FELLED AGAIN, NOW MUST WIN ON FRIDAY TO CONTINUE
The Wellington Dukes defeated the visiting Markham Waxers for the third straight time, this time by an 8-2 score. Waxers got their offence from Aaron Buckstein who scored two powerplay goals. There is no doubt that the Dukes are an extremely good hockey club and now the newly crowned South Division Champion Markham Waxers face a must-win situation in Markham on Friday night (Mar. 28), game time is 8:00pm.
 COME OUT AND CHEER ON THE SOUTH DIVISION REPS!
[recap]

WAXERS OUTWORKED AND SEND MARKHAM SUPPORTERS HOME BEWILDERED
The game two performance was a wake-up call for the Waxers, falling behind 4-0 before notching their lone goal of the contest (by Tony Rossi). Things went south in a hurry as the Dukes outshot the Waxers 54-21 this forgettable evening and the visitors accounted for four unanswered goals to embarrass the hosts by an 8-1 count. The Waxers now have a few days now to forget this night and prepare to come out ready to play in game three in Wellington on Tuesday night. [recap]

DUKES TAKE SOUTH-EAST CONFERENCE OPENER
The Waxers hit the road for the series opener and were delivered a 5-1 defeat. Pat Porretta scored the lone Waxer goal. Anthony Guadagnolo, the rookie tender who played a key role in the heart of the regular season, was solid in net allowing three goals and turning aside 31 shots (the final two goals were EN goals in the final minute). Game two goes Sat., Mar. 22 at 8:00pm in Markham. [recap]

..FROM THE DESK OF MIKE HAYAKAWA..
MARCH 20, 2003
For those members of the Markham Waxers who experienced the emotional pain of a seven-game loss to the Wexford Raiders two seasons ago in the second round of the Provincial Junior A Hockey League playoffs, all is forgotten. [article]

WAXERS AND DUKES FACE OFF FOR FIRST TIME SINCE JOINING THE OPJAHL
This year's South-East Conference Championship will be played between the Markham Waxers and the defending South-East Champs, Wellington Dukes.  This will mark the first time these two teams have met since both teams joined the OPJAHL.  Back in the days of the now defunct Metro League, Markham and Wellington faced each other in regular season battles but never faced off in the playoffs. The series will start on Friday night, March 21st in Wellington at 7:30 pm.  Games 2 through 7 have yet to be determined. 

CLASSIC PLAYOFF-STYLE GAME (FINALLY) SETTLES DUAL OF LONG-TIME RIVALS WITH WAXERS TAKING HOME THE SOUTH DIVISION TITLE
Game seven between the Raiders and Waxers had the anticipation increasing with every minute up until the drop of the puck. The intensity save for a few minutes only grew as time wore on until eventually the final whistle blew and the Waxers turned the tide of what had been a "homer" series to knock out the Raiders and claim the South Division Championship. Waxers got goals from Daniel Torres, Liam Bowen and Kevin Cribari (series winning goal). The Waxers got a first-rate performance from Scott Gray and this game was not unlike earlier playoff and regular season games in that the victory was truly a team victory. A key factor to Markham's success to date has been the offense that continues to be generated by all four lines but more importantly an uncanny chemistry in the locker room that carries out on to the ice and while all clubs talk about "win as a team, lose a team" not all support such words with deeds, the Waxers have done that all year long. Now the Waxers await their next opponent which will be decided upon when Trenton and Wellington play their game seven, scheduling details, etc. will be of course be made available as soon as possible. [recap]

WAXERS FORCE GAME SEVEN WITH 6-5 WIN OVER RAIDERS
The desperate hockey one might expect Markham to play facing the ultimate "must win" situation did develop but perhaps a little differently than observers might have anticipated.  It certainly wasn't a pretty game to watch as the contest seemed to take forever due to the flurry of penalty calls to both sides and the repetitive stoppages in play took away (with few exceptions) in any opportunity for this game to develop any real flow. Game seven goes in Wexford Tuesday night (Mar. 18th) at 7:30pm. [recap]

MARKHAM PLAYS CATCH-UP ALL NIGHT AND DESPITE FURIOUS THIRD PERIOD ASSAULT THEIR EFFORT FALLS SHORT
The "homer" series stayed true to form as the Raiders withstood a relentless third period onslaught to defeat the Waxers 4-3 and now hold a 3-2 series advantage. Following the conclusion of the second period there was an extremely long delay as the arena staff pulled out the shovels in a futile attempt to clean the ice while the zamboni was being repaired. The long layoff seemed to be a non-factor as the Waxers shook off a less than ideal middle period and came out with intensity, dominating the third period. Baseball is often referred to as the "game of inches", on this night "our game" proved worthy of the same title as the Waxers pressed time and time again only to miss by an inch here or an inch there. Game six no doubt will be a "must-see" event as the Waxers have their backs up against the wall and have showed time and time again throughout this year that they are a club that thrives on pressure, in about 24-hours we'll all know the answer to that one. Tomorrow night's game has an unusual start time of 8:15pm at Markham Centennial. [recap]

WAXERS HOP ON THE CAPTAIN'S BACK AND RIDE MENONTE'S FOUR-GOAL EFFORT TO TIE OF THE SERIES
Finally the fans were treated to some good old time playoff hockey the way it was meant to be played, a welcome change from the "pinball" game that accounted for game three's dismal effort.  Mark Menonte scored all four goals for the Waxers in a 4-2 victory in game 4. While Menonte demonstrated why he has earned the "C", he'd also be the first one to share the credit (just as a loss is a team loss, a win is a team effort) with his teammates. Game five goes in Scarborough Sunday followed by game six back in Markham on Monday. [recap]

YOU THOUGHT YOU'D SEEN IT ALL, NOT UNTIL THIS NIGHT 
Wexford took Tuesday night's game on home ice by a football-like score of 9-7 (EN at the end to seal the outcome). How does one describe a contest that had the teams tied at 3-3 after one, 5-5 after two and then continued along the same reckless path until the final whistle. It was a coach's nightmare from start to finish as the attackers took advantage of opportunities and defensive miscues and observers could not be faulted that it resembled a pinball game, it was only a question of how much time would elapse after each faceoff. Still, the overall picture needs to remain in focus, that being that Wexford now has the series lead at 2-1 which the Waxers will want to desperately even up when the teams get back on the ice in Markham on Friday night. [recap]

WAXERS LOSS EVENS SERIES AT 1-1 
Coming just two days after Markham's opening game victory the Wexford Raiders pounced upon a Waxer club that appeared not to realize what was at stake, the final score was 5-3, after trailing 5-1 early in the third a belated Waxer rally in the third period proved to be too little, too late. So the weekend turns into a wash and now the battle for the division title comes down to which club really wants to win three more games and not throw away everything accomplished to this point. Game three goes in Scarborough Tuesday night, game time is 7:30pm. [recap]

WAXERS "COD" (Cottreau, Olidis, Dias) LINE DELIVERS THE GOODS TO POWER MARKHAM TO GAME ONE VICTORY 
The South Division finals got underway in Markham Friday night and what looked initially like it might turn into an exhibition of Waxer domination changed course as the Raiders proved to be a quality contestant. Markham held leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 only to see the game tied 4-4 with 10 minutes to play.  Markham scored twice the rest of the way to win 6-4.  A good test for the Waxers awaits as the next two contests (Sunday and Tuesday) are on the road. [recap]

TOP TWO TEAMS TANGLE FOR SOUTH DIVISION SUPREMACY 
Markham finished second in the regular season.  Wexford finished in first.  Two points separated the two teams after 49 games.  They played four times through the year and finished with identical 1-1-2 records.  Now, the Waxers and Raiders will play a best-of-seven series for all the marbles, the South Division Championship.  This marks the first time the teams have faced off since the 2001 playoffs when Wexford won a tremendous 7 game affair in the second round.  The series starts Friday night in Markham. [schedule] 

MARKHAM REBOUNDS TO TURN AWAY PESKY BUZZERS AND AWAIT RIVAL FOR DIVISION TITLE 
Markham rebounded in style and defeated St. Mike's 5-2 on Sunday night at St. Michael's Arena. The win allowed the Waxers to capture the series by a 4-2 count and vaults them to Round 3: South Division Championship Series.  The Waxers will now scoreboard watch as they will take on the winner of the Wexford- Oshawa series in the next round. [recap]

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