Real McCoys Fan Base
A new feature to keep the fans up to date with the latest "Real McCoy News" If you would like to register for regular updates please email: bob_pearson@realmccoys.ca

Mark Jooris returns


Dundas, Orillia to play for “Mac Kids”
By Larry Robertson

DUNDAS—Dundas Real McCoys with back-to-back wins over the Whitby Dunlops and a seven-point scoring outburst by Rob DeCiantis over the weekend solidified their hold on first place in Major League hockey with two games to go.

Last Friday night DeCiantis was the hero in overtime as he whistled the puck between the knees of Whitby goalie Anthony Marshall in the shootout for a 7-6 victory. The following night in Whitby’s Iroquois Arena, the McCoys with 12 skaters downed the Dunnies 9-5 even though their hosts 50-31 outshot them.

Rob DeCiantis glides past the Whitby net as his shot eludes Anthony Marshall. Dundas Real McCoys edged the Dunlops 7-6 in last Friday’s shootout victory. Photo by Mike Pearson.

Dundas has taken all three games between the two clubs in January and evened the season series at four wins apiece. Five of McCoys are in the top 10 in the MLH scoring race with Nick Smith leading the way after last weekend with 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points

Tomorrow night (Friday) kicks off a busy final weekend for the Real McCoys as they play host to the Orillia Tundras at 7:45 p.m. in the JL Grightmire Memorial Arena at Dundas, and follow it up with a re-match with the Tundra at 3 p.m. in Copps Coliseum.

The MLH playoffs for Dundas will begin Friday, February 19 in the Grightmire Arena.

That afternoon Dundas in partnership with HECFI, the Orillia Sunrise Toyota Tundras and Scotiabank will play for “Mac Kids” at 2 p.m. in Copps. The event is part of a MLH/AHL doubleheader featuring the McCoys at 2 p.m. followed by the Hamilton Bulldogs in the nightcap at 7 p.m.

“One great ticket and one great cause,” said Dundas President and General Manager Doin Robertson.

“The McCoys are joining forces again to give back to the community, this time with some significant partners in HECFI, the Orillia Tundras, and Scotiabank. Our biggest goal this time is donate up to $5 per ticket to Mac Kids.

Buy a ticket to the Dundas-Orillia game and redeem it at the Copps box office afterward for a ticket to the Bulldogs “Pink in the Rink” game at 7 p.m. Great hockey and a Great cause as we use our final regular season game to prepare to defend our Robertson Cup Ontario Hockey Association Senior AAA title.

“We are excited about playing in Copps for a great charity and to allow our fans and the new ones see us play downtown. This should be a great day for a wonderful cause,“ added Robertson.

Tickets can be purchased at Copps Box Office for $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, and kids under 10 years of age for $5.

Last Friday night, DiCiantis scored three times including the winner for four goals and three assists on the weekend. Nick Smith, Shawn Shewchuk, Justin Davis, and Ryan Christie added single goals. The following night at Whitby, Ryan Healy scored three times with Christie scoring twice and setting up two more for three goals and three assists on the weekend. Shewchuk, Dan Pitre, and Jeremy Bloomfield had the other goals.

Dundas, Whitby go head-to-head for first place
By Dave Watson
DUNDAS--Dundas Real McCoys moved into a tie for first place in the Major League Hockey standings with the Whitby Dunlops following back-to-back victories this weekend.

The Real McCoys remain undefeated against the Orillia/Coldwater Tundras this season winning 10-4 last Friday night. It was the third time this season and second time against the Tundras, the team reached double-digit scoring.

The victory was followed by a 5-3 win over the Norwood Vipers this past Sunday. The two points earned by Dundas brought them into a share of the league lead. The team has a good chance to take sole possession of first with a game-in-hand over rival Whitby.

Dundas is scheduled to play host to Whitby tomorrow night (Friday) in the JL Grightmire Arena at 7:45 p.m. before travelling to the home of the Dunnies (Iroquois Arena) the following day for a 3:30 p.m. faceoff.

The McCoys round out their season next weekend when they play host to Orillia Friday, February 12th at 7:45 pm in the Grightmire before playing their final game against the Tundras the next day at 3 pm in Copps Coliseum. This game marks the first time ever that a regular season MLH game will be played in Copps Coliseum. Whitby winds up its campaign in the Asphodel Arena in Norwood on St. Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14th at 7:15 p.m.

Game time in the JL Grightmire Arena is 7:45 PM.

“We have an opportunity and obligation to help and make a contribution to these efforts. We will follow the lead of this great community in any way we can,“ said McCoys President and General Manager, Don Robertson.

“Our fans are joining with us in this effort, and we thank them sincerely for the support.”

Dundas showing they are the REAL McCOY
By Brad Kennedy; photo by Karen Robillard
DUNDAS--Dundas Real McCoys have been leaving sunburns on the back of opposing goalies’ necks lately, with the goal light going off more and more each game.

The McCoys battled the Orillia/Coldwater Tundras in a home-and-home series over the weekend in which the McCoys played host to the Tundras last Friday night and then travelled to Coldwater, Saturday for the second game of the double-header. Dundas won the games by scores of 11-3 and 7-5.

Dundas currently sits two points behind the league-leading Whitby Dunlops; however, the McCoys have two games in hand. They are in the midst of their second five-game winning streak of the season.

An enormous reason for the McCoys current success has been their commitment to a defense-first mentality, which has resulted in a league-leading 63 goals against this season. The combination of such dominating defence and strong goaltending night-in and night-out has made the Valley Town crew a force to be reckoned with.

There will be much animosity carrying over to tomorrow night (Friday, January 29) when Dundas plays host to Orillia for the third time in as many games in the JL Grightmire Arena.

Game time is 7:45 p.m.

With only six games remaining in the regular season schedule for the McCoys this season, every point is a crucial one.

The McCoys showed how much of a threat they can be when playing even-strength, scoring eleven times on 30 shots. The game marked the debut of newly acquired goaltender Dan Turple, who faced 29 Orillia drives.

The six-foot, six-inch, 220-pound netminder previously played 36 games in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Chicago Wolves. He has logged in more than 100 games in the East Coast Hockey League the Gwinnett Gladiators and the Utah Grizzlies.

The Tundras had more to prove the following night at Coldwater after suffering their worst loss of the season. Unfortunately, for the Tundras, Dundas’ offensive potency continued to shine in their 7-5 victory.

Kennedy (two goals), Shewchuk, and Grandits carried over their hot streaks into Saturday’s game, combining for eight points. Rob DeCiantis. Justin Davis and Ryan Healy added single goals. Brian Worosz made clutch saves in the Dundas goal, stopping 27 shots for his seventh win of the season.

Surging Real McCoys add Turple and the Kids
DUNDAS—Dundas Real McCoys have added Hamilton native Dan Turple, a 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft selection of the Atlanta Thrashers to their roster as the club enters the stretch drive portion of the Major Hockey League schedule .

Dundas continues its quest for first place Friday at 7:45 p.m. against the Orillia Tundras in the JL Grightmire Arena.

The six-foot, six-inch, 220-pound goaltender has played 36 games in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Chicago Wolves. He has logged in more than 100 games in the East Coast Hockey League the Gwinnett Gladiators and the Utah Grizzlies.

“We look forward to having Turple in the line-up this Friday, and work himself into playing shape over the next few weeks. This won’t be our last edition as we move toward the roster deadline on February 10th,“ said General Manager Don Robertson.

The McCoys have also added some young depth with the addition of some Burlington Cougars and Stoney Creek Warriors through the club’s affiliation at large with Stoney Creek and Burlington.

Among the additions are Cougars scoring stars Josh Jooris and Greg Carey as well as defenceman Scott Charbonneau, and goalie Jonathan McQueen (19 -2 won-lost record). The other Warriors joining the McCoys will be scoring leader Jordan Gignac, as well as Mike McNamara and Mike Gibson, both defenceman plus goalie Chris Miniaci.

“These young players will not be called upon unless their clubs have finished their seasons, or we are really short some night, but never without the blessing of Burlington and Stoney Creek coaches Mark Jooris, and Ric Nattress,” Robertson added.

Kuwabara scores twice; McCoys route Norwood
By: Dave Watson, photo by Karen Robillard
DUNDAS--Dundas Real McCoys continue to have success in 2010 as they defeated the Norwood Vipers 10-1 last Friday night in Major League Hockey action in the JL Grightmire Arena.

Their 10-goal outburst was the team’s highest goal total this season. The game had nine different players contribute goals, including two by Ryan (Manny) Kuwabara. The victory was Dundas’ third consecutive win of the New Year.

The Real McCoys plan to continue their current winning streak Friday as they face the Orillia Tundras. Game time is 7:45 p.m. It is the first of three consecutive games against the Tundras.

Dundas’ success cannot only be attributed to its high-powered offence, but to goaltender Bryan Worosz who leads the MLH with a 2.75 goals against average and a save percentage of .900. Worosz stopped 25 of the 26 shots that he faced last Friday, and was named the game’s first star.

Norwood’s Jody Fitzgerald scored the game’s first goal on a pass from teammate Mike Banks. McCoys’ captain, Mike Kennedy tied the game two minutes later with Shawn Shewchuk and Justin Davis assisting.

Dundas opened 2010 with back-to-back victories, and their fans can look forward to more of the same Friday night (January 15) when the McCoys play host to Norwood Vipers, in their only game of the weekend, in JL Grightmire Arena at 7:45 p.m.

The Real McCoys received yet another strong performance from goaltender Brett Leggat, who posted 41 saves to give Dundas the 4-3 victory and earned him his fifth win of the season. The win was a four-pointer for the McCoys in terms of the standings.

There were some scary moments in the second and third periods when Leggat ventured out of his net to handle the puck like a skater, and almost got caught. In the third, it did cost him and one of his trips led to a goal that gave life to the Dunnies. The next night, Dundas kept up with their winning ways and cruised to a 6-3 victory in Orillia.

“Well it’s a great way to start the New Year. Our objective as a team is to get into first and earn home-ice advantage in the playoffs. In order to reach that goal we need to win clutch games, like we did against Whitby at home,” said Real McCoys General Manager Don Robertson.

“We’ve proved to ourselves we can skate with any club in this league, and (now) we’re really starting to gel as a team.”
Despite a quiet first period, last Friday, the McCoys opened the floodgates in the second period, putting four goals past Whitby goaltender Chad Ford. Nick Smith scored his team leading ninth goal as Steve Hurst, Frank Grandits and Ryan Christie added the others as part of the club’s offensive effort. Kyle Ventura scored twice for Whitby.

A high-powered offensive display in the second period was the story once again as the Real McCoys posted four goals, and never looked back. Shawn Shewchuk (two goals), and Justin Davis (three goals) combined for a remarkable five of the six-goal outburst. Tom Brown added a single.

Despite scoring six, the Real McCoys were challenged defensively, however, the strong goaltending by Bryan Worosz, and solid back checking proved too much for the Tundras.

Dennis Dewar scored twice and set up another scoring play.

Teddy Bears, Santa Claus arrive in Dundas Friday
By Brad Kennedy with files by Larry Robertson, Photo by Karen Robillard
DUNDAS--Dundas Real McCoys exemplified the character of their team this past weekend, bouncing back from a heart-breaking shootout loss Friday night to earn two points on Saturday for a three-point weekend in Major League Hockey action.

Last Friday, they fell 5-4 to the Whitby Dunlops after falling behind 2-0 in the early going. The following night they poured on the pressure in overtime with Dan Pitre finding the net on tic-tac-toe scoring play set up by Ryan Healy and Rob DeCiantis for a 6-5 victory over the Vipers at Norwood.

The Real McCoys return to action for Scotiabank Teddy Bear Toss Night in the JL Grightmire Arena Friday (December 18) against the Orillia-Coldwater Tundras. Santa Claus will also be on hand and the Grisdale Food Drive continues throughout the month of December.

“It was a pretty good weekend, getting three out of four points, but I would like to have shut Whitby down because they lost to Orillia, Saturday…but that's what makes a small league strong,” said Don Robertson, General Manager of the Real McCoys.

“We would like to grab four points this weekend as we head into the Christmas break. We may also be adding a couple guys soon if Santa’s good to us.”

Dundas continues to be plagued late starts, and it showed itself again last Friday against the Dunnies even though they were sporting new jerseys in support of the Valley Town becoming “Kraft Hockeyville 2010.”

Despite pouring on the offense in the first period, the McCoys found themselves in a hole down two goals heading into the second period. Frustrations got the best of the players with the McCoys and Dunlops combining for 74 minutes in penalties. Inspired by the play of Ryan (Manny) Kuwabara, Dundas got back into the game in the third as Kuwabara scored twice and added two assists including a helper on Nick Smith’s game-tying goal with less than a minute to play. Ryan Christie added the other goal.

Overtime solved nothing as McCoys goalkeeper Brett Leggat stood on his head to keep the Dunlops high-powered offence at bay. Dundas could not solve goaltender TJ Rudnicki, out shooting the Dunnies 4-2 in the frame.

In the shootout round, he was equally as tough turning away all three Dundas shooters to secure the Dunlops victory.

Dundas had no time to dwell on the loss as they went back on the road Saturday, to travel to Peterborough to battle the Vipers.

It was not long before the McCoys got on the scoreboard with Healy opening up the offense for the McCoys in the first frame. The club showed how effective its powerplay could be as they converted three special team plays into goals.

Regulation did not provide enough time for either team to score the go-ahead-goal, and the game headed once again into overtime. Frank Grandits, Smith, Justin Davis, and Healy with his second completed the scoring.

Smith, Kuwabara smother Norwood Vipers
By Dave Watson
DUNDAS--Dundas Real McCoys will be wearing new jerseys in support of Dundas becoming “Kraft Hockeyville 2010” during their Major League Senior AAA Hockey game against Whitby Dunlops on Friday (December 11) in the JL Grightmire Arena.

The Valley Town has a strong opportunity to win the contest, sponsored by Kraft and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which will provide close to $100, 000 in up-grades for JL Grightmire Arena. As well, there will be a National Hockey League pre-season game played at the winning site. Fans are encouraged to visit www.dundashockeyville.ca to share their hockey stories, or for more information.

“Smith enjoys offensive powers that few in our league possess,” said Co-coach and General Manager Don Robertson. “When firing on all cylinders, he’s capable of [scoring three goals] on any given night”.

Dundas led 3-1 after the first period with goals by Smith, JJ Martin, and Ryan Healy. Healy scored on a two-on-one break, after accepting a pass from teammate Dan Pitre. Norwood’s Mike Craigen replied on the powerplay to put the Vipers on the board.

The Vipers managed to tie the score in the second period with two goals on four shots. Vipers goalkeeper Ryan Aschaber stopped all 14 shots that he faced in that period.

The Real McCoys opened the scoring in the third period with a shorthanded goal by Smith, which proved to be the game winner. Dundas scored three more times in the period including a second shorthanded goal, this time by Mike Amodeo.

“We lead the League in shorthanded goals, and we’ve played the fewest games…We have a lot of skill and can capitalize on misfortunes,” added Robertson.

Dundas went 0-6 on the powerplay, but outshot Norwood 49-25.

Fans of the McCoys are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to the following two Friday home games (December 11 and 18). The Real McCoys are continuing to support the Grisdale Food Drive throughout the month of December, and request your support as well.

Friday, December 18th is also Scotiabank Teddy Bear Toss Night. Fans are asked to bring stuffed Teddy Bears to the game to toss onto the ice, and be donated to under privileged children during the Christmas Holiday season.

Late start, and hot goalkeeping proves costly
By Brad Kennedy

DUNDAS --Dundas Real McCoys suffered a heart breaking 5-4 shootout loss to Norwood Vipers in Major League Hockey action last Friday night in Dundas ’ JL Grightmire Arena.

Dundas gets a shot at redemption Friday night (December 4) when they again play host to Norwood at home. Game time is 7:45 p.m.