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HEADLINES

Gaiters to participate in Laurentian Invitational Tournament

Oct. 26, 2005 - The Bishop’s Gaiters will be traveling to Sudbury, Ontario this weekend to take part in the Laurentian Invitational Tournament, and coach Eddie Pomykala’s squad leaves Lennoxville with every intention of winning the final tournament on their pre-season schedule.

Following a strong 1-2 showing in the prestigious House-Laughton tournament two weeks ago, the Gaiters are confident heading into the Laurentian Invitational. In the House-Laughton tournament Bishop’s not only managed to stay competitive with three-time defending CIS champions Carleton before eventually losing by a score of 74-63, but they also managed to defeat defending Canada West champions Alberta, who last year were ranked sixth in Canada.

The Gaiters will begin the tournament Friday evening when they will face the host Laurentian Voyageurs. Laurentian finished 8-14 in 2004-2005 and were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Ontario Eastern division playoffs.

Sudbury remains, however, one of the more difficult environments in the nation for visiting teams to play in, a fact the Head Coach Eddie Pomykala is fully aware of. “ We will play the host team in one of the toughest gymnasiums in Canada. It’s a long way to get there and when you play them at home, there is a lot of noise, especially behind the visitor’s bench.”

On Saturday evening the Gaiters will face the Western University Mustangs. This will be the second meeting between the two teams this year, with Western having won the first meeting by a score of 57-50 two weeks ago during the House-Laughton tournament. Western finished the 2004-2005 season with a 5-17 record and finished last in Ontario’s Western division but will be relying on a veteran core of six players with at least three years experience to help lead them this year,

The Gaiters tournament will come to a close Sunday at noon when they face the Dalhousie Tigers. Dalhousie finished the 2004-2005 season with a 5-15 record, which put them in last place in the Atlantic Conference. There were positive signs for the Tigers last season, however, including a season-ending victory over conference champs St. FX and the fact that five of the team’s fifteen losses came by six points or less. The Tigers, who have two fourth year and two fifth year players on their roster, will be relying on increased experience to help lead them to a better record in 2005-2006.

“ We will have to use all of our energy to stay competitive in Laurentian. The tournament field is very even and because of that it will come down to which team is able to do the little things better,” said coach Pomykala.

After being named to the House-Laughton tournament All-Star team, all eyes will be on the Gaiters six-foot-five centre Jeff Szita of Timmins, Ontario. Named the Quebec Conference Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year two years ago, Szita struggled at times last year, due largely in part to back pains. Pomykala has said that the fifth year veteran appears to have recovered from the injuries and if this is the case, Szita can be expected to play a prominent role for the Gaiters all year long.

2005 Laurentian Invitational Tournament Schedule

Friday, Oct. 28 18h Dalhousie vs. Western
Friday, Oct. 28 20h Bishop's vs. Laurentian

Saturday, Oct. 29 18h Bishop's vs. Western
Saturday, Oct. 29 20h Dalhousie vs. Laurentian

Sunday, Oct. 30 12h Bishop's vs. Dalhousie
Sunday, Oct. 30 14h Western vs. Laurentian