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48 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2007 Oakville to host provincial hockey championships Top atom players in Ontario coming to town April 11-13 The province's best 10-year-old hockey players will be coming to Oakville in April. The Minor Oaks Hockey Association (MOHA) will host the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF) atom AAA championship, the OHF announced this week. The three-day tournament to determine the provincial champion will be held at the Joshua Creek Arena April 11-13. The tournament is contested by two teams from the Greater Toronto Hockey League, the champions of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario. The host Oakville Rangers will be the fifth entry. Committee co-chair Hans Taal said Oakville has produced a number of players -- John Tavares, Stefan Legein, Trevor Cann and Steve Mason -- who are starting to make their mark in the hockey world. Taal said this tournament is a chance to shine the spotlight on the next wave. "We have a bumper crop," Taal said. "We can showcase the best 10-year-olds at this level and show what kind of hockey players we are developing." Teams will play a four-game round robin, playing each of the other teams once. The top two teams will then advance to the championship game. MOHA consulted with past hosts of OHF events as it began to put its bid together four weeks ago. Taal said the committee was confident in its bid, but admitted it was a relief to finally earn the right to host the tournament. "You don't know what towns you're up against," he said. "We're very happy to have it here. Both the mayor and the director of parks and rec were behind us. We felt we had a strong bid." Last year's host, London, won the silver medal, and Taal said Oakville's entry should also provide tough competition. "This team will be strong anyway and we know they'll be very competitive," he said. "The team and the coaches are very excited." The tournament committee is looking to the private sector to raise $10,000 for its operating costs. Cash donations will be used to pay for the costs such as ice rental, referees, time keepers, programs and a welcome banquet. Product donations will be used as draw prizes and for gift/welcome bags. Anyone interested in donating can contact Hans Taal at hanstaal@cogeco.ca. -- Herb Garbutt LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER QUARTER-FINAL ACTION: St. Thomas Aquinas player Taylor Metcalfe (right) keeps White Oaks' Valerie Marshall at bay during Wednesday's high school senior girls' field hockey playoff game at White Oaks. Aquinas defeated the Wildcats 2-1 to advance to today's semifinal round. STA, OT advance to field hockey semis By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders went into their quarterfinal game Wednesday looking to even the score. But as the final seconds played out in the Halton senior girls' field hockey game, having the score evened was the last thing they wanted. The Raiders led the White Oaks Wildcats 2-1 when the whistle sounded to apparently end the game, touching off a short celebration by a few Aquinas players. However, it didn't last long. Just before time expired, the Wildcats had been awarded a corner that had to be played out to bring the game to an end. After a tense 15 seconds of White Oaks players swarming the net, Aquinas finally managed to clear the ball to give the Raiders a chance to truly celebrate the victory. "Last year we lost to them in the same game (the quarterfinals) in a penalty shootout, so this was a little bit of revenge," said Aquinas coach Jean Major. The quarter-final was a bit of a role reversal for the two teams that tied 1-1 in their regular-season meeting. White Oaks was the offensive force during the year. Its 20 goals ranked third among the 20 Halton teams behind perennial powerhouses Oakville Trafalgar and Notre Dame, each provincial medalists over the past two years. Aquinas, meanwhile, relied more on its defensive play, allowing just six goals in its nine regular season games. Yet, trailing 1-0 at the half, it was Aquinas that rallied behind second-half goals by Brittany Russo and Krista Michie. White Oaks coach Jenn Prieur wasn't comfortable with the one-goal margin. "Not at all," she said. "We knew STA hadn't lost. They got the better of us today." While Aquinas finished the season undefeated with a 5-0-4 record, it was White Oaks that "If we play the earned second place in the Volpe game of our Division with a 7-1-1 mark. The Raiders came into the game on a lives, they're high, though. They earned a 2-2 tie beatable." with Oakville Trafalgar in the regular-season finale, becoming the first Aquinas coach club to score on the Red Devils in Jean Major, talking league play in three years. about facing Notre That has buoyed their hopes for a Dame in today's semifinal showdown with Notre semifinal round Dame today (3:30 p.m. at Notre Dame). While a matchup with the Irish would strike fear into most teams, Major is looking forward to the challenge. "I like it," she said, "because you never know. They're always strong and they know how to play field hockey. But if we play the game of our lives, they're beatable." Sisters Brittany and Cassy Russo, along with Taylor Metcalfe, give the Raiders a strong core, and more than half the team will return next season. The Wildcats won't be so fortunate. For the majority of their players, Wednesday was their last high school field hockey game. Standouts Missy Kennedy, Sarah Currie, Valerie Marshall, Heather Thompson and McKenzie Wright are all in See OT page 49 www.icesports.com 905-845-6989