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34 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell 905-844-4444 I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D Broker of Record B R O K E R A G E SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2009 Tight quarters MOMS WEEK: Jake Feltmate of the Green team tries to keep Blue player Wesley Brown from the puck during the Minor Oaks Hockey Association midget red house league championship game last week at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Green used goals from Spencer Sloane and Michael Sparling to edge Blue 2-1. House league finals in all divisions were contested throughout the week as part of the annual MOMS Awards Week. See an upcoming edition of The Oakville Beaver for results of all the house league finals. MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER Goaltending the difference in Junior A hockey final Blades need win tonight to avoid 3-0 deficit Carlo Coccimiglio has been pleased with the Oakville Blades' open-ice play in the first two games of the Ontario Junior Hockey League final. It's the last few feet at each end of the rink that is distressing the Blades head coach. Despite outshooting the Kingston Voyageurs 84-55 in the first two games, the defending league champion Blades find themselves in a 2-0 series hole as they prepare for a crucial Game 3 tonight (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.) at Joshua's Creek Arenas. "The problem is their goalie is playing really well," Coccimiglio said Monday, "and our goalie is not as sharp as the goalie on the other side." Kingston netminder Shawn Sirman almost single-handedly won Saturday's series opener for the Voyageurs, stopping 48 of 52 shots as Kingston prevailed 5-4 in overtime. He was sharp again the following day as the Voyageurs jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and held on for a 4-3 victory in Kingston. "It's the pucks you put past the goalie that counts," Coccimiglio said. "We have to find a way to solve their goalie. He's been the difference in the series." The Blades coach was also critical of the play of his own goaltender, Matt Hache. "Two of the (nine weekend) goals weren't his fault, but the other ones he didn't compete hard enough to stop," Coccimiglio said. "The goalie's job is to give you an opportunity to win hockey games. When the game's on the line, he has to find a way to make the saves." Hache, who suffered a concussion against the Georgetown Raiders nearly a month ago and missed time in each of the past two series, allowed seven goals on 55 shots in the first two games of the final. Coccimiglio said Monday he was considering starting affiliate player Adrian Volpe in goal for Game 3. Volpe replaced Hache for five games against Georgetown and two more against the Wellington Dukes, posting a 4-3 record, 2.74 goalsagainst average and .911 save percentage. "With the injury, (Hache) hasn't been himself," Coccimiglio said of his top goalie, who is 11-6 in the playoffs with a 2.56 GAA and .910 save percentage. Jeremy Welsh scored twice Saturday, See Blackburn page 36 Midgets fall just short of OHF title By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR The Oakville midget AAA Rangers might have just run out of gas. Oakville was denied an Ontario Hockey Federation championship Sunday in Burlington with an 8-6 loss to the Hamilton Reps, settling for silver at the seven-team provincial tournament. The Rangers managed to rally from a 4-1 first-period deficit to tie the game 6-6 early in the final frame, but Hamilton broke the tie with nine minutes to go in regulation and added a late insurance marker. By winning the OHF title, the Reps will advance to the Telus Cup national midget tournament. "We did slow down a bit (after tying the game)," said Rangers head coach Tom Daley, whose team was penalized nine times in the contest. "We used six forwards to kill penalties and were (sometimes) two men short. The defence does get tired." Oakville also used up a lot of energy just to make the final. The Rangers needed a victory over the Ottawa Valley Titans in their final round-robin game Friday just to make the playoff round, then blanked the host Burlington Eagles 5-0 in the semis the following day. Hamilton, by contrast, had locked up a semifinal spot by Thursday. Daley attributed his team's defensive struggles in Sunday's final to the pressures of playing on the big stage. "It was nerves," he said. "These kids hadn't been anywhere like this before. The `91s (1991 birth year) a couple years ago were averaging five wins a season. "We've got to be happy with (silver)," he added. "It's a great accomplishment for the kids." Daley said almost all of his players drew interest from junior hockey scouts during the tournament. As many as 10 players from this year's Ontario Minor Hockey Association championship team are eligible to return to the squad next season, but Daley is anticipating only four or five will be back. "They will move on to junior A," he said. "You never know who will get drafted or where they'll go." Mark Bennett scored twice in a losing cause for Oakville Sunday. Braeden Corbeth, Jacob Liptok, Brandon Alderson and Nicolas Soubry had the other Rangers goals. The Rangers' Jeff Pinto takes to the ice before Sunday's Ontario Hockey Federation championship game in Burlington. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER