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Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2011 39 Christmas break comes at good time for Blades The first New Year's resolution for the Oakville Blades might be getting back on track. Oakville stumbled into the Christmas break suffering defeats in three of its last four games, including a 3-2 shootout loss to the Georgetown Raiders Friday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex that snapped the Blades' 15-game home winning streak. The Blades -- who finished a grueling December schedule with a 5-4-1 record -- will enter 2012 in second place in the Ontario Junior Hockey League's West Conference, three points behind the division-leading Raiders. Braedan Russell and Todd Bannerman scored first-period goals for the Blades (22-7-5) Friday, giving Oakville a 2-0 lead. The Raiders (26-8-1) tied the game with goals 48 seconds apart in the second period, then won the shootout by scoring on both of their attempts and stopping the Blades on both of theirs. Friday's contest was the final of six meetings between the Blades and Raiders this season. Georgetown took the season series 5-1, though five of those games were decided by one goal. Oakville will resume the regular season next Friday (Jan. 6) when it hosts the Burlington Cougars. Not all the Blades get to enjoy an extensive break, however. James Prigione, Phil Hampton, Steven Hickey, Conor McGlynn, Martin Kudla and Russell are representing Oakville at this week's inaugural Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge in Smiths Falls. The competition, which began yesterday (Tuesday) and concludes tomorrow (Thursday), features all-star teams from each of the Ontario Junior Hockey League's four divisions, two teams from the Central Canada Hockey League and one squad from both the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League. Kudla is an injury replacement for Blades forward Jordan Coccimiglio. JOEL SMITH / JOEL SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY SPLIT DECISION: Local resident Chris Festarini does the splits to make a save for the Niagara IceDogs during a recent Ontario Hockey League contestf. Festarini has won six of his first nine starts for Niagara since being traded by the Erie Otters. Festarini benefiting from fresh start in Niagara By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF Just two months ago, Chris Festarini's Ontario Hockey League future looked bleak. He was the third-string goalie on the league's worst team. His numbers were inflated, the kind that hardly caught the attention of anyone looking for a goaltender of the future. In 25 games over two seasons with the Erie Otters, Festarini had a goals-against average a shade below five (4.98) and a record of 5-12-8. And then came his lifeline. The 18-year-old had just been relegated to the pressbox when Erie overage goalie Ramis Sadikov returned from injury. At the same time, the Niagara IceDogs -- a team that began the season with Memorial Cup aspirations -- were sitting third in their division, eighth overall in the OHL standings. The team was looking for a reliable backup, having won just one of five games without starter Mark Visentin in net, and was preparing to lose him for close to a month when he joined the national junior team. Niagara goaltending coach Ben Vanderklok had worked with Festarini and recommended him to head coach Marty Williamson. The IceDogs' head coach did not know much about Festarini, though he remembered him playing well against Niagara in a couple of pre-season games. Williamson put more stock in Vanderklok's recommendation than in Festarini's less-than-flattering numbers. "You see it endlessly in our league," Williamson said. "You get a young guy in a situation that doesn't work and they lose their confidence. Everyone pegs them a certain way and gives them a label. Sometimes they just need a fresh start." Besides, the price was right. Niagara surrendered just a sixthround draft pick and another conditional draft pick for Festarini. Two months later, the deal has already paid off for Niagara. Festarini won his first four starts and has posted a spectacular 1.69 goals-against average and .943 save percentage while going 6-2-1 since joining the team. Again, it's more than numbers that have stood out for Williamson. "He's been giving us a chance to win every night," Williamson said. "He rarely lets in a bad goal. He's a very capable backup and for the future, we wanted someone capable of stepping into a No. 1 role. He's a guy who could mentor someone as a 19- and 20-year-old." Festarini certainly has the experience to help any young goalie going through a rough time. He came into the league as a promising prospect, having led the Oakville Rangers minor midget squad to the OMHA final before being selected in the fifth round of the OHL draft by Erie. Festarini didn't join the Otters right away, but did make the Ontario squad for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He played his first season of junior with Jr. B Port Colborne Pirates. The team won just a third of its games, and that was reflected in Festarini's numbers (a 4.33 average and a 6-16-3 record). Festarini joined the Otters last year for his rookie season and lost See Goalie, page 40