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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, March 21, 2014 | 20 Blue Dogs go for OFSAA hockey gold today Andrew Tarasca scored twice and set up another as the Appleby College Blue Dogs won 4-1 and moved within one victory of claiming their second provincial high school title. And this time they could win it all on home ice. Appleby, which won its first Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations A/ AA title in 2011, will play in the gold-medal game against London South CI today (Friday) at 1:30 p.m. at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville. Appleby was clinging to a 2-1 third-period lead against Haliburton Highlands in Thursday's semifinal until Tarasca scored with 3:03 remaining to give Appleby some breathing room. Benjamin Sisokin added an empty-net goal to seal the victory. Tarasca had the only goal of the opening period. After a scoreless second, Morgan Macdonald gave Appleby a 2-0 advantage five minutes into the third. Haliburton answered just over a minute later to cut the deficit to one. Appleby's Mishel Abudi stopped 21 shots for the win. Earlier in the day, Abudi blanked St. Charles College in the Blue Dogs' 3-1 quarter-final win. Jonathan Watkin scored Appleby's first goal and then set up Marcus Miller and Evan Patterson's insurance markers. Appleby is undefeated at the tournament with a record of 5-0-1. The Blue Dogs finished the roundrobin by overcoming a 2-0 third-period deficit to tie Belle River 2-2. Miller and Tarasca scored three minutes apart to tie the game. Macdonald assisted on both goals. St. Thomas Aquinas finished the tournament 0-4 after being blanked 5-0 by London South. In the AAA/AAAA tournament, Abbey Park was eliminated after being shut out by St. Peter CSS Wednesday night. Earlier in the day, Patrick Fogarty CSS edged the Eagles 1-0 with a third-period goal. Abbey Park had a promising start to the tournament, beginning with a win and a Mishel Abudi made 21 saves in Appleby College's 4-1 win over tie. Haliburton Highlands in the OFSAA semifinal Thursday. It plays The AAA/AAAA final is set for 3:30 in the gold-medal game today at 1:30 p.m. at Sixteen Mile p.m. today (Friday). Sports Complex. | photo by Riziero Vertolli -- Burlington Post Appleby girls to play for bronze at OFSAA The Appleby College Blue Dogs were denied a trip to the OFSAA A/AA girls hockey goldmedal game after being edged 2-1 in overtime by Michael CSS Thursday in Sudbury. Amy Curlew got Appleby on the board first with her ninth goal of the tournament. However, Michael came back to tie the game and then won it in overtime. Curlew and Savannah Newton each scored twice as Appleby advanced to the semifinals with a 6-0 win over Sacred Heart Wednesday night. Jessica Smith and Jennifer MacAskill also scored for Appleby. The Blue Dogs were to meet St. Theresa in the bronze-medal game Thursday afternoon. It was an interesting matchup, pitting the tournament's highest-scoring team against the its stingiest defensive team. St. Theresa scored 38 goals in its five games leading up to the bronzemedal match, while Appleby had allowed just three. Results were not available at press time. At the OFSAA AAA/AAAA girls hockey tournament, the Loyola Hawks were eliminated after going 0-3. Jade Thompson had the Hawks' lone goal in a 7-1 loss to Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School. The Hawks wrapped up the round robin with a 3-1 loss to Macdonald Cartier. Oakville's Tarantino named top executive after building Patriots into title contender By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Boasting over 11,000 players nationally, the 3 on 3 Youth Hockey League is the largest in world! 3 on 3 hockey improves overall skill development and game strategy by challenging players both offensively and defensively. · Guaranteed 12 games! · No games on long weekends in July & August! · Free jersey for every player · On-line schedule and stats · Weekday and Weekend Leagues available with great game me! · Supplemental accident coverage included · Great incenves and prizes all season long! Visit canlan3on3.com or call us at 905.845.6989 to register. Season starts in April 2014! Follow us @Canlan3on3 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN www.Canalan3on3.com With his team safely into the Ontario Junior Hockey League semifinals, Mike Tarantino can rest easy -- or so you would think. "It seems like things are going well," said the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots general manager. "It's been nice, but there's still lots of work to do." Welcome to the life of a hockey GM. Just because his roster has been pretty much been set since January, doesn't mean Tarantino has been sitting with his feet up. While the players are on the ice trying to decide this year's champion, the GM is scouring rinks looking for the players that will determine next year's. Tarantino had no choice but to look to the future when he took over a Patriot team that missed the playoffs and won just 15 games the previous season. When he took on the dual role of coach and general manager, the Patriots nearly doubled that total in his first season, winning 28 times. Lakeshore has increased its point total in each season since. With Tarantino turning over the coaching reigns to Jason Fortier this season, the team continued its climb, with a 35-12-6 mark, the best in the South West Conference and third overall in the league. The Oakville native was honoured for his work with the Patriots when he was named the OJHL 's executive of the year. It was Tarantino's own hockey experience that led him back into the game. He played two years with his hometown Blades and earned a scholarship to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where had four consecutive 40-point seasons with the Tigers. After a year as a graduate assistant with Bowling Green, where he did his Masters, Tarantino, who now lives in Burlington, returned to the GTA to look for opportunities closer to home. The year before joining the Patriots, he coached the Mississauga Reps -- a team that included future NHL draft picks Malcolm Subban and Eric Locke --who went to the Telus Cup final. The Reps lost the national midget championship to Notre Dame, a team led by current Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman Morgan Reilly. Though the teams Tarantino has assembled with Lakeshore are based on speed and skill, the high school teacher at Iroquois Ridge says "ultimately, I look for good kids who are willing to listen and work hard." The 33-year-old has not ignored his roots in doing so. The backbone of the team is OJHL defenceman of the year Michael Prapavessis. Up front, fellow Oakville natives Doug Bonar and Nathan Feric have played a significant role. All three are among Lakeshore's top eight scorers. And perhaps his boldest move of the year was the acquisition of Evan Buitenhuis from the Blades before the trade deadline. While Tarantino has no doubt that goalies Jeremy Helvig, 16, and Mark Manolescu, 18, (who went to the Blades in the trade) will one day be among the best goalies in the league, he felt Buitenhuis was already there. And so far the Burlington native has done little to dispel that notion. In 21 games since joining the Patriots, he has gone 16-2-3 with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. That has Lakeshore in the hunt for its firstever league title. And if Tarantino has to rebuild his team all over again, next year, that's fine with him. He enjoyed his four years at R.I.T. so much, he wants to help others have similar experiences. "I have a passion for it and I want to see other kids move on and see them achieve their goals," he said. "I get a lot of personal satisfaction from helping them."