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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 30, 2014 | 26 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" Oakville Rock will feature plenty of Toronto Rock Local senior A lacrosse fans might not know if they're watching the Oakville Rock or Toronto Rock this summer. This year's edition of the Oakville Rock -- which gets the Major Series Lacrosse season underway next week -- features a strong flavour of Toronto Rock National Lacrosse League players on its roster. That's no coincidence, as Oakville Rock general manager Terry Sanderson -- also the GM of the Toronto Rock -- looked for players he was familiar with as he aims to turn around a club that finished last in the MSL a season ago. "Obviously, when you finish with a losing record, you know that you need to improve your team, and we feel that we've accomplished that this offseason," said Sanderson, whose team will host the Peterborough Lakers in its season opener Monday. "We've not only addressed our need for goal scoring, but our (transition) and defensive games will be better this year as well." Toronto Rock players on the Oakville roster include Stephan Leblanc, Bill Hostrowser, Rob Hellyer, Mike LumWalker and Damon Edwards. Leblanc, who ranked second in the NLL this past Stephan Leblanc (in blue), who led the Oakville Rock senior A team in scoring last season, is one of five Toronto Rock profes- season with 45 goals, was Oakville's sional lacrosse players on this year's Oakville squad. | Oakville Beaver file photo leading scorer a year ago. Hostrowser was acquired in a seven-player deal with the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, Hellyer was the first overall selection in the 2014 MSL draft, and Lum-Walker and Edwards were picked up in a trade with the Brooklin Redmen. Other off-season acquisitions by Sanderson include 2013 MSL rookie of the year Ethan O'Connor (trade with the Brampton Excelsiors), Oakville native Jordan MacIntosh (trade with Peterborough) and Jason Hostrowser and Jeremy Noble (part of the Bill Hostrowser deal). Oakville also acquired the rights to Scott Johnston and Brad Gillies -- both local residents -- from the Kodiaks. Nick Rose takes over as Oakville's No. 1 netminder after Tye Belanger, last year's starter, was traded to Brampton for O'Connor. Rose split last season with Coquitlam and Langley in the Western Lacrosse Association. The Oakville Rock will play home games every Monday from June 2-July 28 at Toronto Rock Athletic Centre on Invicta Drive. All contests will begin at 8 p.m. The Rock went 2-17-1 last season, its first in Oakville after relocating from Ajax. The club was 1-13 in 2012, 3-17 in 2011 and 3-13 in 2010. OT junior rugby boys rely on brains, not brawn, to claim Tier 1 crown by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Many view rugby as a game that rewards size and strength. The Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils junior boys are happy to prove otherwise. The Red Devils relied on speed and finesse to defeat a larger T.A. Blakelock squad 27-5 in Wednesday's Halton junior Tier 1 final at Burlington's Sherwood Park. "I thought our guys played our system of loose, fast rugby. To Blakelock's credit, they tackled really well. They're big, strong guys and every year I've seen them improve," said James Wood, who co-coaches OT with Dave Schaffler. "We were happy with how our guys performed, using their hands and showing how sometimes in rugby you don't need to be super big. You can also win with skill and decision-making." The Red Devils' win marked OT's fourth straight Halton junior title, fifth in the last six years and seventh in the last nine. Coupled with the junior girls' 7-5 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas later in the day, it also gave OT a sweep of the four junior and senior Tier 1 titles up for grabs this spring. The junior boys' triumph earned the Red Devils a berth in the Barbarian Cup provincial championship tournament next month in Belleville, but OT will be turning down the invitation because of protected learning time at school. Blakelock is eligible to take OT's place at provincials, but Tigers coach Andy Rychel was undecided on whether his team will participate. "We'll see what my wife says," Rychel said with a laugh. "Really, it's just a case of, one, we'll see what (our players) think; two, we're getting into exams; and three, it's been a long season. Some of these guys are pretty worn out... it's about their safety and their well-being." If the Tigers decide not to test themselves against the province's top teams-- "I would An unidentified member of the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils (in red) fends off T.A. Blakelock opponents during Wednesday's Halton high school junior boys' rugby Tier 1 final in Burlington. OT defeated the Tigers 27-5. | photo by Franki Ikeman -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog argue they got a taste of it today," Rychel said after Wednesday's final -- they can be content with the fact that they limited OT to its two lowest-scoring games of the Halton season. The Red Devils defeated Blakelock 22-5 during the regular season on their way to an undefeated campaign, outscoring op- ponents 286-40 in six games. "We were very competitive with them in two games," Rychel said. "When you're playing a team as good as (OT), you have to have your very best day and get a couple good bounces." see OT on p.27