The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, January 7, 2016 | 24 HALTON TRANSMISSION 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Minor bantam Rangers win Bell on breakaway goal in fourth OT By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Sports "Connected to your Community" When the Oakville minor bantam AAA Rangers play for their fourth OMHA title in five years, they won't have to worry how the team will react under pressure. The Rangers proved quite capable of producing when it matters most, edging the Burlington Eagles 2-1 in quadruple overtime to win the Richard Bell Memorial Tournament. Cam Tolnai scored the winner on a breakaway, firing a shot past the glove-hand of the Burlington netminder to end a game that had stretched past the two-hour mark. "When you get into games in the OMHA tournament, inevitably the games are going to be tight," said Rangers' coach Gord Hynes. "Games like that help prepare you for those moments. You know the players are going to be composed when the going gets tough." While the Bell tournament may not have the same clout as an OMHA title, Hynes said it is still an important event for the players, many of whom won't have a chance to play in it again. Winning their home tournament was also one of the goals the team set this year. But the Rangers' victory didn't come easy. In addition to its marathon final, Oakville also needed an overtime win in the semifinals, with Tolnai setting up Ryan Brown for the deciding goal in a 2-1 decision over the Hamilton Huskies. "In both games we felt like we outplayed them," Hynes said. "We just hit a bit of a lull in our ability to finish. That plagued us in the last couple of games, but we found a way." While the Rangers produced seven goals in each of their first two wins in the tournament, Hynes said the team's production has been hurt by long-term injuries to two of its forwards. That forced the team to move defenceman Patrick Stewart up front -- where he's proven to be a good addition to the forward ranks -- while going with a five-man defensive unit. That group -- Jake Murray, Nathan Ribau, Owen Luik, Ethan Ritchie and Zack Terry have proven to be particularly stingy. "Our defence is our backbone, maybe the best defencemen in their age group," Hynes said. "They're strong, mobile and they move the puck well." Oakville will have an automatic berth in the OMHA championship as the tournament host, but the Rangers are not relying on that, once again showing they are a contender. Cam Tolnai of the Oakville Rangers starts to celebrate after scoring the winning goal in the fourth overtime period against goalie Jake Oldfield in the minor bantam AAA championship game at the Richard Bell Memorial tournament at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The Rangers beat the Burlington Eagles 2-1. | Justin Greaves ­ Burlington Post They currently sit second behind Niagara in the South Central AAA league with a 16-4-3 record. And though the team had hit a rough patch before Christmas with two losses and a tie in its last three league games, Hynes hopes its undefeated run through the Bell tournament will have a positive effect when league play resumes this week. "This should give us a bit of confidence," he said. And maybe the Rangers will have another chance to celebrate on home ice this season. Minor midget AA Rangers seek OMHA title, but Bell win important, too, says coach By Kevin Nagel Beaver sports editor Coach Jim Franko and his Oakville Rangers minor midget AA rep team have one goal this year -- winning an Ontario Minor Hockey Association title. But that doesn't mean tournament play is to be downplayed during the season. The Rangers, with only one regular-season loss this year, came through with two third-period goals to defeat the Mississauga Braves 5-3 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex on Dec. 30. It gave the Rangers the minor midget AA title at the Richard Bell Memorial Hockey Tournament. "When it's your home tournament, you really want to win it," Franko said after the game. The Rangers headed into the final following a 4-0 loss to the same Braves team in preliminary play. There was more on the line in the second meeting, obviously. "Basically we played a lot better," said the coach when asked what the difference was in the rematch. "We played three great games and then we had a very poor game. We knew we were in (the playoffs) regardless in the first game (against Mississauga). Today it was do or die." The Rangers (3-1) advanced to the final with a 4-3 win over Niagara Falls Flyers in the semifinals while Mississauga (4-0) edged the Ajax Knights 2-1. The Braves are a longtime nemesis and, like the Rangers, were playing the Bell shorthanded for assorted reasons. "You've got to give them credit," Franko added. "They played with a lot of heart." Rangers' captain Evan McHenry, waiting in the slot, took a behindthe-net pass from Daniel Littlejohn and scored what turned out to be the winning goal with 9:03 remaining in the game. McHenry also assisted on Lukas Radinovic's first-period goal that tied the score 1-1. "He's a clutch guy," Franko said of McHenry. "All of our big guys played well today and he's one of them." Oakville's Patrick Aldridge put the game on ice with an insurance marker with 4:14 remaining on a wicked wrist shot from the left side. "He's a beast. He just loves to play," said the coach. "When he's competing he's a very difficult opsee Goalies on p. 25 Because your life is on the line. #WeSaveLives Visit YD.com today to enrol in one of our weekend courses. Oakville locations 345 Lakeshore Rd. East, Suite 312 180 Oak Park Blvd., Suite 107 YD.COM | (905) 842-6846