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Atom AAA Rangers win OMHA championship in St. Catharines The Oakville atom AAA Rangers got another shot at the Niagara North Stars and made the most of it. The Rangers, 6-2 losers to the North Stars a day earlier at the Ontario Minor Hockey Association championships in St. Catharines, earned a rematch in the gold-medal game, winning 7-0 to secure the OMHA title. The earlier loss, played with both teams already qualifying for the gold-medal game, was Oakville's only setback at the five-team tournament. Barrie Jr. Colts edged York Simcoe Express 4-3 for the bronze medal while Halton Hurricanes finished fifth. Matthew Soto and Sawyer Luik scored two goals each for the Rangers in the final, while Brayden Gillespie, with his third victory of the tournament, provided shutout goaltending. Other markers went to Andrew Brown, Ben McKenna and Mason Zebeski while Cody O'Neil, Calum Ritchie and Nicholas Lardis added a pair of assists each. The Rangers led 2-0 after one period and 4-0 after two. Dylan McFadden of the Rangers led the tournament in goals with seven, while Ritchie had nine assists to lead in that category. Other Oakville teams didn't fare as well as the atoms in other OMHA AAA tournament action on the weekend. The peewee Rangers finished fifth with an 0-22 record and the minor bantam Rangers ended up in fourth after a 2-1 bronze-medal game loss to the Niagara North Stars. Both Oakville teams were hosts of their respective tournaments at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. In other OMHA playoffs, the minor midget AA Rangers extended their six-point series with Barrie to 5-5 but lost the deciding game 4-3 in Barrie Tuesday night. The minor peewee AA Rangers were swept by Whitby in a six-point OMHA series and the bantam AE Rangers lost their sixpoint series to Brampton in four games. 41 | Thursday, March 24, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com OFSAA bronze for TAB's Connor Hicks in Level 2 slalom Connor Hicks of T.A. Blakelock High School won a bronze medal at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations skiing championships in Collingwood earlier this month. Hicks, competing in Level 2, was third fastest in the slalom with a combined time of 96.56 seconds. A day later, Hicks finished fourth in the giant slalom with a combined time of 67.17 seconds. Only one other skier at OFSAA had a faster time than Hicks when the two overall times are combined. Hicks, a Grade 12 student, is a ski coach at Craighleith Ski Club in Collingwood. More than 350 athletes from across Ontario competed at OFSAA this year. Van Beilen an underdog at trials continued from p. 40 off her personal best, and more importantly, half a second off the Olympic qualifying time of 1:07.85 (which, coincidentally, is the time Van Beilen swam in the heats to qualify for the semifinals in London in 2012). "It was really reassuring that I'm swimming fast in season," the 22-year-old said. "I gained that confidence I needed to know I can still get faster and swim fast enough to make the (Olympic) team." Van Beilen's lone regret from the CIS meet was that for the first time since she joined the Thunderbirds, they were beaten for the Canadian title, with the University of Toronto ending UBC's four-year reign. And while she said the end of her university swimming career was bittersweet, Van Beilen now carries on with her career because of the inspiration her team provided. "There's only a small window where you're able to compete and capable of performing at such a high level," she said. "I need to capitalize on that time and I'm confident in what I've done." Van Beilen said she has grown and matured so much since the last Olympic trials four years ago. She's learned to push through the hard times, to celebrate the good times. And she's much more appreciative of what swimming has done for her and the opportunities it has given her. Still, though she goes into trials with a wealth of experience that includes a ninth-place finish at the Olympics, Van Beilen says this year's trials -- April 5-10 in Toronto -- are similar to her last in many ways. "I'm an underdog again. I'm not the top dog. I'm lower in the rankings (third in the 100m breaststroke, fifth in the 200m) but that's a good position. I like to be the one to catch rather than the one to be caught," she said. "I'm feeling better every day and I'm really excited. Whatever happens, I'll know I will have given it my best." As for those roster pics, they had their genesis last year when teammate Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson went directly from the pool to the photo shoot. With no time to get ready for her picture, she wore her swim cap and goggles for the photo. This year, her Thunderbird teammates jumped on board. "We wanted to make a statement, and still kind of own our pictures," Van Beilen said. Which really doesn't sound too different from her approach in the pool heading into the Olympic trials. Hornets' playoff series tied 1-1 The Toronto Aeros scored with two minutes to play to tie the game and then scored in overtime to win 3-2 and even their Provincial Women's Hockey League series with the Oakville Hornets. Toronto had the only goal of the opening period and threatened to extend its lead with two minutes to play in the second when it was awarded a penalty shot. However, Daniela Paniccia turned aside Aeros' captain Celine Frappier for one of her 27 saves in the game. A minute later, Emma Maltais scored to draw the Hornets even Daniela Paniccia stopped 27 shots, including a penalty shot, but the Toronto Aeros pulled out a 3-2 overtime victory to even their best-of-five Provincial Women's Hockey League series 1-1. | File photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver Connor Hicks at 1-1. Jessica Maggioni then gave Oakville its first lead three minutes into the third. The Aeros would get the tying goal with 1:58 left in the third and Haley Shugart scored five minutes into overtime for the win. Hornets won Game 1 in a shootout. Oakville hosts Game 3 of the series tonight (Thursday) at 8:30 p.m. at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Game 4 will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at York University. If necessary, Game 5 is Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Oakville. PLAY YOUR BEST GOLF GROUP PROGRAMS START Reserve Your Space Now! · Programs presented by PGA Professionals · Golf for Beginners, Golf for Woman I & II, Active 55+ · Golf for Kids, Short Game, Advanced, Company Groups, PRIVATE LESSONS, create your own group APRil 18 contact@pumagolf.ca · www.PumaGolf.ca 905-949-8764