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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 12, 2016 | 48 HALTON TRANSMISSION 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" Oakville blueliner Lloyd in Alberta for RBC Cup By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff A shot at national title Asking for a trade from a perennial contender is a risky move. The opportunities to play for a championship are limited. So when Christian Lloyd requested a move from the Trenton Golden Hawks -- a team that had finished atop the Ontario Junior Hockey League's East Division three of the previous four years -- there were no guarantees he would land with a team capable of going as deep in the playoffs. Complicating matters was Lloyd's interest in playing in another league, preferably in Western Canada. To pull off that trade, Trenton would need to find a trading partner with a player looking to come to Ontario. "It was my last year of junior so I felt maybe it was time to test the waters somewhere else," the 20-year-old said. "It was just a matter of where." Of the 56 junior teams west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, Lloyd ended up on the one team guaranteed to play for a championship. The Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League had an Ontario defenceman looking to return home. And with Lloydminster set to host the RBC Cup, the opportunity to add the OJHL's top scoring defenceman was too good to pass up. Lloyd and the Bobcats will open the national Jr. A tournament Saturday, May 14 against the West Kelowna Warriors. And in an interesting twist, his former team, Trenton, will be one of the team's vying for the RBC Cup. The two will meet Thursday, May 19 in the final game of the round-robin, on Lloyd's birthday. "They've definitely had a helluva season," Lloyd said. "I've been keeping track of them and I'm happy for those guys, but when it comes to the RBC..." Well, there won't be any sentimentality. Lloyd put up 52 points with Trenton last season, doubling his totals from his rookie season, and helped the Golden Hawks reach the North East Conference final. He also won the Central Canada Cup all-star tournament with the OJHL's Team Oates. Despite his success in Ontario, the Sacred Heart University-bound defenceman said there was an adjustment period to the style of play in Alberta. "It's a lot more physical," Lloyd said. "The pace every game is a bit higher. It probably took 10-12 games to get fully comfortable." After beginning the season with five points in his first 12 games, Lloyd averaged just under a point a game the rest of the way. He finished the season with 13 goals and 45 points, seventh among AJHL defencemen and twice as many as any other Bobcat blueliner. Lloyd knows that as the host team, the Bobcats won't be the favourites. And though they may not have won championships like the other participating teams, Lloydminster was not a pushover this season, going 4414-2. The Bobcats needed just nine games to win two best-of-seven series before falling to Spruce Grove in the league semifinals. "Our playoffs didn't end the way we wanted," said Lloyd, whose Bobcats last played April 8. "We've been back at it, getting our Oakville's Christian Lloyd, shown with the Trenton Golden Hawks last season, will play in the RBC Cup for the Lloydminster Bobcats. His former team will also be vying for the national Jr. A championship, with begins Saturday. The 20-year-old defenceman had 45 points in 59 games for the Bobcats. | Stephen DiNallo -- OJHL Images legs back. We're excited. We'll have that underdog status, but Portage hosted last year and won." Portage's victory ended a 10-year drought for the hosts, who had a much better track record over the previous 10 years, winning four times. Lloyd believes the fans in Lloydminster -- a town of 27,000 that straddles the Alberta/ Saskatchewan border 250 kilometres east of Edmonton -- will give the Bobcats an edge. "The town is really hockey crazy," he said. "There's 1,300 fans every game. That's nice to see as a player. Lloydminster has supported us so much, cheering us on. It's a great place to play." It will be where Lloyd plays his final junior game, and with any luck it'll be in the Sunday, May 22 championship game. "It's a national tournament. It's what every junior player plays for," Lloyd said. "We've got the best teams in Canada. It's going to be quality hockey, fast with lots of skilled players. I'm just blessed to have the opportunity." omba op e n i n g w e e k e nd Jr. B Buzz wins third straight Eddie Renaud scored five times and Adam Wolfe had four goals to lead the Oakville Buzz to its third straight win, downing the Nepean Knights 14-5. Nepean opened the scoring in last Sunday's Ontario Jr. B lacrosse game but Renault and Wolfe scored 21 seconds apart as the Buzz took a lead it would not surrender. A minute later the two added goals 17 seconds apart, making it 4-1 Oakville. The Buzz would extend its lead to 6-1 early in the second. Nepean closed the gap to 8-5 by the end of the period but Matt Hodowany blanked the Knights in the third period, finishing the game with 41 saves to record his first Jr. B win. Meanwhile, Oakville scored six unanswered goals in the third to win for the third time in three days. Matt Anderson scored twice and Henry Follows, Austin Redding and Marley Angus added singles. Yvon Bolduc and Kyle Kolwich each had four assists, Matthew Dilella and Wolfe had three apiece while Renaud and Jaden Walcot each had two against Nepean. Oakville, 4-1 this season, is in Clarington to play the Green Gaels tonight (Thursday) before returning home to Joshua's Creek Arenas to play Halton Hills tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Oakville and Halton Hills are tied for first in the South East Division. West Toronto Wildcats' Ben Nolfi (right) scoops the ball too late to tag Oakville A's Darius Clark, who safely makes it back to second base after aborted attempt to steal third. The bantam elite game was part of the Oakville Minor Baseball Association's opening weekend festivities at Oakville Park last Saturday.| photo by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver