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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 11, 2017 | 44 Kevin Nagel, 559 SP E ER S RD., #UNIT 3 Oakville Beaver Sports Editor, knagel@burlingtonpost.com www.haltontransmission.com 9 0 5 -8 4 2 -0 7 2 5 Sports "Connected to your Community" Oakville's Greg Westlake (left, in action against Norway) had four goals and four assists in seven games as Canada won the gold medal at the World Para Hockey Championships in South Korea. Westlake (above, right) celebrates with Canadian goalie Dominic Larocque following Canada's 4-1 win over the United States 4-1 in the gold medal game. The Americans had won 11 of the 12 previous meetings between the teams before Canada's victory in the final. | photos courtesy of International Paralympic Committee Westlake, Canada on top of theworld after beatingAmericans By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff For more than a decade, Greg Westlake was a fixture on a dominant Canadian line featuring Brad Bowden and Billy Bridges. The trio racked up goals and played a central role in Canada's offence. They are the Canadian sledge hockey program's all time leaders in points -- the only three players to accumulate more than 300 ca reer points. At the 2015 world championships in Buffalo, the line scored two-thirds of Can ada's 27 goals. But that tournament had an ending that had become all too familiar as the United States shut out Canada 3-0 in the gold medal game. It was the continuation of a three-year trend. Since the last Paralympics, the Americans have had Canada's number. "That's a very polite way to put it. Since Sochi, we'd only beaten them one time -- in a shootout," says Westlake, Canada's captain, as if shootout wins don't really count. "We've been game planning to beat one team for three years." Two weeks ago at the World Para Hockey Championships (formerly Sledge Hockey World Championships) in South Korea, Westlake and his teammates put winning championship after champion their plan into action. ship. Those three years, figuring out how W hile the U.S. edged Canada 2-1 in to beat them, it made us better." round-robin play Canada was able to -- its 11th win in finally beat the Ameri cans by neutralizing its past 12 meetings their opponents' speed between the teams -- Canada effec We said, `Hold on, we and playing more of a possession game. But tively executed its game plan four days can't let these guys go it also required other changes, like break later in the gold on winning champion ing up Canada's most medal game. line. Canada scored ship after championship. lethal twice in 55 seconds Bowden was moved in the opening pe Those three years, figuring back to defence to riod and Tyler Mc take advantage of his Gregor added two out how to beat them , it passing ability while more 13 seconds Westlake and Bridges apart in the third as m ade us better. found homes on sepa Canada w on 4-1 to rate lines. claim its first world At the World Sledge Hockey Challenge in title since 2013. Greg Westlake December -- where "To go that long without winning, the U.S. beat Canada 5-2 in the final -- being a Canadian hockey team, there's a lot of pressure. Westlake was teamed up with a pair of This one was really difficult," said West 18-year-olds, Liam Hickey and Corbyn lake, who had four goals and four assists Smith, who are a part of a youth m ove in seven tournament games. "We said, ment that saw four teenagers join the na `hold on, we can't let these guys go on tional team following a number of retire kk pp ments. Westlake said the infusion of youth has benefitted the team both on and off the ice. "It keeps me young," he said. "I used to think I did a pretty good job keeping up with technology and then they start showing me where to go to stream shows and do all this stuff. Now I feel like a pret ty cool 30-year-old." At worlds, Westlake lined up with Tyler McGregor, 23, and Dominic Cozzolino, 22 and the line produced the two goals that sealed Canada's win in the final. More importantly, the combination of young players and Canada's veterans have proven they can beat the U.S., a good sign with the Paralympics just a year away. "Every four years it's almost a race against ourselves. Can we get good enough to win the Paralympics?" West lake said. "The world championships are like the checkmarks along the way." And Westlake has a lot of boxes he'd still like to check off. "I want to play as long as I can. I'm still trying to win as much as I can. I'm ad dicted to it," Westlake said. "It's a ton of fun and we have an awesome team. This is validation of why I keep playing. I felt like I was 18 again."