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hree hours after the fact, was cut down by an errant Georgetown Georgetown Raider defenceman high stick while the 20-year-old Hirtle-St. Ryan Hirtle-St. Denis was still in Denis was at the other end of the ice, disbelief over his expulsion from skating off on a line change. Problem Saturday's playoff game against the was, Raider forward Jeremy Whelan was Streetsville Derbys, and his teammates the real culprit, and despite his protests to were just as baffled about the evening's referee Dave Koziel, it was Hirtle-St. Denis who was assessed a five-minute bizarre sequence of events. Somehow, the stubborn Derbys avoid- major and game misconduct. With just ed elimination with a 3-2 double-over- five defencemen starting the match, time victory over the favoured Raiders Georgetown was outshot 42-35 and relied and trailed 3-2 in their increasingly on netminder Ryan Gibb to turn in anothintense series, with Streetsville goalie er first-star effort. "I guess the Tyler Gordon-- and some contro- For details on last night's game go to l i n e s m a n thought it was versial officials' www.independentfreepress.com me and told decisions-- at the the ref that I centre of attention. did it," said The Raiders were hoping to close out their best-of-seven OHA Provincial Jr. A Hirtle-St. Denis, one of just six returning Hockey League West Conference quarter- Raiders from last season's Dudley Hewitt final with a win in Streetsville last night Cup championship squad. "Actually, I (Tuesday). If not, game seven will be was on the bench when I found out about played at the Mold-Masters SportsPlex it. We can't worry about that now. You shouldn't lose a game like that at home in tonight at 8 p.m. Things started off well enough for the the playoffs." Raiders in Saturday's contest, with David Georgetown's Jon Southgate evened Jarman scoring just 25 seconds into the the score on a deflected point shot midgame. But shortly after the Derbys tied way through the second period, setting the score, the proceedings took a strange the stage for an entertaining third period twist, with Hirtle-St. Denis headed for the in front of more than 600 spectators. dressing room and Streetsville going into The Raiders thought they had won the the intermission with a 2-1 advantage. series late in the third after a wrapAt the 11-minute mark of the opening around attempt by Erik Lundmark was frame, Derby defender Clayton Windigo finished off by forward Paul Marchese, Raiders still a win away T Streetsville's Ryan Silveira is tripped up in front of Georgetown goalkeeper Ryan Gibb on Saturday in the first period of game five of the teams' OPJAHL West Conference playoff series. Streetsville won 3-2 in double OT. Photo by Eamonn Maher but Koziel disallowed the goal, saying after a Georgetown defensive miscue left Marchese had a skate in the crease. two wide-open forwards in front of Gibb, In OT, there was another flashpoint who felt he was tripped on the play. involving the officials, one of many on In game four Friday, the Raiders again the night that drew howls of protest from scored first on a two-man advantage supporters of both clubs. before the opening period was half over A Travis Kauffeldt goal was waved off and killed off all nine Streetsville power after Gordon intentionally pushed the net plays to grab a 3-1 win. Mike Gurtler, off its supports with 35 seconds left in the Kauffeldt (penalty shot) and Paul Marchfirst extra period. Kauffeldt was awarded ese (empty net) tallied for the Raiders. a penalty shot for the second time in as If Georgetown eliminates Streetsville, many games, but this time missed. Then, the Raiders will face Hamilton starting Scott Lees potted the winner for the tomorrow (Thursday) in Hamilton. Derbys three minutes into the second OT --By Eamonn Maher, staff writer Senior 'Cats, Jr. Rebels win Halton titles he undefeated Acton Bearcats claimed their first-ever Halton Secondary School Athletic Association senior girls' AAA volleyball title by knocking off Loyola of Oakville on Monday in two straight sets at Sheridan College. By far the smallest school by population in the Halton AAA playdowns, the Bearcats were victorious in all eight regular-season matches and both playoff encounters. They're used to being considered giant-killers, however, having won four of the five tournaments they've entered in 2005-06. "One thing this team has done really well all year is that when they get down in a match, they're able to keep their composure and make their way back into the lead," said Acton coach Joyce Finley. Not that Monday's match victory was a cakewalk for Acton as Loyola threatened to tie both games with late rallies. In the final set, Ashley Nixon served up the T Acton's Ashley Nixon (left) was a key contributor to the senior Bearcats' 2521, 25-23 triumph over St. Ignatius of Loyola on Monday in the HSSAA volleyball championship match. Watching Nixon is Bearcats' captain Melissa Bigg. Photo by Eamonn Maher clinching point despite sporting a gooseegg-sized bruise on her left elbow, earned by diving for a ball. Utilizing an aggressive offence headed up by captain Melissa Bigg and a stingy defence in which Jen Wieck and Kirsten Lowe shut down their opponents at the net, the Bearcats didn't allow Loyola to string many points together. "It was a little nerve-wracking at the end, but we pulled through," said Nixon before heading to the hospital to have the fluid drained from her elbow. The senior Bearcats are just one win away from another trip to the provincial finals and they'll host Hamilton's Bishop Ryan tomorrow in the Golden Horseshoe title match starting at 2 p.m. Finley was confident her girls could compete at the AAA level, but there were also some travel and financial considerations that came into play when the classifications were made at the start of the season. The OFSAA championships for the AA level are in Dryden, while the AAA championship tournament is just an hour away in Stratford March 7-8. Meanwhile, the Georgetown junior girls went unbeaten (10-0) during the regular season as well, and brought home another Halton title after beating Assumption of Burlington in three close games at Sheridan on Monday, prevailing 15-13 in the deciding set. It's the seventh Halton championship for Georgetown's juniors in the past nine seasons and maintains an incredible run of 11 years for the school's volleyball program in which at least one of the teams has captured a regional crown. The Rebels beat Nelson 2-1 in the semi-final, after having posted 2-0 sweeps of St. Thomas Aquinas and Iroquois Ridge in the preliminaries. The senior Rebels, winners of nine of the last 10 Halton finals, lost in the semifinals Friday to Oakville-Trafalgar 2-0. --By Eamonn Maher, staff writer