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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 22 ,2 01 8 | 42 SPORTS Visit theifp.ca for more coverage With the Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs ready to drop next week, the Georgetown Raiders got an up-close look Monday afternoon at one of the teams they might face next month. The Oakville Blades came back for a 2-1 overtime victory over Georgetown in front of a free-admission Family Day crowd of more than 1,100 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, spoiling a spectacular goaltend- ing performance by rookie Na- than Torchia, who made 54 saves. And while their coach wasn't thrilled about the overall team effort, the Raiders nearly hung on for the two points before giv- ing up the equalizer with two minutes left in regulation. Torchia faced a barrage of 26 shots alone between the third pe- riod and overtime, helpless to stop Matt Steen's rebound mark- er near the end of the 4-on-4 first extra period. Matt Kellenberg- er's tying goal was a shot that Oshawa Generals' prospect Tor- chia didn't see in a crowd. "We probably played with five guys today. Obviously Torch was unbelievable but it wasn't good enough," said head coach and general manager Greg Walters. "We're not going to go very far in the playoffs if that's the way we decide to play." Georgetown's lone goal came late in the first frame on a bank shot from behind the net by Josh Nixon off Oakville goalie Chris Elliot. The defending league champs couldn't capitalize on four second-period power plays after killing off three man disad- vantages in the opening 10 min- utes and didn't get a shot on goal in OT. "You're going to have games like that where there are going to be a lot of shots, but it came down to the will to win and I don't think we had that today," said Torchia, a 17-year-old from Waterloo who owns a 1.35 goals-against average in 13 starts. "A big reason for my success and the success of the team lately is how they've been playing in front of me and (the Blades) just came out stronger than we did." The 35-11-3-3 Raiders came in- to the contest having lost just once in their past 16 games and another Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) West Division banner sewn up, meaning they placed second in the South/West Conference behind the Toronto Patriots. Georgetown will take on the seventh-place Toronto's St. Mi- chael's Buzzers in a best-of-7 con- ference quarter-final series, while the 36-13-2-1 Blades are likely to be the fourth seed in the conference behind the North York Rangers. The Raiders close out the reg- ular season with visits to Bur- lington on Wednesday afternoon and Friday night to take on the Cougars, who won't make the playoffs. Torchia registered his fourth shutout of the season Thursday night in Stouffville in a 3-0 win, making 18 stops against his for- mer club. Andrew Court, Justin Paul and Jordan Crocker scored for the visitors. Walters expects injured cen- tre Bailey Molella to be back for the post-season along with 20- year-old blueliner Zack Dybow- ski, who's been out since Decem- ber with a lower body injury. Georgetown Raider forward Matt McJannet attempts a spin move in front of the Oakville Blades' net before being knocked off the puck by veteran defender Jeff Clarke during Monday afternoon's Ontario Junior Hockey League contest. The host Blades rallied for a 2-1 overtime victory. Eamonn Maher photo Raider Torchia nearly steals Family Day show EAMONN MAHER emaher@theifp.ca Matt Swan hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to give George- town's junior boys an upset 51-48 triumph over host Garth Webb on Thursday and a berth in the Hal- ton Secondary School Athletic Association Tier I basketball championship game on Wednes- day (Feb. 21). Heading into the semifinal matchup, GDHS had a 4-6 regu- lar-season record while Garth Webb tied for first in the division with a 9-1 mark. Georgetown had defeated Nelson in Burlington earlier in the week. Coach Chris Young's side was slated to take on 9-2 King's Chris- tian Collegiate Wednesday in the Halton final at Sheridan College in Oakville. GDHS's senior boys had an ex- cellent season, finishing the Tier I regular schedule with a 7-3 re- cord, followed by a 57-44 quarter- final victory at King's Christian Collegiate in Oakville Tuesday. But the campaign came to an end last Thursday after a 54-42 de- feat against the top-seeded Iro- quois Ridge Trailblazers in Oak- ville in the semifinal. HOCKEY: Christ the King's boys topped the Halton Catholic Athletic Association regular-sea- son standings at 9-1-2 and then skated past Burlington's Notre Dame 6-2 on home ice Thursday to earn a spot in the semifinals, riding a seven-game winning streak. On the girls' side, CtK's Jag- uars crushed Bishop Reding 10-0 this week to finish the regular season with an 8-4 mark heading into the playoffs. The GDHS boys were blanked 5-0 at home Thursday by unde- feated Oakville-Trafalgar but have clinched a spot in the post- season at 6-3-2. Georgetown's girls have a 3-4-2 record with one regular-season contest remaining, with the play- offs set to begin Feb. 26 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville. Last-second basket sends Georgetown juniors to Halton Tier I final Netminder Zach Faria of Georgetown District High School was able to catch this shot through a screen in the late stages of the team's 5-0 loss to the visiting Oakville-Trafalgar Red Devils Thursday at the Mold-Masters SportsPlex. Eamonn Maher photo