Pa ge 4 8 T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 1 5, 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a 312 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com Sat. Oct 17, 2015 7:30 pm at Mold-Masters Sports Plax Georgetown Raiders vs. Kingston Voyageurs SPORTS 'Quoteunquote' 'I used to play basketball, but I al-ways wanted to hit things.' -- Michael Allain, see below Halton Hills netminder Emma Burns kicks aside another scoring chance by the Burlington Bulldogs on Friday afternoon during the Best of the Best Thanksgiving Challenge held at arenas in George- town and Acton over the weekend. Burns was spectacular in the host peewee A Thunder goal in a 2-0 win for the Bulldogs. Photos by Eamonn Maher A record 100 teams took part in the Halton Hills Minor Hockey Association's Best of the Best Thanksgiving Challenge this past week- end and host Thunder teams came away with Harvest Cup titles. Entries from as far away as Dallas, Tex- as and the Ottawa area took part in this year's four-day event, with games played at Georgetown's Mold-Masters SportsPlex and the Acton Arena. The Halton Hills atom additional entry rep Thunder took top spot in its division with a 2-1 victory over Orangeville in Sunday's final, with the minor peewee A squad de- feating the Welland Tigers 4-2 to capture the Harvest Cup, steamrolling through the four- game preliminary round without giving up a single goal. A 3-2 win over Oakville clinched the ban- tam A championship for the Thunder and a few other Halton Hills teams reached the semifinals. The atom A Thunder skated past the Dallas team 4-2 on Friday night. In the minor midget AE division, the Hamilton Huskies prevailed 1-0 over Halton Hills in Monday's championship game. Allain prepping for shot at U.S. college scholarship You'd assume that most young Canadian athletes who wear #99 on their jerseys are paying tribute to a certain hockey player known as the Great One, Wayne Gretzky. But local resident Michael Allain has an- other superstar pro athlete in mind every time he pulls on his uniform for the Cana- da Prep Football Academy, a unique high school located near St. Catharines. The 16-year-old's ambition is to play Division I NCAA football at a major U.S. college and his favourite player sports the double-nine for the NFL's Houston Texans, J.J. Watt, a defensive lineman like the 6-foot- 4, 245-pound Allain. Canada Prep is in its third year of opera- tion and bills itself as the only high school in the country that teaches the four-down U.S.-rules game with a full schedule south of the border, while providing a Canadian education. "It's tough to get a D1 scholarship at a Canadian high school and here we're get- ting better exposure," said Allain, who plans to study business in post-secondary school. "There's always a lot of scouts at our games, but for me all I can worry about is performing on the field and getting my grades where they need to be." Canada Prep students receive their own recruiting package and highlight film that is distributed to American and Canadian schools. Allain attended Christ the King Second- ary School the past two years before enroll- ing in Grade 11 this fall at Canadian Prep, which has played some top-50-ranked high schools in the U.S. on Friday nights in plac- es such as Ohio and New Jersey. He was a key cog in the defence of the Guelph Gryphons' Ontario Football League team that went undefeated on the way to the championship this summer and figures he's got a couple of inches in height yet to grow, as well as much more muscle to put on. "Michael's an imposing player out there with great size who knows where he needs to be. He's a really smart player," said Can- ada Prep head coach Geoff McArthur, an All-American receiver who caught passes from current Green Bay Packers' superstar QB Aaron Rodgers when the two played for the University of California Bears. "(Michael)'s got a high ceiling and a lot of potential because of his agility for a big guy. There's still a lot for him to learn, but he's like a sponge for knowledge of the game. Whatever university he chooses, he's going to get it done on their D-line." Three division titles for Thunder By Eamonn Maher emaher@theifp.ca Defensive lineman Michael Allain from George- town helped the Guelph Jr. Gryphons go unde- feated on their way to the league championship this past summer. Allain has joined the Canada team that plays most of its games south of the border. Submitted photo Continued on page 49 Entwistle up for World U-17 Challenge Right-winger MacKenzie Entwistle of Georgetown is among 24 Ontario Hockey League players selected to represent Canada at the World Under-17 Challenge in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, B.C. Oct. 30 to Nov. 7. The 16-year-old Entwistle, drafted in the second round (40th overall) by the Hamilton Bulldogs this past spring, will soon be named to the roster of one of three Cana- dian teams featuring 66 players to skate alongside the top prospects in the world born in 1999 or later. The Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the U.S. will also send entries to the eight-team event. All eight squads will qualify for the quarterfinals. At 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, Entwistle, a gradu- ate of the Toronto Marlboros' AAA minor midgets, who won both the OHL Cup and GTHL championship last season, has yet to record a point for the Bull- dogs after six games. MACKENZIE ENTWISTLE