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32 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca from 2 .4% ·Full MLS ·Full Service Call ADAM CAMPBELL Broker 905-844-4444 SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2006 Leader of the pack Tight race in Volpe girls' field hockey OT again first, but White Oaks, Aquinas on Red Devils' heels By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER BEST OF THE BANTAMS: Holy Family student Eric Purcell leads the way during Friday's Halton Catholic District School Board elementary cross-country meet at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Purcell won the bantam boys' division; complete results were not available at press time. Blades get offensive in Jr. A hockey action Don Edwards' chemistry experiment has started to generate a little heat. After his team scored just six goals in its first three games of the Provincial Junior A Hockey League season, the Oakville Blades' coach began tinkering with his lineup. The result: the Blades have averaged eight goals a game over their last four contests. Compared to their previous outings, the Blades' five goals on Saturday could be considered a drought. Oakville needed every one of those markers, though, as Trevor Elliott scored with 1:49 remaining in regulation to give the Blades a 54 victory over the Brampton Capitals. "We've got some new bodies and When the final whistle sounded, a member of the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils hit her stick on the ground and her team slowly walked back toward its goaltender. If you were just arriving, you would think the Devils had just lost. Instead, the long faces were the result of a scoreless draw against the Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers in Monday's Halton high school senior girls' field hockey game. But for the Red Devils, who have not lost a regular season game in more than three years, a tie is as close to defeat as they've come. OT didn't take long to get back into the win column. Two hours later, it defeated the T.A. Blakelock Tigers 2-0 to improve to 6-0-1 on the season and remain atop the Volpe Division. That's a perch the Devils have had to work a little harder to maintain this year. In addition to their tie, they held off the White Oaks Wildcats for a 1-0 victory last Monday and scored both of their goals against Blakelock in the final nine minutes of the game. "The other teams are playing quite well," said OT coach Jim Groen. "Everybody wants to beat us. We have to take every game seriously and be ready for each game." OT's stellar defensive play will give it a chance to win any game. In 16 games over the past two years, OT has allowed only two goals. One of those was in last year's Halton final, a 1-0 loss to eventual provincial champion Notre Dame. The Red Devils have eight players back from last year's See Line-juggling page 34 See Wildcats page 33 INDOOR SOCCER PROGRAM Winter Session January 8, 2007 ­ April 1, 2007 U6 (2001) ­ U14/15 (1992/93) Limited Space Available OAKVILLE SPORTS CENTRE INTERSTED IN BECOMING A VOLUNTEER FOR THE OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB FOR THE 2006/07 SEASON? Contact: cwatt@oakville-soccer.on.ca INDOOR SOCCER SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Winter Session Contact: jneefs@oakville-soccer.on.ca 504 Iroquois Shore Rd., Unit #11, Oakville, ON L6H 3K4 Tel: 905-849-4436 Fax: 905-849-3677 Thanks to our Key Sponsors: The Oakville Beaver A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club