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40 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 7, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Defensive miscues cost Tigers in Halton final Normally a stingy defensive team, the T.A. Blakelock Tigers made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in Monday's Halton high school boys' hockey final -- and paid dearly for them. Blakelock dropped a 3-1 decision to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Burlington's Mainway Arena, with all three Irish goals coming on odd-man rushes. The Tigers' loss meant they had to travel to Hamilton yesterday for a Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference challenge match against St. Jean de Brebeuf. The winner of that game (results not available at press time) advanced to meet Notre Dame today (2 p.m. at Appleby Ice Centre) in the GHAC final for the right to represent the region in the upcoming provincial AAA/AAAA championship tournament. Notre Dame opened the scoring six minutes into Monday's contest, as Tyler Dyck scored on a three-on-two rush. Blakelock's Brett Thompson tied the game midway through the second, hammering a slapshot into the topright corner of the goal. However, the Irish quickly regained the lead as Chris Masson slapped a shot between the pads of Tigers netminder Matt Noonan on a three-on-one break. Notre Dame added an insurance marker with 10:21 to go in the third period. Eric Reynolds blew around Blakelock defenders to break in alone on Noonan and beat the goaltender on a deke. "We've been playing dump and chase all year, and it's pretty obvious we got caught a few times," Tigers captain Adam Fiddler said of his team's defensive miscues. "(Coach Ken) Butler tells us to get the puck down there and chase it, with one man in and another man in support, but a few times we made a mistake and couldn't get back. You can't do that against a team like Notre Dame." Irish goaltender Scott Anderson was also a major difference in the game, stonewalling Tigers sniper Mitch Fillman on several occasions and also making difficult saves on shots by Thompson and Fiddler. The game was originally scheduled to be played last Thursday at Central Arena, but was postponed twice due to last week's storms. It was relocated from Central to Mainway because of a power failure at Central Monday afternoon. -- Jon Kuiperij LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER CRASHING THE CREASE: T.A. Blakelock's Mitch Fillman (in black) is sent flying over fallen Notre Dame Fighting Irish goaltender Scott Anderson by Irish defenceman Blake Moynes during Monday's Halton high school boys' hockey championship game in Burlington. No one was injured on the play. Notre Dame won, 3-1. Pehar, Alberta earn silver at CIS volleyball tourney Despite upsetting the defending champions and the tournament's top seed, Brock Pehar and the University of Alberta Golden Bears had to settle for a silver medal at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's volleyball championships in Hamilton. Pehar, a St. Thomas Aquinas grad, sparked a fourth-set rally by Alberta in Sunday's championship match to force a fifth and deciding set. With Alberta trailing two sets to one and the fourth game tied 15-15, Pehar served up an ace to kick off a five-point Golden Bear run. However, the University of Manitoba prevailed in the deciding set to win the national title (22-25, 25-18, 25-20, 1825, 15-10). Alberta reached the final for the sixth year in a row by rallying to knock off the defending champion Trinity Western University 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12 on Saturday. Alberta defeated Dalhousie in the opening round. Dalhousie, featuring Oakville's Dan Murray and Chris Dunlop, rebounded to win its next two matches, including a 25-21, 25-19, 25-13 victory over the Laval Rouge et Or, to win the consolation championship. Oakville's Devon Miller and Dave Muddiman helped Queen's reach the the national tournament for the second year in a row but lost both its matches. Prior to the tournament, Miller was named a first-team all-Canadian while Pehar was named to the second team. More coverage of Oakville's contingent at the tournament will appear in a future edition of The Oakville Beaver. OFSAA volleyball Both the Loyola Hawks and St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders opened their Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations senior girls' volleyball tournaments with victories yesterday. Loyola, competing in the AAA tournament in Midland, rallied from an opening-set loss to defeat Eden St. Catharines 16-25, 25-21, 15-12. The Hawks were also scheduled to play St. Theresa's (the tournament host) and Essex District yesterday. The Hawks concluded their roundrobin schedule this morning against Richview Etobicoke. Quarter-finals were slated to begin today at 11 a.m., with the bronze-medal game set for 6 p.m. and the gold-medal contest at 7 p.m. Aquinas, in the AA competition at Odessa's Ernestown Secondary, defeated Bishop Strachan in its opening match, 25-8, 25-15. The Raiders then played Stratford Central and Dryden. Results of those games were unavailable at press time. Aquinas was to play Ernestown this morning to complete its round-robin schedule. Quarter-finals were to begin this morning. The bronze-medal game will be played at 6 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by the gold-medal match. OFFICIAL NOMINATION ENTRY CARRIER OF THE YEAR! Your Name Address Phone Yes, I would like to nominate my carrier: Now that 2006 has ended, The Oakville Beaver is looking for their Carrier of the Year, and would like your input! If you think your present carrier is providing excellent delivery service, and is friendly and courteous, then please fill in the attached ballot. The winning carrier will receive 2000 BONUS POINTS from the paper, plus a $100 Gift Certificate from Philthy McNasty's, and his or her family will be treated to dinner by The Oakville Beaver! One lucky reader who sends in a nomination will also receive a $100 Philthy McNasty's Gift Certificate! Name for Oakville Beaver Carrier of the Year! Comments: Please mail nominations to: The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON L6K 2S4 or Fax to: (905) 337-5557