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42 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday November 2, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com 42 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2007 Clash with the Titans Paniccia, Wheeler to play for Ontario at U-18 hockey nationals By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER NO ESCAPE: Holy Trinity's Ashton Rochester tries to escape the grasp of a Notre Dame opponent in Tuesday's Halton junior boys football game. Both teams came into the game undefeated at 5-0 but Notre Dame scored a decisive 42-0 victory. Holy Trinity will now face Nelson in next Thursday's tier 1 semifinal. The game will be played at 2:30 p.m. at Nelson Stadium in Burlington. Trinity, Ridge advance to gridiron semis The Holy Trinity Titans and the Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers have earned a place in the Halton junior boys tier 1 football playoffs. The Titans, who were undefeated before dropping a 42-0 decision to Notre Dame in the regular season finale, will face the Nelson Lords. The game will be Thursday, Nov. 8 at Nelson stadium. Both teams finished the season with 5-1 records. Iroquois Ridge (4-2) will meet undefeated Notre Dame. That game will also be a 2:30 p.m. start, Thursday, Nov. 8 at Notre Dame. Field hockey: The Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils won't get a chance to defend their Halton junior girls field hockey title. Notre Dame (5-0-3) handed OT (6-0) its first loss of the season, edging the Red Devils 2-1 in Wednesday's semifinal. The Nelson Lords guaranteed it would be an all-Burlington final when they blanked the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders 3-0 in the other semifinal match. Since she first donned goalie pads, Nicole Paniccia has thrived on being the player to make a difference. "I love stopping pucks, being the last line of defence," the Grade 10 Holy Trinity student said. "Making a huge save, it's an amazing feeling." Paniccia will now get that chance against the best players in the country after being named to the Ontario Blue team for the National Women's Under18 Hockey Championship, which begins Wednesday in Kitchener. She will be joined by Oakville's Kate Wheeler as well as three other players with local ties -- Appleby College's Brianne Jenner and Brittany Haverstock and Geneva Kilman of the Oakville Ice. Paniccia played her first two years of tyke with the Oakville Hornets as a forward before deciding to try playing net. She hasn't looked back since. Last year she made the jump from bantam to junior in the Provincial Women's Hockey League with the Oakville Ice and this year joined the Toronto Aeros. She has put up great numbers with the Aeros, posting a 1.50 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. "I'm really looking forward to it," she said of the national tournament. Nicole Paniccia "It's an amazing opportunity. I can see other goalies and see how I compare. I just want to go in with a positive attitude and do the best that I can." Paniccia said her junior coaches, Darryl Giancola with the Aeros and Bill Metcalfe with the Ice, have played a big part in her development. At 14, Paniccia will be the second youngest player on the two Ontario teams. That's where having her Aeros teammate, Wheeler, on the team will be helpful. Wheeler played in the tournament two years ago when it was held in British Columbia and knows that will put more responsibility on her shoulders this time around. "They need someone with experience so I think I'll be looked at as one of the leaders this time," the 17year-old said. "I'll be able to help out the other girls. You have to leave everything on the ice." W h e e l e r, Kate Wheeler like Paniccia, made the move to the Aeros after spending her entire playing career in Oakville, first with the Hornets then with the Ice. The swift-skating forward has three goals and three assists in seven games with the Aeros. The Grade 12 student at Oakville Trafalgar said although the team has played a few exhibition games together, it can still be difficult coming together as a team for a one-week tournament. However, she said that will be offset by the talent level. "There are a lot of really good players so it will be exciting." Ontario Blue will play in a division with Atlantic Canada, British Columbia and Quebec. Wheeler said she expects Quebec, the silver medalist in 2005, to be their biggest rival for a spot in the playoff round. One of Wheeler and Paniccia's opponents on the Atlantic team will be Haverstock. The Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia native is in her first season at Appleby College after two years at the Warner Academy in Alberta. The Grade 12 student is a strong skater and will be a key part of the Atlantic blueline corps. Haverstock's Appleby College teammate, Jenner, will suit up for the Ontario Red team. The 16-year-old St. Catharines native began her hockey career at Oakville's Cutting Edge See Appleby page 43 www.icesports.com 905-845-6989