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Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2008 35 Restricted area Eagles hand Nelson first loss in high school hockey Lengthy penalty-kill, shorthanded goal key By Herb Garbutt can compete with -- and beat -- the division leaders. Although Abbey Park demonAbbey Park Eagles coach Larry strated good speed on its forecheck, Rinaldo said his team is determined it was goalie Jeff Burton that was the not to be outworked. team's best penalty killer. He made As Tuesday's Halton high school several nice saves in helping the boys' hockey game unfolded, the Eagles kill three five-on-three Eagles didn't have much choice. advantages for Nelson. Locked in a 1-1 tie with the Nelson "We had three or four chances on Lords, Abbey Park took penalties 22 the power play that we didn't capiseconds apart. Another talize on, and that buried "We had three or penalty left the Eagles us," Nelson coach Mark shorthanded for a total four chances on Kardosh said. of four minutes and 20 the power play It took Giesbrecht to seconds, including a that we didn't throw the last shovel of stretch of 2:20 when they capitalize on, and dirt as he scored in the were down two men. late going to break a 2-2 that buried us." Not only did Abbey tie and cap an eventful Park kill the penalties, it final period. Nelson coach also took the lead as Prior to that goal, it Ryan McMahon inter- Mark Kardosh appeared that Nelson cepted Nelson goalie was going to keep its undefeated Spencer Gallant's clearing pass just streak alive. Trevor Willard's point outside the red line and fired a quick shot found its way through a crowd slapshot into the net before the in front and slipped under Burton's Nelson goalie could get reset. arm with 6:33 to play, tying the Although the 2-1 lead didn't game 2-2. last -- Abbey Park needed Rick Nelson continued to apply presGiesbrecht's second goal of the sure but Burton thwarted its scoring game with 3:36 to play to pull out a attempts, sliding across to make a 3-2 win -- surviving the lengthy save on a two-on-one break and then shorthanded stretch clearly marked kicking out his leg to make a nice a turning point for the Eagles in the toe save. game, if not their season. "They're a consistent threat with Abbey Park entered the game with all their lines," Burton said of the a 5-3 record, having struggled with Nelson squad, which won the previinjuries all season and missing as ous meeting between the teams by many as four players as it headed into the same 3-2 score. the Christmas break. It was still two This time, it would be Abbey Park's players short as it met Nelson, which turn. The Eagles capitalized on an oddwas undefeated in 10 games (6-0-4) man break when Giesbrecht one-timed heading into Tuesday's action. There a cross-ice pass. Gallant got across the may not be enough time for Abbey crease quickly to get a piece of the shot, Park to make up the four points it but the puck dropped behind him and trails Nelson by, but it has shown it trickled across the line. OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER GET OUT OF HERE: Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers goaltender Zack Dawson doesn't seem too happy with Loyola's Pat McKinlay skating through his crease during Wednesday's high school boys' hockey contest at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. OT downs STA in clash of Halton senior girls' volleyball elite It was a look at the present and a glimpse of the future of Halton volleyball, neatly rolled up into one game. The Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils and the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders entered Wednesday's senior girls' volleyball game as the only undefeated teams in Halton's Volpe Division. By the end of the match, the Devils had established themselves as the favourite to return to the Halton final for a fifth consecutive year with a 25-23, 25-13 victory. Of course, a trip to the Halton final almost certainly means a matchup with the powerhouse Georgetown Rebels, winners of 11 of the last 13 titles and once again undefeated this season. However, the only two teams to take the title from the Rebels since 1995 are OT (2006) and Aquinas (2003). Both teams seem ready to take another run at the Rebels; if not this year, then next. The two starting lineups in Wednesday's match featured just three Grade 12s among the 12 starters -- OT's D.D. Dionisio and Aquinas' Jamie Neefs and Victoria Miliucci. They certainly took a run at one another in the opening game, during which the lead changed hands nine times. Seven of those changes came after OT rallied from an 11-6 deficit to tie the game at 11. Both coaches viewed the opening game as an important one because of the effect on the confidence of their young teams. See Devils page 36 Boasting over 14,000 players nationally, the Canlan Ice Sports 3 on 3 Spring/Summer Hockey League is without question one of the largest youth 3 on 3 leagues in the world. 905-845-6989 www.icesports.com