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18 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday May 3, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com ÒRe building year" turns into best season ever A true Oakville team T This year's Blades team boasts a combination that is rare in Junior A hockey -- a successful squad that features plenty of local talent. Oakville enters the RBC Royal Bank Cup national championship tournament as the team with the most homegrown players on its active roster. In fact, the Blades have more local players (10) than the Camrose Kodiaks, Humboldt Broncos, Cornwall Colts and Weeks Crushers combined (nine). Two of the Blades' local players play major leadership roles on the club. Forward Chris Corbeil is the Blades' captain, while defenceman Chris Haltigin is an alternate captain. Goaltender Oliver Wren, brought in as a backup earlier this year, will be the Blades' starter at the Royal Bank Cup. Wren is taking the place of Ottawa-area native Scott Greenham, who turned 21 earlier this month and is sitting out the tournament to maintain his full NCAA eligibility this fall. Luke Moodie, whose father Ken is a former Blades player and coach, ranked second on the club in regular-season scoring with 24 goals and 45 assists in 49 games. Moodie's older brother, Lane, played five years with the Blades as well. Defencemen Dan Hunt and Taylor Ferris, as well as forwards Steven Guzzo, Kellan Lain, Kyle Badham and Lindsay Sparks, have also made large contributions throughout the Blades' playoff run. Another two players, Domenic Monardo and Adam Simms, are from Oakville but have not played in the playoffs due to injury. his was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Oakville Blades. But even last fall, as the club prepared to open the Provincial Junior A Hockey League season, captain Chris Corbeil said something that has turned out to be prophetic. "We're capable of doing well in the playoffs, winning the West and going to the Royal Bank Cup," he said, "but we're a team that has to show up every night. We can't just get by on talent alone, but we have enough talent that if we work hard, we should do well." Do well? How about advancing farther than any Blades club in franchise history? First, Oakville easily won the Provincial Junior A Hockey League's West Conference regular-season title, rolling to a 39-6-4 record to finish 17 points ahead of the Georgetown Raiders. Then, after enjoying a bye in the opening round of the playoffs, the Blades proceeded to dispose of both the Milton IceHawks and Raiders in five-game series, claiming their third West playoff title in the past five seasons. Oakville went on to defeat the North champion Aurora Tigers in a six-game league semifinal series, then decisively downed the South's Markham Waxers in five games to win its first-ever Provincial Junior A Hockey League playoff crown. The final step for advancing to the RBC Royal Bank Cup national championships was to win the Dudley Hewitt Central Canada tournament. The Blades ran the table, posting wins over the Dryden Ice Dogs, Sudbury Junior Wolves and host Newmarket Hurricanes in round-robin play before defeating the Hurricanes 5-3 in the title match. Blades captain Chris Corbeil (right) accepts the Dudley Hewitt Cup after Oakville won the Central Canada Jr. A title. Oakville will begin its quest for a national championship tomorrow when it opens up its RBC Royal Bank Cup tournament schedule with a 7 p.m. game against the host Cornwall Colts. The tournament will run throughout next week, concluding with the championship game Sunday, May 11. Rounding out the tournament field will be the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Camrose Kodiaks, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Humboldt Broncos and the Maritime Junior A Hockey League's Weeks Crushers. Inside this eight-page special section, The Oakville Beaver profiles the 2007-08 Oakville Blades and highlights what to watch for from the other four teams in the tournament. All of us on Town Council would like to congratulate our home town Blades for qualifying for the National Finals. Everyone at Town Hall has been closely following the Blades run through the playoffs, and we are thrilled to see the success they are having. The 2007-08 team will certainly be remembered for years to come as possibly the best team Oakville has ever had. We wish the Blades the best of luck at the Nationals. Congratulations and Good Luck OAKVILLE BLADES at the RBC Cup ORGANIZED HOCKEY LEAGUE FOR BOYS Ages 4, 5 & 6 Sincerely, Town Council 450 South Service Road, Oakville 905.337.9381 STORE HOURS: Monday-T uesday 9-6, Wednesday-Friday 9-8, Saturday 9-5, Sunday 11-4 LEAGUE PROUD SUPPORTER OF OAKVILLE MINOR HOCKEY SINCE 1941 Welcome to our team sports location Hockey · Baseball · Slo Pitch Supplier of: · October to March · Game and Practice Weekly · Fun & Development · Sweater & Socks · Smaller nets, lighter puck · Warm viewing area GO BLADES GO!! 2008 STRONG HOCKEY DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE REGISTRATION FORM