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42 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell Broker of Record 905-844-4444 B R O K E R A G E I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2008 Going atom PHOTOS BY NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER VENOM TOURNEY: The Oakville Basketball Club played host to its second annual atom boys' tournament last weekend at Abbey Park High School. Stefan Rajacic (pictured left, with ball) led all tournament scorers for the OBC's entry, the Venom. Elijah Lostracco hit a pair of buzzer-beating three-point shots in one of the Venom's games, an overtime loss to the Kitchener/Waterloo Vipers, but the Venom was unable to crack the podium at the tournament. Another local entry, the Oakville Vytis, did manage a silver medal at the tournament, finishing second to the Brampton Warriors. Above, Vytis player Chris Tani (with ball) gets tripped up by Burlington's Peter Rerhling in the open court. Blades forced to cope with loss of high-scoring forwards By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Victorious in 17 of their past 18 games, the Oakville Blades aren't accustomed to losing on the ice. It's been a different story lately off the ice, however, for last year's Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League champs. The Blades have lost two high-scoring forwards over the past month, albeit for drastically different reasons. Local resident Brendan Taylor, who joined the Blades in October after opting not to report to the Ontario Hockey League, requested a trade to the league-leading Couchiching Terriers and was granted that wish last week. Julian Cimadamore, a key part of last year's championship squad, then left the Blades Monday for the OHL's Kitchener Rangers. The two players combined for 49 points in 34 games this season with Oakville. Blades head coach and general manager Carlo Coccimiglio is taking the departure of the two snipers in stride. "It is expected in this league. Things are not falling apart at all," he said. "It was a family decision (for Cimadamore), what's best for the boy. When you can go to the (OHL) and get a good education, you have to really think about it. "(Taylor) is very gifted offensively, he sees the ice very well, but he didn't fit into our style of play," Coccimiglio added. "He comes from the OHL, where he was accustomed to a certain system and had a hard time adjusting. We're a four-line team and try to play all of our lines." Taylor had not played for the Blades the past three weeks as he awaited a deal. Taylor earned four assists in his first game Friday for Couchiching. Coccimiglio said he isn't too concerned about the Blades' apparent loss of scoring punch. "Taylor hadn't been in the lineup for three weeks, so that's not a big factor for us," he said. "Somebody's always stepped up, and we will find a player down the road. It's just a matter of getting a deal done." Coccimiglio was pleased with the play of Kellan Lain, Dustin Alcock and Chris Rocca this past weekend. The line combined for 13 points in two games as the Blades knocked off the Brampton Capitals 7-3 Friday at Joshua's Creek Arenas, then blanked the Port Hope Predators 5-0 Sunday in Port Hope. Rocca had three goals and an assist, Alcock had two goals and three assists, and Lain contributed a goal and three helpers. Two of the line's six goals came on the powerplay as Coccimiglio utilized forward Lindsay Sparks on the point. Also scoring for Oakville on the weekend were Ryan Murphy, Jeremy Welsh, Sean Teakle, Luke Moodie, Kyle Badham and Cimadamore. Ian O'Brien recorded the victory in goal against Brampton, while Matt Hache made 18 saves to earn the shutout against Port Hope. The game against the Predators featured nine ejections, eight of those in the third period. Adam Simms, Matt Braun, Badham and Rocca all engaged in scraps in the final three minutes of the game. Coccimiglio said he received an e-mail from Port Hope general manager Tim Clayden earlier this week, apologizing for the Predators' conduct. Oakville (25-4-1) will look to overtake the Georgetown Raiders for top spot in the MacKinnon Division standings this weekend as it is scheduled to play three games in three days. The Blades will be home to the Vaughan Vipers Friday (a 7:30 p.m. start at Joshua's Creek Arenas), then travel to Burlington Saturday for an 8 p.m. contest against the Cougars. The busy weekend concludes Sunday with a 6:30 p.m. road game against the Bowmanville Eagles. Defenceman Alex Abramov, acquired recently from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Melfort Mustangs, is expected to make his Blades debut Friday.