The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

42 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 19, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Bell tournament is bigger than ever By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR The Bell, by the numbers For the second consecutive year, the Richard Bell Memorial Minor Hockey Tournament will feature the most teams in the competition's history. One hundred and thirty-one squads are set to participate in this year's event, which will run from Dec. 27-30 at six rinks throughout the town. The 2007 tournament drew 121 teams, 20 more than the previous year, after the 2005 competition attracted only 68 clubs. Ron Millichamp, who is cochairing the tournament with Dana Harvey, said the annual competition for minor age divisions is the strongest it's ever been. "No question," he said. "Will we make as much money as we did in the past? Probably not this year as much as last year. Ice time is more expensive and we didn't want to push the (tournament) fee above $1,000. It's not a money grab. The Minor Oaks Hockey Association doesn't do it that way." Millichamp said reasons for the growth of the tournament include guaranteeing each team a minimum of four games, free admission to all games, freebies that are handed out to players, and organizers' efforts to make the schedules as fair as possible for all participants. He also pointed to the recent success of MOHA's rep program as a factor in the resurgence of the tournament. "Our teams are stronger, and teams want to come play the stronger teams," he said. This year's field will include clubs from North American centres as far away as Rochester, Windsor, Sudbury, West Seneca and Fort Erie. The tradition of the involvement of teams from overseas also continues as two Finnish teams, an English squad and a Swedish club will compete. Three local teams -- the minor peewee AE (additional entry), minor peewee A and minor bantam AE Rangers -- were crowned champi- ons at last year's tournament, while all but three of the 14 Minor Oaks Hockey Association squads participating advanced to at least the semifinal round. There is potential for similar success this year. As of Wednesday, seven of the 14 local teams that will compete in next week's tournament were leading their Tri-County divisions, while three others were in second place. The minor peewee AA (22-0-0), minor bantam AA (21-0-1) and minor peewee A (21-1-1) Rangers have combined to lose only once in 67 games this year, while the minor peewee AE (192-0), minor bantam AE (17-2-4), minor atom AA (17-2-2), minor peewee AAA (13-2-3), minor atom AAA (15-3-5) and minor bantam A (15-32) squads have also been particularly dominant. That isn't to suggest that Oakville teams are a shoo-in to win their divisions at the Richard Bell, however. "We're not setting it up so they can just walk through and be crowned, or have an easy ride," said Millichamp. "We've worked very hard to draw some top teams." AAA, AA, A and AE divisions will be offered in the minor atom and minor peewee age groups. Minor bantam and minor peewee will feature competition at the AA, A and AE levels. 131 2250 6 5 14 300 38 $0 teams that will play in the tournament, the most ever players who will play in the tournament arenas to be used for the tournament countries represented: Canada, U.S., Sweden, Finland and England Oakville Ranger teams participating games to be played over four days hours to draw up the tournament schedule admission to the games all weekend long Be a Winner! Oct 29th - Nov 4th Enter these DailyWebTV Dec 19th - Dec 25th New Homes Friday What does it take to receive the coveted Builder of the Year designation? contests. One goal prevents Hornets from making tournament final The Oakville BMO Financial Group peewee B Hornets allowed only one goal in four games but even their outstanding defensive effort wasn't enough to get them into the finals of the Whitby Wolves Tournament of Heroes. After posting three consecutive shutouts to finish first in their pool, the Hornets met the Whitby, which is undefeated in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League, in the semifinals. Despite outshooting the tournament hosts, the game remained scoreless until Whitby scored with a minute and a half to play and held on for a 1-0 victory. The Hornets opened the tournament with a 2-0 victory over Belleville and then posted a 4-0 win over Cambridge. In their first of two straight games against undefeated teams, Oakville played Woodstock to 0-0 tie. Saturday Real Estate It takes more to maintain your furnace than changing the air filters. Health & Beauty Sunday Do you have what it takes to assist on perfect smiles? SIGN UP and you could WIN! $200 In Motion Winter maintenance: What needs doing and why is it important? gift certificate to Dove Spa. Winter Lessons and Christmas Camps Now Booking · Weekday Lessons 4/$107 or $35/Lesson · Saturday at Farm 10am-3pm $40 (Children 5-12 yrs.) www.bertinstables.com (905) 827-4678www.bertinstables.com Monday BERTIN STABLES Lifestyle & Leisure Tuesday Learning opportunities provide quality care and save you some money. OPEN HOUSE SUN 2-4 (CANCELLED IF STORM) 553 BLENHEIM CR. Wednesday Home & Garden Learn all the latest tips and tricks to make your home sparkle. Thursday DENTURES tarting at S In the Kitchen Low fat, super fresh-tasting Asian Mushroom Lettuce Wraps 379 905-815-8208 LIMITED TIME OFFER $ RECORDED PREVIEW 1 800 758 6954 EXT 1132 EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN SE OAKVILLE $635,000 Executive 4 bdrm, long list of upgrades · 3 fireplacesprofessionally fin bsmt incl wet bar/media ctr / 3 pc bath and w/o to backyd · 2 tier deck / patio-Beachcomber hot tub · sunken main floor retreat / and great kit · lots of cupboards/ granite / 4 stainless appl / generous master w / 5pc ens. / WIC. Don't miss this one! Visit DailyWebTV.com to Win! GARY LEISKAU Broker 905-338-3737 Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. Brokerage