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

38 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2009 AND THEY'RE OFF: Pictured left to right, Oakville Speed Skating Club members Evan MacHattie, Sydney MacDonald and Taylor Amos take off from the starting line of their race at last weekend's Western Regional meet at River Oaks Recreation Centre. Five local winners at speed skating meet Skating on home ice agreed with five Oakville Speed Skating Club athletes last weekend. Alex Giannotti, Paige Buchanan, Zoe O'Neill, Conor McNamee and Sean McAnuff each won their divisions at the fourth Western Regional meet of the speed skating season, held Sunday at River Oaks Recreation Centre. Divisions were determined by skaters' previous times in the 500-metre distance, not age. The meet featured 16 divisions and 219 skaters, 76 of those skaters from the host club. Teams from Hamilton, Durham, Newmarket, Niagara, Brampton, Cambridge, Milton, Kawartha, Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto, Clarington, Barrie, Markham and London also participated. Edouard Parent, Samiah Dhingra, Christopher Gemmell and Katie Quesnelle were the local skaters to produce secondplace finishes, while Natalie Skov, Abby O'Neill, William Malcolm, Gabriel Patron and Ryan McAnuff earned bronze medals. Other local skaters to finish in the top five of their divisions included Samuel St. James, Christopher Sturino, Daniel Nelson, Mitchell Kothleitner, Graeme Tickner, Graeme Stewart, Gabrielle Kennific, Sophie McNamee, Rebecca St. James, Cassandra Boychuk, Anaka Will-Dryden and Reaves Christie. Michael Lowrey highlighted a group of local skaters that achieved personal bests, breaking the 60-second mark in the 500m distance for the first time. PHOTOS BY NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER Kyle Van Bavel and Kennific were competing in their first- ON HER MARK: Oakville's Sara McNamara (helmet 744) is a study in concentration as she waits for the starting gun in her race. ever meet. Monardo returns from broken neck to lead Aurora By John Cudmore brain. "I kind of felt like I was in a parenting role, telling guys what they were doing Domenic Monardo had a unique per- right and wrong," recalled Monardo. spective of the Oakville Blades' run to the "Everyone is focused on getting points Dudley Hewitt Cup championship and but if you play well as a team, more people Royal Bank Cup appearance last season. will be watching you later in the season. It wasn't exactly the way he might have After watching the playoffs and RBC, I saw envisioned, simply being along what it takes to go all the way." for the ride. But he had little Anxious to get back into the choice after suffering a broken Blades' lineup when doctors neck earlier in the season during cleared him to play ahead of an Ontario Provincial Jr. A schedule on Feb. 14, Monardo Hockey League game against the found himself at odds when manHamilton Red Wings. agement was reluctant to let him Remarkably, the 20-year-old play. It led to his asking out in the has bounced back to play this seaoff-season. son, serving as captain of the Domenic Monardo "I didn't see eye-to-eye with the Aurora Tigers and looking for a coaching staff. I needed a fresh more hands-on manner by which to help start after all that happened in Oakville," his team again reach deep into the playoffs. said the 20-year-old, who leads the Tigers in It was in the Blades' 14th game of the scoring this year with 32 goals and 34 2007-08 season when the Oakville resident assists in 40 games. "Oakville wanted me for was felled by a check from behind by a the next year." Hamilton player to begin a scary period of He ended up in Aurora playing for thenhis life. Monardo, the Blades' top scorer at head coach Jerome Dupont, with whom he the time, suffered a broken C-2 vertabrae was familiar through his minor hockey which contains a major blood vessel to the career. METROLAND MEDIA GROUP "I've always been impressed with his I'm not scared," said Monardo. "Obviously, game," said Dupont, who left Aurora two I'm always cautious. It is in the back of my months ago to coach the Quebec Major mind, but I'm not letting it show. Junior Hockey League's Gatineau Something just told me it was not the end Olympiques. "Last year, he hit a bit of bad of hockey for me." luck and this was a chance to Dupont saw a player who "I don't think of get a boy on the rebound. was keen to show the hockey He's definitely a team player. myself as an world he is capable physicalinspiration. I look at it And a personable kid, too." ly, mentally and skill-wise of Monardo said the player more as perseverance going on to the next level. who hit him into the boards, and to go after what "He proved he's commitRed Wings defenceman Steve ted," said Dupont. "The time you want." Spade, later called to explain off probably got him to be there was no intent to injure. more motivated. Domenic Monardo While still cognizant of "There's always a concern what can happen on the ice, Monardo with that sort of injury, but he was cleared knows what can happen in the blink of an by doctors. There's risks in everything you eye. do. He's taken some intense hits and been "For me, it's the opposite after getting able to bounce back." hit," he explained. "It got me wanting to Despite bouncing back from such seriplay more than ever, especially when the ous injury, Monardo sees himself as no difdoctors said I might not play again." ferent than other players. Doctors initially wanted to operate, but "Everyone has experienced a check from Monardo ended up avoiding surgery. He was behind, either hitting or having been hit," outfitted for a soft collar and neck brace for he said. "It is serious, but I don't think of four to six months, but was out of it within myself as an inspiration. I look at it more as three months. perseverance and to go after what you "Any hit from behind brings it back, but want."