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One area in which Jooris said his old and new teams compare favourably is depth. The Blades have 12 players returning from last years Dudley Hewitt Cup Central Canada champions. That is going to be huge, especially come playoff time, Jooris said. Weve got a lot of experience and guys who know what it takes to win. Nine of the 12 returning players are for- wards, including a pair of 30-goal scorers, Josh Ranalli (36) and Mark McGowan (32), as well as two 20-goal scorers, Kyle Lysaght (26) and Mark Bennett (21). The Blades added some more experience, scoring punch and size with 6-foot-4, 215- pound Michael Sardella. Sardella had three straight 20-plus goal seasons with the Aurora Tigers, including back-to-back 60-point cam- paigns. He had a goal and an assist in the Blades season-opening 6-4 win Tuesday in Buffalo. The Blades had some rebuilding to do on the back end with just two returning defence- men, including newly-named captain Nick Rivait. Jooris said Rivait was a natural choice. Hes a good leader and hes earned a lot of respect from the players. Inexperience on the blueline wont be an issue since the Blades added the likes of Kyle Cromie, a Kitchener native who spent the past three years in the Central Junior Hockey League with Brockville and Pembroke. Opponents certainly wont have an easy time getting to the Oakville net. Seven of the nine defencemen on the Blades roster are at least 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. The lone blueliner under 6-feet is Oakville native Phil Hampton, who Jooris said turned in an outstanding perform- ance at the pre-season tournament in Vermont. Those defencemen will be protect- ing returning goalie Daniel Savelli and rookie Eric Falion, who made 40 saves in the win over Buffalo. Jooris said after a one-year split in the league, the re-introduction of traditional rivals such as the Hamilton Red Wings and Burlington should benefit the Blades and the league. And while the Blades will be looking to make a good first impression in their new rink, Jooris will also have a little more incentive for his charges. Saturdays opponent, the Newmarket Hurricanes, swept Jooris Cougars in the league semifinals. I havent beat these guys yet. Im 0-8, he said. Ill be sure to let the guys know that. 37 Friday , Septem ber 17, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m By Kevin Nagel METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Members of Burlingtons Bay Area Athletic Club are again leading the way for the Canadian junior kickboxing team, sending three athletes includ- ing two Oakville residents to the worlds in Serbia next week. And theyre very familiar with the time difference involved, thank you very much. David Bourne, 18, Stephie Halcrow, 16, and Natalie Camerena, 17, will represent Canada in Belgrade from Sept. 20-25, along with 19 other ath- letes from 14 clubs and five provinces. For the past three weeks, theyve been getting up at 4:45 a.m. each day to do their training runs. It was a way to challenge the boxers mentally as well as prepare them for the effects of jet lag and the six- hour time difference. They had to call each other each morning at the start of the run and phone BAAC coach Jackie Lachapelle once it was complet- ed. On one occasion they were surprised to find members of the coaching staff checking their progress. The trio qualified for worlds at the Canadian jun- ior championships in June. No other Canadian club has as many representa- tives as the BAAC. The Canadian team will be accompanied by Lachapelle, one of four selected for the worlds. At 21, Lachapelle is the youngest coach attending and is the first female so honoured by the National Sports Organization. Lachapelles experience in the ring national champion in both kickboxing and boxing and world kickboxing champion in 2008 will be invaluable to the team. All three athletes are quite new to the sport hav- ing trained for the past two years, but their coach- es are all national team members and accom- plished athletes. Training for the worlds started six months ago, before they even knew if they would qualify, and included a major kickboxing test at a Florida card in the summer. Halcrow, a Burlington resident, won her U-67 kilogram division while Camerena was second (U- 70 kg) and Bourne reached the quarter-finals in a tough senior (U-75 kg) division. Camerena and Bourne are from Oakville. World professional kickboxing champion Muzammal Nawaz, head coach and owner at BAAC, weighed in on the trios strengths. Stephie is a very aggressive athlete with great leverage and an excellent jab, said Nawaz. Natalia is the most experienced with over 10 bouts... very aggressive style with strong boxing skills and pow- erful kicks. David, added Nawaz, has a very aggressive style as well. Strong hands and feet and very confi- dent with his offence. Kickboxers get early start in preparations for world meet READY FOR WORLDS: Bay Area Athletic Club kickboxers (left to right) David Bourne, Stephanie Halcrow, Natalia Camrena and coach Jackie Lachapelle are prepared for the world championships in Serbia. MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER OPPONENT DATE / TIME @ Buffalo Tues. Sept. 14 (6-4 win) @ Huntsville Fri. Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m. vs. Newmarket Sat. Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. @ Hamilton Mon. Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. vs. Mississauga Fri. Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m. @ Markham Mon. Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m. vs. Stouffville Fri. Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. vs. Aurora Sat. Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m. vs. Markham Thurs. Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. vs. Georgetown Fri. Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m. @ Collingwood Sun. Oct. 10, 3 p.m. vs. Burlington Fri. Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m. @ Milton Sun. Oct. 17, 3:30 p.m. vs. Georgetown Fri. Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. @ Orangeville Sat. Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. vs. Orangeville Fri. Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. vs. Buffalo Sat. Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. @ Stouffville Sun. Oct. 31, 2:10 p.m. vs. Hamilton Fri. Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m. @ Mississauga Sat. Nov. 6, 8 p.m. vs. Collingwood Fri. Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. @ Burlington Sat. Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m. @ Hamilton Mon. Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m. @ Brampton Thurs. Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m. vs. Brampton Fri. Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m. vs. Huntsville Fri. Nov. 26, 7:30 p.m. @ Georgetown Sat. Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m. @ Burlington Sun. Nov. 28, 3 p.m. vs. Buffalo Fri. Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m. vs. Burlington Fri. Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. @ Aurora Sun. Dec. 12, 2 p.m. @ Buffalo Tues. Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m. vs. Hamilton Fri. Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m. vs. Milton Sat. Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m. @ Georgetown Wed. Dec. 22, 7:30 p.m. @ Brampton Thurs. Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m. vs. Mississauga Fri. Jan. 7, 7:30 p.m. @ Georgetown Sat. Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m. @ Newmarket Thurs. Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m. vs. Brampton Fri. Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m. @ Buffalo Mon. Jan. 17, 7:30 p.m. vs. Hamilton Fri. Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m. vs. Milton Sat. Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m. vs. Buffalo Fri. Jan. 28, 7:30 p.m. @ Mississauga Sat. Jan. 29, 8 p.m. vs. Georgetown Fri. Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m. @ Hamilton Sat. Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m. vs. Brampton Fri. Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. @ Milton Sun. Feb. 13, 3:30 p.m. Oakville Blades 2010-2011 schedule Depth, experience are key, new Blades coach says Continued from page 36 With their home opener at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex just three days away, Oakville Blades president Carlo Coccimiglio found his job description expanded to carpenter. Coccimiglio was busy Wednesday build- ing stalls for players in the teams new dressing room. I can build them, so Id rather spend the money on something like sticks for players, he said. It wasnt the only construction going on. On the ice, the Oakville Blades are looking to build on the success that has seen them win the Dudley Hewitt Cup Central Canada junior A hockey champi- onship twice in the past three years. Off the ice, the team is trying to build its relationship with the community. I honestly believe the Oakville Blades are the best-kept secret in Oakville, says Team working on relationship with community See Original page 39