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SportsOakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 201034 By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Oakville intermediate AA Hornets coach Bradi Cochrane isnt intimidated by the prospect of a rebuilding project. Shes been there, done that and with great success. Five years ago at Appleby College, Cochrane took over the girls hockey program that went winless in its first sea- son. The next year, the Blue Dogs won seven games. The season after that, Appleby won both the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association and North American Preparatory Hockey Association champi- onships. Now, in a transition year for the intermedi- ate Hornets (the team has only one returning player from last season, when it was run as the Oakville Ice), Cochrane plans to rely on the same blueprint. The building starts today (Friday) as the Hornets open the Provincial Womens Hockey League season against the Burlington Barracudas, an 8:30 p.m. start at Joshuas Creek Arenas. Things dont happen overnight, said Cochrane, a former elite player with Niagara University as well as the Canadian Womens Hockey Leagues NAME. When youre select- ing a team, you try to get kids that will buy into that and recognize that you have to work hard and compete every day. It wont be 10 wins right from the get-go. Youre going to have to be patient and learn from mistakes and continue to be a team, she continued. That really happened at Appleby. Everyone bought into their role and played as a team. While Gabrielle Leonard is the only remain- ing player from the Ice era, the Hornets do have several other players with PWHL experi- ence. Maddie Baird, Alex Chisholm, Kat Selinger, Rebecca Clark and Tricia Kirk played with different intermediate squads last season. Cochrane said shell rely on those players to show the rookies what it takes to succeed in the provincial loop. This is a big step up from midget. There are things players could get away with at the midget level that you cant here, she said. The PWHL is the high- est these girls can go. Theyre all looking to go to university... The biggest thing you notice is whos putting in the work away from the rink, the off-ice conditioning, the mental preparation. That stuffs huge. However, it will be a first-year player Lindsay Grigg that will captain the Hornets this season. Lindsay is a character player. A great leader in all aspects, on the ice and off the ice, Cochrane said of Grigg, who also plays for the Canadian national roller hockey team. And its not just the coaching staff that recognizes those qualities. Her teammates saw those qual- ities as well. Leonard, Baird and Mia Favretto will serve as alternate captains. Playoffs a realistic goal Cochrane hasnt set any sort of tangible goal for her team this season. I dont want to put a number (of wins) up because I dont want my kids to focus on that. I want them to focus on the journey of getting better every day, she said. But she feels her club has more potential than many might think, and believes a playoff appearance is a realistic target. The Hornets went 2-2 at a preseason tour- nament last weekend in Stoney Creek, defeat- ing a pair of American teams while dropping 2- 1 decisions to Stoney Creek and Ridley (a pri- vate school in St. Catharines). We wont be a flashy team by any means, Cochrane said. Well be a team that will put in hard work defensively, and that will give us momentum and confidence offensively. On top of tonights season opener against Burlington and another home game tomor- row (Saturday) against the Markham Stars, the Hornets will also play host to Team China in an exhibition contest Sunday. Game time at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex (locat- ed at Dundas and Neyagawa) is scheduled for 2 p.m. There will be no admission charge for any- one who brings a food item that the teams will donate to local food banks for the Thanksgiving season. OPPONENT DATE / TIME vs. Burlington Fri. Sept. 24, 8:30 p.m. vs. Markham Sat. Sept. 25, 4:30 p.m. @ Burlington Fri. Oct. 1, 8 p.m. vs. Mississauga Sat. Oct. 2, 4:30 p.m. @ Bluewater Sat. Oct. 16, 5 p.m. @ Southwest Sun. Oct. 17, 12:30 p.m. vs. Stoney Creek Sat. Oct. 23, 4:30 p.m. @ Aurora Wed. Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m. vs. Whitby Fri. Oct. 29, 8:30 p.m. @ Waterloo Mon. Nov. 1, 7 p.m. vs. Etobicoke Fri. Nov. 5, 8:30 p.m. vs. London Sat. Nov. 6, 4:30 p.m. @ Etobicoke Sun. Nov. 7, 2:45 p.m. vs. Aurora Fri. Nov. 19, 8:30 p.m. vs. Bluewater Sat. Nov. 20, 4:30 p.m. @ Durham West Sun. Nov. 21, 2:30 p.m. @ Cambridge Fri. Dec. 3, 7 p.m. vs. Brampton Sat. Dec. 4, 4:30 p.m. @ Toronto Sun. Dec. 5, 12:10 p.m. vs. Nepean Fri. Dec. 10, 8:30 p.m. @ Hamilton Sun. Dec. 12, 2 p.m. @ Nepean Sat. Dec. 18, 2:30 p.m. @ Ottawa Sun. Dec. 19, 11:45 a.m. vs. Cambridge Fri. Jan. 7, 8:30 p.m. vs. Hamilton Sat. Jan. 8, 4:30 p.m. @ Mississauga Sun. Jan. 9, 3:30 p.m. vs. Waterloo Fri. Jan. 14, 8:30 p.m. @ London Sun. Jan. 16, 4 p.m. vs. Durham West Fri. Jan. 21, 8:30 p.m. @ Markham Sat. Jan. 22, 8 p.m. @ Whitby Sun. Jan. 23, 6 p.m. vs. Ottawa Fri. Feb. 4, 8:30 p.m. vs. Toronto Sat. Feb. 5, 4:30 p.m. @ Stoney Creek Sun. Feb. 6, 11 a.m. vs. Southwest Fri. Feb. 11, 8:30 p.m. @ Brampton Fri. Feb. 13, 4:15 p.m. All Hornets home games will be played at Joshuas Creek Arenas Intermediate Hornets 2010-2011 schedule Intermediate Hornets ready to start building Lindsay Grigg Bradi Cochrane The Oakville As major mosquito baseball team certainly closed their season in style. The team of 11- and 12-year-old boys won gold at its final two tourna- ments of the year, including the provincial championships in Windsor. At provincials, Oakville defeated teams from Thornhill, Whitby, Windsor, Hamilton and Georgetown to reach the final, where the As rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to defeat Royal York 11-6 and win the Ontario title. Oakville also won its divisional Central Ontario Baseball Association tournament the previous month, whipping Georgetown 11-0 in the final. The team has plenty to look for- ward to during the offseason as it prepares for the Field of Dreams tournament next year in Cooperstown, N.Y. Members of the team (pictured, right) are Wyatt Darling, Ethan Diamandas, Zachary Gallant, Jake Gomes, Dylan Howse, Ryan Johnston, Mathew Lopez, Derek McVey, Boston Morrison, Kyle Renpenning, Sanjay Sareen and Chris Tani. Rob Ringwald, Craig Bell and Craig Spencer coach the As. Major mosquito As win provincial baseball title