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

w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , N ov em be r 2 6, 2 01 0 3 8 Getting started Ben Fanelli took another step in his comeback bid on Wednesday as he partic- ipated in full contact drills with the Kitchener Rangers for the first time since suffering a serious head injury more than a year ago. Fanelli has been skating with the Ontario Hockey League club since September but has not participated in any contact drills. This is a positive step for Ben and we are pleased that he continues to make progress, Rangers coach and general manager Steve Spott said in a news release. However, it is important to note that there is no timeline for Ben to return to game play. Our team looks forward to having him on the ice with us on a daily basis. Fanelli suffered a fractured skull in a game at the Aud last Oct. 30 following a hit by Mike Liambas of the Erie Otters. The defenceman has been participating in non-contact drills and off-ice workouts with the Rangers since mid-August. The Rangers will continue to provide updates on Fanellis status when they happen, but will refrain from making specific comments on his progress, said Steve Bienkowski, the teams chief oper- ating officer. Metroland West Media Group staff Fanelli clears another hurdle in comeback trail to OHL HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY UNDERWAY: The Halton high school boys hock- ey season began Tuesday at Oakville Arena as the T.A. Blakelock Tigers hosted the Georgetown Rebels. Here, Blakelocks Jamie Armstrong (in white) takes the puck up ice. The Tigers and Rebels tied 2-2. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER Pine Grove reaches boys v-ball final While the Pilgrim Wood Dolphins were win- ning the Halton District School Board elementary girls Division 1 volleyball championship (story, page 37), the Pine Grove Bandits nearly made it an Oakville sweep Wednesday in Milton. Pine Grove reached the finals of the Division 1 boys playdowns before dropping a 22-25, 25-19, 10-15 decision to Georgetowns Centennial Chargers. The Bandits, coached by Jamie Snell, won their pool in round-robin play, edging out second-place Chris Hadfield of Milton by one point. Pine Grove then defeated Burlingtons Rolling Meadows 26- 24, 25-19 in the semifinals. The Bandits were led this season by captain Alec Capstick, big hitter Jovan Stojanovic and ace server George Jeffrey. The team had a strong showing at the Provincial Cup earlier this season, a tournament that features some of the top senior elementary teams from across the province. The Bandits also won the East Halton championship the previous week. Ben Fanelli