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10 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,April 13, 2010 D'Oliveira key on `D' for Reps By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer Having battled through a number of injuries over the past couple of seasons, Georgetown resident Alex D'Oliveira had a breakout performance at the all-Ontario midget AAA hockey championships. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound defenceman was a force at both ends of the rink for the Mississauga Reps as they posted an 8-0 record to capture the Ontario Hockey Federation Central Region championship earlier this month in Woodbridge, earning a berth in the Telus Cup national championship tournament in Levis, Que. April 19-25. D'Oliveira played on the Reps' shutdown pairing and also contributed five goals and four assists to finish as the leading point-getter among rearguards at the OHF tourney. The Grade 11 Georgetown District High School student picked up MVP honours in two games, netting the winner in a round-robin victory over the Ottawa 67's and for providing the clincher 31 seconds into overtime in the semifinals as Mississauga beat the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars 2-1. "The tournament was definitely a personal highlight for me," said the 17-year-old, who earned OHF silver with the Halton Hurricane atoms seven years ago. "I missed the first round of playoffs with a shoulder injury and wasn't sure exactly how it would be when I got back. But for sure I couldn't have expected that things would go this well for me offensively and I think that has a lot to do with what kind of team we have." Twice last season, D'Oliveira required surgery for leg injuries that scared away Ontario Hockey League teams in his draft year, but interest has been rekindled thanks to his recent performances. SPORTS & LEISURE Flyers has a team from Ontario won the national midget hockey championship, and the Mississauga squad intends to bring that streak to an end. "The Central Region is usually the weakest team at the tournament, but I don't think that's going to be the case this year," said D'Oliveira. "The Telus Cup is something we've been building towards all season and we're confident that this is the year the championship comes back to Ontario." The defending Telus Cup champion Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox, Sask. are the favourites again for this year's tourney. Also competing are host Levis, Que., St. John's Nfld., Red Deer, Alta. and Gaulois de Collége Antoine-Girouard, Que. ··· Three close defeats prevented the Halton Hurricanes from earning a medal at the OHF atom AAA championship tournament in Kitchener over the weekend. The OMHA-champion `Canes tied their opener 3-3 against the Vaughan Kings before coming out on the short end versus the London Jr. Knights 3-1 and the Barrie Colts 5-4. A 4-3 triumph over Kitchener sent the Hurricanes into the semifinals, in which they were nosed out by eventual-champs Vaughan 2-1. Nick Deakin-Poot, Cooper Sharpe and Johnny Vezina of Georgetown each had two goals for Halton during the tournament, with Acton's Zach Snow adding a single marker. Stars on ice for ALS fundraiser Darlene and Dr. Jeff Sutherland are joined by hockey legends (from top left) Dave Hanson of SlapShot fame, former Toronto Maple Leaf Pat Hickey, Hockey Hall of Fame member Harry Howell, and singer/ actor Michael Burgess before the opening faceoff of the secondannual ALS charity hockey game featuring the Georgetown Alumni and the Halton Hills Firefighters at the Alcott Arena. Organizers said $14,220 was raised for the ALS Society of Ontario. Dr. Sutherland, a longtime Georgetown resident diagnosed with ALS in 2008 was the guest of honour for the event. Photo by Brian LeVoguer ALEX D'OLIVEIRA The Reps have posted a 200-1 record in the playoffs and claimed the Greater Toronto Hockey League midget title last month with just one returnee from last year's team. "When we were putting the roster together we were looking for good character kids and as well as being a talented hockey player, Alex contributes a lot to our off-ice chemistry and that's important because there are no individuals on this team." Not since longtime NHLer Larry Murphy patrolled the blue line for the Don Mills `Dogs 5-1 in pre-season Even with several projected starters out of the lineup, the Halton Hills Bulldogs went 2-1-0 at the Spartan Jr. B lacrosse exhibition tourney in St. Catharines on the weekend. Combined with a 3-0-0 record at the Six Nations preseason event late last month, the Bulldogs have lost just once in six starts so far, a 5-3 defeat to the Oakville Buzz Saturday after beating Welland 6-3 and Spartan 4-2. Halton Hills goal scorers in St. Kitts were Jordan Dance (3), Justin Reid (2), Michael Licata (2), Nic Grasby (2), Ashton Waters (2), Seth Laidlaw, and Shane Scott. The bad news is that Reid was injured in the first game and will be out indefinitely. Goalies Dylan Hanzelka and Ryan Kelly each earned a win. The Bulldogs begin the OLA regular season in Mississauga April 27 and their home opener will be on Saturday, May 8 against Gloucester. Their final pre-season outing will take place Thursday in Orangeville versus the Northmen at 8 p.m. Thinking of Changing Fitness Clubs? Serving the Georgetown community for 5 years! Sinclair Ave. 24 Hour Co-Ed Club 905-702-9013 Georgetown Superstore Women's Club Join Today! 905-702-0082 goodlifefitness.com NO MONEY DOWN! 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