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30 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012 OT grad, Seneca teammates hope to make most of second chance By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Staying alive Sparked by natural hat trick from Tyler Karius, Blades force sixth game in OJHL West final By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF Just seconds after a heartbreaking loss on their home floor in the Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) women's basketball final, Lauren Egglestone and her Seneca Sting teammates' frowns were quickly turned upside down. "We thought this was our year, that we would come in first," Egglestone recalls of the aftermath of the championship game, which Seneca dropped 62-57 in double overtime to Algonquin College. "We all walked off the court, all sad and giving each other hugs. Then we had a quick little huddle right before the handshakes." It was during that huddle that Seneca coach Craig Walker informed his players that despite their loss in the OCAA final, the Sting was headed to the national championship tournament as a wild card entry. "We didn't know (before the OCAA final). Other people did, but we were trying our hardest to get first. When we didn't, we were pretty disappointed," Egglestone said. "Then our coach told us we got to go to nationals. It was nice." It was also the latest development in what has been a special year for the Sting, particularly for Egglestone. The Oakville Trafalgar grad, who walked onto the Seneca team three years ago, was fourth in team scoring this season with 8.8 points per game. Egglestone, a forward, shot 49.6 per cent from the field and added 4.9 rebounds per contest as the Sting went 15-1 during regular-season play, the only loss coming to Algonquin. "I'm definitely happy with the year I've had," said Egglestone, a product of the Oakville Vytis rep system. "I had a lot of fun. It's a good group of girls." The Sting departed Tuesday for the CCAA championships, which began yesterday (Thursday) afternoon in Lethbridge, AB. Seneca wasn't given a lot of respect by tournament organizers, who seeded the Sting last in the eight-team field and matched Seneca up with top-seeded MacEwan (Edmonton) in the first round. Egglestone is optimistic that Seneca's balance of inside and outside play will match up well against opponents from other provinces. "From watching game tape, we've seen how (MacEwan) has been allowed to bring up the ball. We pressure a lot. There's a lot of differences between Alberta and Ontario basketball," the 20-year-old said. "We know we're the underdogs. We've got nothing to lose, so we'll just play as hard as we can." ARMANDO VILLAVONA / COURTESY OF SENECA COLLEGE OFF TO NATIONALS: Seneca Sting forward Lauren Egglestone (in red) looks for a shot during an Ontario College Athletic Association women's basketball game against Sir Sandford Fleming earlier this season. Egglestone and the Sting are competing in this week's national college championships in Lethbridge, Alberta. Longhorns name new coach The Oakville Longhorns have named the 10th head coach in the organization's history. Former Longhorns player Brian Copeland has been assigned the task of turning around an Oakville squad that suffered through an 0-9 Northern Football Conference season in 2011. Copeland, 40, is well known in Ontario football circles as the architect of the revival of the Hamilton Hurricanes junior football team in 2008. Copeland, who was named the Canadian Junior Football League's executive of the year in 2009, led the Hurricanes to back-to-back league championships in 2010 and 2011. "He built the Hurricanes into a contender in a few short years, and we believe he can return the Longhorns to their once dominant position in the NFC," said Longhorns president Steve Harrington. Copeland replaces former Longhorns coach Howard Betty, who resigned in December. The Longhorns will hold their first indoor workout Saturday, March 31 in Ancaster. Anyone interested in trying out can contact Copeland at 905-517-8908 or by email at bricopeland@bell.blackberry.net. GEORGETOWN -- Tyler Karius may be the most anonymous leading scorer in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Now in his third season with his hometown team, Karius's 45 points topped the Oakville Blades but ranked just 72nd in the league. Six of the eight teams in the divisional finals had at least one player among the league's top 20, while the seventh had one among the top 35. Karius actually finished with one less point than last year. The difference was, Karius missed 11 games this season with an ankle injury that sidelined him for most of the month of January. He added just three points in seven games upon his return, which did not bode well considering Oakville lost Jordan Coccimiglio "He's a guy who is -- the only other Blade really deceptive with his to average a point a skills. He waits in the game -- for the season weeds. You might not prior to the playoffs notice him and then at (due to a hip injury). But since the post- the end of the game, season started, Karius he's got four points." has seized the role of a go-to player. Wednesday Blades assistant coach Vince night in Georgetown, Laise, referring to forward with his team's season Tyler Karius on the line down 3-1 in the best-of-seven West Division championship series, the 21-year-old had a natural hat trick to stake the Blades to a 3-0 lead. He then set up Brandon Denham for the team's fourth marker as Oakville prolonged its season with a 6-1 victory over the Georgetown Raiders. "He's a guy who is really deceptive with his skills," said Blades assistant coach Vince Laise. "He waits in the weeds. You might not notice him and then at the end of the game, he's got four points." The Georgetown defence certainly didn't notice the 6-foot-3 forward as he slipped in behind it to convert Denham's pass just four minutes into the game. Karius did stand out on his next goal, though. He hustled to retrieve a long flip pass from deep in the Blades end. Picking up the puck in the corner just in front of the Georgetown goal line, he turned and, from behind the net, banked the puck in off the back of Raiders goalie Steven Racine. Karius completed his hat trick late in the second, poking in a loose puck from a scramble. Martin Kudla and Todd Bannerman had Oakville's other goals, scoring in the third period when Karius had already helped put the game out of reach. See Goaltender, page 31