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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, October 11, 2012 · 24 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Battle to the finish Oakville goalie backstops Penn State to historic hockey victory Nicole Paniccia earned herself a spot in Penn State University's record book. The Oakville netminder turned aside 31 shots as the Nittany Lions recorded their first-ever NCAA victory in women's hockey, a 5-3 win over Vermont Saturday. With Penn State trailing 2-1, the Appleby College grad stopped all 12 shots she faced in the second period, allowing the Nittany Lions to take a 3-2 lead that they never relinquished. Down 4-2 in the third, Vermont closed within one with 6:34 remaining. But Paniccia did not allow the equalizer and Penn State added an emptynet goal to seal the victory. Vermont outshot the Nittany Lions 34-24. It was the first Penn State varsity hockey game since 1943 when the men's team recorded a 4-1 win over Drexel Tech. The men's program is returning this year but does not play its first game until Friday. Paniccia, one of only two Canadians on the team, transferred to Penn State after two years at the University of Connecticut. In her two seasons with the Huskies, she posted a 2.51 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage and a record of 7-10-3. ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG NECK AND NECK: Forest Trail student Mark Benn (left) and Alexander's student Oliver Peer go stride for stride towards the finish line during last week's Halton District School Board Amos elementary cross-country meet in Burlington. Peer won the race with Benn finishing second. Results from the meet will appear in an upcoming edition of the Beaver. Former international swimmer set to represent Canada again By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR OFF TO WORLDS: Troy Stenback, pictured coming out of the water during a recent triathlon in Lakeside, will compete in the 2012 Triathlon World Age Group Championships later this month in New Zealand. PHOTO COURTESY MIKE CHELIAK / MYSPORTSSHOOTER.COM As a high school student, Troy Stenback represented Canada at an international swimming meet in Belgium. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Stenback is preparing for another chance to wear the maple leaf in competition -- this time in a different sport. The 38-year-old software consultant will compete in the 2012 Triathlon World Age Group Championships later this month in Auckland, New Zealand. Stenback, who stumbled into triathlons just three years ago while rehabilitating a knee injury, said he never imagined having the opportunity to represent Canada again. "Once you've gone and done it, you move on from your swimming career and you think it's something that goes away in the glory days pile," he said. "Triathlon just fell in line. I happened to try it and like it, and I happened to be pretty good at it. But, no, I didn't expect (reaching the world stage again)." Stenback actually qualified for the world championships twice last year. He won his age group at a sprint distance event (750-metre swim, 20km bike, 5km run) in Peterborough, then secured a qualifying spot again at an Olympic distance (1,500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run) the following month. But neither qualification came easy. The sprint distance age group win came by one second (only the top finisher earned a spot at worlds), while Stenback didn't know he'd qualified in the Olympic distance until learning the two finishers ahead of him in his age group were ineligible for qualifying because they'd worn wet suits during the swim. The fine line between making the Canadian team and missing the cut made Stenback even more appreciative of the opportunity that awaits him Oct. 22. "I got a sharp reminder of that this year," said the father of four, who routinely wakes up to train at 5 a.m. "I had a personal-best time for my Olympic distance (at the Toronto Triathlon Festival) and I only got fifth in my age group It's whoever shows up that day." Still, Stenback seems to meet every goal he sets in his new sport. In his first full season (2010), he won the men's 35-39 division title in the MultiSport Canada triathlon series. He then set his sights on qualifying for worlds, doing so twice. "Getting back into competitive sport and being able to succeed in that has been a personal reminder to me that, regardless of whether it's work or whatever I wanted to do, if I really wanted to do it, I could," he said. "It reminded me if I was feeling stuck in whatever it was in life, if you really want to change it, you've got to do it because you can. But you've got to work for it." Stenback is targeting a finish in the top half of his age group at worlds (approximately the top 25), with an outside hope of cracking the top 10. But he said that won't be his main focus in New Zealand. "I'm going for the experience, the opportunity to be there and say I did it," he said. "I'll be happy with whatever I get." -- Jon Kuiperij can be followed on Twitter @Beaversports