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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 6, 2013 · 18 Sports Oakville Beaver By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Hockey Day in Oakville Midget, minor midget Rangers teaming up with Jr. A Blades for Saturday showcase son, the Rangers have posted a win and a tie, making Saturday's 5 p.m. contest the rubber match. Harvey said previous meetings between Oakville and Southern Tier have drawn plenty of interest from scouts, and he expects Saturday will be no different. According to Harvey, Rangers defenceman Matt Spencer is unofficially ranked in the top 3 in OHL scouting and could become the highest-ever Oakville Rangers player selected in the OHL draft. Andrew Burns, Jesse Barwell, Mark Bzowey, Sean Kohler and Matt Luff are also highly thought of by OHL scouts, Harvey said. Those six players have long been part of the Oakville system, according to Harvey. Spencer and Burns have been Rangers teammates since tyke, Barwell has been part of the team since minor atom and Bzowey and Kohler have been since peewee. Luff returned to Oakville from the Greater Toronto Hockey League three years ago. But there are several other players on the minor midget AAA Rangers who moved to Oakville from as far away as Quebec and New Jersey to play for the team. Harvey has heard the criticism of his team's adding of out-of-town talent, but said it was done with the intention of keeping Oakville's top players from leaving for the GTHL. "We've seen so many kids leave, our goal when we took over the (1997 age group) in minor atom was to develop a program that Oakville kids would want to stay in," Harvey said. "It was initially a bit of a surprise (that families would move to Oakville so their sons could play for the minor midget Rangers), but in the end we were able to keep the better Oakville kids here. "It's a be careful what you wish for scenario. (Top players) stay, but then you lose some spots for local guys. The way I look at it, especially now that I'm involved with the Blades, is See Success, page 19 Local hockey fans will have a chance to see three of the best teams Oakville has to offer this weekend at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The Oakville minor midget AAA Rangers, the midget AAA Rangers and the Ontario Junior Hockey League's Oakville Blades will play consecutive games Saturday in an event that organizer Duncan Harvey is billing as `Hockey Day in Oakville'. Harvey, coach of the minor midget AAA Rangers and general manager of the Blades, expects several different parties will benefit from the triple-header, which coincidentally will take place on the same day as CBC conducts its annual Scotiabank Hockey Day In Canada broadcast. Local teams will have the potential of playing in front of larger crowds than usual; Ontario Hockey League and university scouts can take in multiple games in one day and at one venue; and Oakville youngsters can be exposed to the high levels of hockey available to them in their own town. "It's an opportunity to showcase the good hockey that is being played here," Harvey said. And all three local teams involved are certainly playing good hockey, combining for a record of 80-18-11 this season. There is also great potential for competitive games Saturday, with all three local teams facing squads that they've lost to earlier in the campaign. Minor midgets #1 in province The minor midget AAA Rangers are the top Ontario team in their age group according to the OHL rankings, the Ontario Minor Hockey Association rankings and the website MyHockeyRankings.com. They've gone undefeated in 21 league games since dropping a 2-1 decision Nov. 8 in Welland to this weekend's opponent, the Southern Tier Admirals. In Oakville's other games against the Admirals this sea- PHOTO COURTESY BONNIE EDWARDS PHOTOGRAPHY WANTED MAN: Matt Spencer is one of many Oakville minor midget AAA Rangers who are drawing interest from Ontario Hockey League and university scouts this season. Spencer and the Rangers will be in action Saturday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex as part of an event titled Hockey Day In Oakville. Costly weekend losses for Blades The Oakville Blades' hopes of winning the Ontario Junior Hockey League's South Division took a major hit on the weekend. Oakville edged the North York Rangers 5-4 Friday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, gaining ground on the then-division leaders. But the Blades fell 6-3 in Milton the following evening, then were whipped 8-1 Sunday in Toronto by the St. Michael's Buzzers. St. Mike's also won 8-3 in Hamilton Monday to move past North York into first place in the division, six points ahead of the Blades (29-13-4). St. Michael's has only six games remaining in its regular-season schedule, while the Blades have nine left to play. Nathan Renouf, Luke Laidlaw, Len Fabbri, Patrick Chore and Stefan Leblanc scored for Oakville in Friday's victory. Kyle Jenkins, Jonah Renouf and Chore each had two assists, and Evan Buitenhuis made 35 saves to earn the win. Jimmy Cusan, Jonah Renouf and Fabbri tallied in the loss to Milton, and Jonah Renouf had the Blades' lone marker versus St. Michael's. Spencer Bacon was in goal for Oakville Saturday, with Buitenhuis tending the net Sunday. Oakville will be back in action this weekend with two home games, Friday against the Orangeville Flyers and Saturday against Milton. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Sixteen Mile. Intermediate Hornets blanked twice After a midseason surge that saw them get back to the .500 mark on the Provincial Women's Hockey League season, the Oakville intermediate AA Hornets have hit the wall. Oakville dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions last weekend, extending the Hornets' losing streak to five games. Oakville (9-14-6-1) now sits 15th in the 20-team league standings. Friday at Joshua's Creek Arenas, the Hornets were blanked by the Etobicoke Dolphins. Camille Leonard made 26 saves for Oakville, which was outshot 29-27 on the evening. Leonard was also in net for Oakville the following day in Aurora, when the Hornets and Panthers each recorded 25 shots on goal. The Hornets will look to snap out of their funk this weekend when they play a pair of home games. Oakville will host the Ottawa Lady Senators at 8:30 p.m. Friday and Aurora at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Both games will take place at Joshua's Creek Arenas.