Sports Oakville Beaver Local hockey teams sent their fans home happy on Hockey Day in Oakville. The three featured Oakville teams in action Saturday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex -- the midget AAA Rangers, minor midget AAA Rangers and junior A Blades -- all posted victories in the showcase event. The midget AAA Rangers got the action started with a 5-0 victory over the Burlington Eagles. The minor midget AAA Rangers followed that up with a 3-1 win over the Southern Tier Admirals, and the Blades completed the sweep with a 3-2 triumph over the Milton IceHawks. Brandon Hughes paced the midget AAA Rangers with a pair of goals and Matt Gwillam was flawless in net to record the shutout. Alex Riche, Colin George and Kevin Guzzo added markers for the Rangers, who got a pair of assists from Kamil Tkaczuk and avenged a 4-3 loss to the Eagles two weeks earlier. Sean Kohler, Cody Petawabano and Mark Bzowey scored for the minor midget AAA Rangers and Brendan McGlynn carried a shutout into the third period. The victory moved Oakville (27-1-6) two points ahead of Southern Tier for first place in the South Central Triple A standings, though the Rangers have 17 · Wednesday, February 13, 2013 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Local teams sweep slate Rising above the competition on Hockey Day In Oakville two games in hand on the Admirals. In the Blades' game, Matt Alvaro tallied twice, Nathan Renouf also scored and Evan Buitenhuis made 29 saves to notch the win. Oakville (30-13-4) remains in fourth place in the Ontario Junior Hockey League's South Division, six points behind the division-leading St. Michael's Buzzers and North York Rangers, going into tonight's (Wednesday's) game in Georgetown. One of the designs of Hockey Day in Oakville, organized by minor midget AAA Rangers coach and Blades general manager Duncan Harvey, was to draw OHL and NCAA scouts to the three teams' games. Harvey said the rescheduling of a Greater Toronto Hockey League game Friday night caused some scouts to miss Saturday's event in Oakville, but he was pleased with the overall attendance. The midget and minor midget games drew more than 650 fans combined, while 500-plus watched the Blades/IceHawks contest. "There was a ton of support from the local community and it was great for the (Minor Oaks Hockey Association) players to get a chance at home to play in front of that many fans," Harvey said. "I know the MOHA plans to work with the Blades next year and do it again." AQUINAS ADVANCES: Owen Coulthard of the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders (in black) fends off Corpus Christi defender Malik Richards for a layup during Monday's Halton high school senior boys' basketball playoff contest at Aquinas. The Raiders won 66-52 to advance to today's (Wednesday's) semifinals, where they will visit topseeded Holy Trinity. Loyola will host Notre Dame in today's other semifinal game. The junior basketball semis will also be held today, and the senior and junior girls' volleyball playoffs began yesterday (Tuesday). Finals in both boys' basketball and girls' volleyball will be played Tuesday, Feb. 19 at Sheridan College. ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG Titans enjoying hockey season, even with absence of public rivals By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR They miss playing against some of their familiar rivals, but the Holy Trinity Titans are still making the most of the Halton high school boys' hockey season. Trinity improved to 6-0-1 on the season Thursday with a 5-3 win over the Loyola Hawks at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre, practically locking up the Richardson Division regular-season title and an easier path in the upcoming playoffs. The Titans, who avenged a loss to Loyola at the recent Bur Bear hockey tournament in Burlington, can avoid facing the three-time Halton champion Christ the King Jaguars until the league final if they earn just three points in their final three games of the shortened regular season. "We approached this game as a playoff atmosphere. We were embarrassed about how we played in the Bur Bear tournament," Titans coach Aaron Consoli said. "We needed to show (Loyola) who the real Holy Trinity was, and I think we did." Jimmy Shea led the way offensively for the Titans, recording a hat trick. Jordan Dim and Patrick Enman also tallied, and Logan Gauer earned the victory in net. David DePascal replied with two goals for the Hawks, with Zack Mulvale adding a single. DePascal nearly earned a hat trick of his own but his apparent goal at the end of the third period was waved off because time had expired. Shea, one of many former rep players on the Trinity squad, said the Titans are enjoying their season despite the absence of public school teams (due to work-to-rule sanctions imposed by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation). See Eight, page 19 "Not having to deal with (public schools) makes it easier on us, but we still have to battle hard the entire time." Holy Trinity Titans forward Jimmy Shea, commenting on this year's Halton high school boys' hockey season