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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports B A S K E T B A L L by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor 31 | Thursday, September 26, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" G I R L S ' Blades set to host entire OJHL All of the Ontario Junior Hockey League's 22 teams will converge on Oakville's Sixteen Mile Sports Complex this weekend to participate in the league's annual Governors Showcase. Each squad will play one game in the event, which gets underway Saturday as the Mississauga Chargers take on the Buffalo Jr. Sabres at 1:30 p.m. Saturday's seven-game slate will conclude with a clash between the Milton IceHawks and Toronto Lakeshore Patriots, and the showcase will resume Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as the Toronto Jr. Canadiens face the Georgetown Raiders. The Hamilton Red Wings and St. Michael's Buzzers will play the final game of the showcase at 4:30 p.m. The host Oakville Blades will face the rival Burlington Cougars Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Oakville general manager Mike Daley said organizing the event allows the Blades to build a stronger relationship with college scouts, giving their players greater chance for exposure and, potentially, scholarships. "All the colleges have to be in contact with us. With the other teams, they can just show up and speak to (teams) at the showcase, but with us, they had to be in contact to make arrangements, get hotels booked, see what serves will be provided for them," Daley said. The Blades are responsible for all expenses from the weekend, and in return will receive all revenue generated. Daley acknowledged that by hosting the event, the team is sticking its neck out financially. "When you put on 10 games with teams around the league that the local fan base isn't going to know, you might get the diehard hockey fans out and possibly some people around the rinks on those days," he said. "I wouldn't expect a huge fan base for a lot of the out-of-town teams." In an effort to generate some excitement about the weekend, the Blades are hosting an American Hockey League pre-season contest tomorrow (Friday) between the farm teams of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Toronto Marlies) and Montreal Canadiens (Hamilton Bulldogs). The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Sixteen Mile, and plenty of tickets remain available. "I think there's going to be a lot of walk-up generated for it," said Daley. To view the full schedule for the OJHL's Governors Showcase, visit bit.ly/14HKOe0. 2.60 and save percentage of .915. "We felt that in the dressing room and on the ice and around the guys, he was the defacto leader of this team," Daley said. "He just has that drive and work ethic that carries guys a long way. If our guys can build off that and see how he conducts himself, then I see it being a really positive experience. "He won't be a rah-rah guy standing up on the bench, getting guys fired up. We're looking at him more for his actions and how he conducts himself," Daley added. "It's more of an honourary kind of thing." Forward Sean Perichak and defencemen Vince Palermo and Greg Campbell are the club's alternate captains. Team hopes to build on emotional victory Loyola Hawks player Kiana Steinauer (in white) goes up for a shot over two Bishop Reding Royals defenders Tuesday at Loyola. Steinauer scored 12 points as the Hawks overcame a sluggish start to defeat the Royals 68-43 and improve to 3-0 on the Halton high school senior girls' basketball Tier 1 season. | photo by Nikki Wesley -- Oakville Beaver (@Halton_Photog) The Blades snapped a three-game losing streak last Thursday with an emotional come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Newmarket Hurricanes in Newmarket. Ryan Garvey was the hero, finishing off a hat trick with the game-winning goal in the final minute. Joe Seney and Scott Goodman also tallied for Oakville (2-3), which rallied from a 4-2 deficit and overcame four power-play goals by Newmarket. "It was one of those games we felt we deserved to win, and the guys went out and fought and clawed and did everything they had to, to get it," said Daley. "To get a win up there in Newmarket, which is a tough place to play, versus a quality opponent, with the young team we have, and to come back the way we did, it's a benchmark for us to build on." Saturday's game against Burlington will be the Blades' first action since the win over the Hurricanes. New-look Hawks seek three-peat by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor If the Loyola Hawks are going to win their third Halton senior girls' basketball Tier 1 championship in as many seasons, they're going to have to do it a bit differently. This year's Hawks squad is much younger, with two Grade 10 students in its starting five. It's bigger, both in stature and size. And it's without two key cogs from the past two championship teams, each of whom are now playing university ball. "We're good," conceded Chris Pauletto, who co-coaches the team with Gary Laurin. "But I wouldn't say we're going to run away with it all." The early results suggest differently. Loyola has won its first three games of the season by double digits, including Tuesday's 6843 romp over the Bishop Reding Royals -- a game that the Hawks actually trailed 16-12 after the opening quarter. Two of Loyola's three returning starters were the Hawks' top two scorers Tuesday, with Sam Pocrnic collecting 24 points and Jaelyn Kirkpatrick adding 16. Grade see Youth on p.32 Goaltender to captain Blades He won't wear a `C' on his jersey, but goaltender Evan Buitenhuis has been named the new captain of the Blades. The 20-year-old Buitenhuis is in his second season with the Blades. Last year, the Burlington native posted a record of 26-14-4, goals-against average of