The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 19 | Wednesday, March 5, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Abbey Park, Loyola, Ridge claim Halton hockey titles Loyola boys denied Tier 2 crown in controversial finish Maybe third place is the charm for Abbey coach Aaron Consoli. Park High School's boys' hockey program. "(Our guys) showed up when it mattered. After finishing behind two other teams I couldn't be more proud of these guys." in the Halton regular-season standings, the Different cast, but Loyola girls repeat Eagles won the regional Tier 1 title with a Despite turning over almost the entire ros3-1 victory over the Holy Trinity Titans in ter because of the rule banning rep players the last of four Halton finals Friday at Six- that came into effect this year, the Loyola teen Mile Sports Complex. It's Abbey Park's Hawks managed to defend their Halton girls' first Tier 1 boys' hockey crown since 2004, hockey Tier 1 title with a 5-1 win over the when the school was known Nelson Lords. as Queen Elizabeth Park. "It's pretty special to win "The last time I won the a Halton championship with Halton championship, we two totally different teams," were in third, too. Losing said Loyola coach Dave Mcis under-rated," said longNamara. "These aren't rep time Abbey Park coach players; they're not house Larry Rinaldo. "Because of league players. They're Loyoour losses, everyone came la Hawks. We've always been back and improved things... a really hard-working team You get a lot hungrier when that won't quit. They bought you're behind." into the culture we had creFriday's win guaranteed ated and continued it." Abbey Park a berth in the upIt was one of the three recoming Ontario Federation turning players -- and one of School Athletic Associafor whom the Hawks really tions AAA/AAAA championLarry Rinaldo are a family -- that led the ships, which will be contestway. Bridget O'Neill, the last Abbey Park boys' hockey coach ed March 18-21 in Oakville. of four sisters to play for LoyThe Eagles will visit Hamilola and the third to serve as ton's St. Jean de Brebeuf today (Wednesday) the Hawks' captain, scored Loyola's first four in the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Confer- goals of the game. ence championship game, which has OF"That's a tell-tale sign of greatness when SAA seeding ramifications. Brebeuf defeated a player steps up in a big game like that," Trinity 3-1 Monday in the GHAC semifinal McNamara said. "She threw the team on her to earn the conference's other OFSAA berth. back today and carried us." The Eagles and Titans were tied 1-1 in the Sara Riolo scored Loyola's other goal, and third period Friday before Abbey Park broke Paige Saunders carried a shutout into the the game open with two goals in 14 seconds. third period. Eagles captain Alex Cox scored 3:05 into the Within minutes of the final buzzer, the final frame and Chris Boushy followed up Hawks were receiving congratulatory tweets with a breakaway marker. from former Loyola players stretching from Joel Matson scored Abbey Park's first goal, Windsor to the west coast. with Vic Christiansen replying for Trinity in The Hawks won't lose many players next the second period. Eagles goaltender Matt year, although O'Neill will head south of the Barth came up big in the final period, help- border. She won't be wearing blades, howing the Eagles kill three minor penalties -- ever. She'll attend Dartmouth University on including a lengthy five-on-three. a track scholarship, and if she displays the "We knew our potential," said Cox, whose speed she did Friday, she won't have won her team entered the Halton playoffs with a 7-3- last championship. 1 league record. "We knew if we played our O'Neill will not be the first of this year's best game, there aren't many teams that can Hawks to leave the country. McNamara colbeat us." lected one extra medal, which will be packTrinity was the seventh seed in the playoffs aged up and mailed to Hungary for Julia after going 4-5-2 during the regular season. Inotay, an exchange student who played for "The whole second half of the season, Loyola before returning home at Christmas. we've never had a full lineup. But I told the The Hawks were slated to host Hamilton's guys that when we have a full lineup, we Bishop Tonnos yesterday (Tuesday) in the can beat anybody in this league," said Titans GHAC final. Losing is under-rated. Because of our losses, everyone came back and improved things. The Halton Secondary Schools Athletic Association held its hockey finals Friday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. Above, Abbey Park captain Alex Cox keeps the puck from a Holy Trinity opponent. Left, Loyola's Bridget O'Neill -- who scored four goals in the girls' Tier 1 final -- pulls away from Nelson defenders. | photos by Riziero Vertolli -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog The winner of yesterday's game will represent GHAC at the OFSAA girls' AAA/AAAA championships in Sudbury. Disputed goal decides Tier 2 boys' final L.B. Pearson Patriots are the Halton high school Tier 2 boys' hockey champions, but some Loyola Hawks supporters might dispute the fact. Patriots' Mason Sheppard's wrist shot from the face-off circle deflected off Loyola goalie Matt Lunder, but what happened next is open to discussion. After officials huddled, they determined the shot went in rather than off the post, giving the Patriots a 4-3 win in double overtime. Loyola players, especially Lunder, were outraged, rushing the officials to voice their displeasure. Loyola coach Larry Litzgus, moments after the game, said the referees made no attempt to explain their ruling to him. "A couple of students from another school were behind the net and said it didn't go in," said Litzgus. "I don't understand why in games like this they don't have a goal judge behind the net." Loyola, normally a Tier 1 calibre team, lost too many one-goal games in the first half of the season and were relegated to Tier 2. "It was a very disappointing first half," said Litzgus. "But we won seven games in a row and this would've been eight." The hero of the game, Sheppard, had no expectations of scoring. "I was just doing what I'm supposed to do, taking the shot, working the system, and it just went in," said the forward, who collected a loose puck, kicked it up to his stick, and fired before a Loyola defenceman could get to him. "I don't even know if it went in. Some of my teammates said it did, some said it didn't." The controversy took the spotlight off an exciting regulation portion of the contest, see Absence on p.20