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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, March 6, 2014 | 24 HALTON TRANSMISSION 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" Loyola stuns Tonnos to earn OFSAA berth Paige Saunders, Jade Thompson and the Loyola Hawks never stopped believing. Saunders stopped 12 consecutive shootout attempts and Thompson finally perfected a backhanded deke as the Hawks improbably qualified for the provincial girls' high school hockey AAA/AAAA championships with a 2-1 upset of the Bishop Tonnos Titans Tuesday at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. Improbably, because the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference final appeared to be a colossal mismatch. Bishop Tonnos, which has won three OFSAA medals in its nine-year existence, boasted a team full of rep talent. Loyola was a group of house leaguers, a result of the Halton league's decision this year to prohibit rep players from participating. "I'm always proud of my teams for different reasons. I'm very proud of this group because at the beginning of the year, half the team couldn't skate around the circles backwards," said Hawks coach Dave McNamara, who guided Loyola to OFSAA silver last year -- when Halton allowed rep players. "We were certainly up against it today. Nobody gave us a chance. But every girl on our team thought we could win this game." "We thought we were going to give them a fight and we would play to the death," added Thompson, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student who is in just her fourth season of hockey. "We wanted the other coach to say how well we played, no matter what." Tonnos dominated puck possession throughout regulation but the Hawks kept things close with a tenacious defensive effort, allowing just a second-period goal to the Titan's Nicole Kenyon. Loyola forced overtime by capitalizing on one of its few chances as Thompson's shot from the slot trickled across the Tonnos goal line with 1:49 to go in regulation. Following a 10-minute overtime during which the teams played three-on-three, the game went to a shootout. Saunders denied all 12 Titans shooters while Thompson made good on her fifth attempt, flipping a backhand over fallen Tonnos goalie Mary Stewart. "I knew the goalie was getting tired and I knew somehow I could push it by her," said Thompson, who had hit the post on her previous attempt. "I just told my coach, `One more time. I can do this. Give me one last chance. If I don't score, I'll stop.'" That's the same persistence and confidence that made Tuesday's upset possible. "(McNamara) keeps telling us he believes in us and he doesn't stop believing in us. We're playing rep teams and we're house league players, but he's never stopped believing in us and has told us to go for it," Saunders said. The Hawks continue to go for it at OFSAA, March 18-21 in Sudbury, where they'll once again play the heavy underdog role. "If we keep playing like we did today, and we keep believing in ourselves, then who knows," Saunders said with a huge smile. "Maybe it can be a fairy-tale ending, like it was today." -- Jon Kuiperij · Video of Thompson's winning goal can be viewed online at bit.ly/1g0JatA University of Victoria Vikes center Chris McLaughlin, an Abbey Park High School graduate, goes up for a shot during a men's basketball game earlier this season against the University of Manitoba. McLaughlin is one of eight Oakville residents who will compete in this weekend's Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships in Ottawa. | photo courtesy www.apshutter.com Bevy of Oakville talent at CIS basketball Fresh off an upset of Carleton in the Ontario University Athletics men's basketball final, Mike L'Africain and the Ottawa Gee-Gees will be the top seed in this weekend's Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships in Ottawa. L'Africain, a Loyola high school grad, scored seven points and added three assists as Ottawa edged Carleton 78-77 to win the Wilson Cup Sunday in Toronto. It was the Ravens' first loss in 25 games this season, allowing Ottawa (23-2) to vault ahead of Carleton in the CIS seedings. L'Africain, who averaged 13.4 points per game this season while shooting 46% from both the field and from behind the three-point line, will see plenty of familiar faces at the CIS championships. Seven other Oakville natives will also be competing in the tournament, including five members of the seventh-seeded McMaster Marauders. Rohan Boney, Lazar Kojovic, Trevon McNeil, Adam Presutti and Aaron Redpath helped the Marauders to a 20-5 record and an OUA bronze medal this season. Presutti (8.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game) and Boney (6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game) are Loyola grads, McNeil (4.4 points per game) is a former Holy Trinity student, Kojovic attended T.A. Blakelock and Redpath (10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds per game) moved to Oakville after attending high school in Ajax. Abbey Park alumnus Chris McLaughlin anchors the fourth-ranked Victoria Vikes squad that is 22-5 this year. McLaughlin ranked 12th in the Canada West league this season in points per game (14.6), third in rebounding (8.3), fourth in field-goal percentage and eighth in blocks. The fifth-seeded McGill Redmen include Holy Trinity grad Regis Ivaniukas (3.5 points per game). McGill is 16-2 this year. 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