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Sports Hornets staying in the nest Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com 25 | Friday, December 12, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Player retention keying older teams' success by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor M adison Field had learned to play hockey in the Oakville Hornets system. But when she envisioned herself someday playing junior in the Provincial Women's Hockey League, it wasn't in a Hornets jersey. "I left in my bantam year because the teams weren't that good that I would be moving up to," said the Oakville resident. "The junior team was struggling and the midget team was struggling. I wanted to be on a team that would have an impact, and our (association) didn't have one at the time." Field was not the only one who thought like that. Many of Oakville's top female hockey players have left the Hornets in recent years for traditional PWHL powers such as the Mississauga Chiefs, Stoney Creek Sabres and Toronto Aeros. Girls' hockey has no residency requirements, leaving players free to join whichever program they feel gives them the best opportunity to either win, gain exposure to university scouts, or both. All of a sudden, that opportunity appears to be in Oakville. The Hornets have yet to taste defeat in PWHL play, going 20-0-2 in their first 22 games. Fourteen of their victories have come by two goals or more, including the last eight. They lead the league in most goals per game and fewest goals allowed per game. Field, who returned to the Hornets this year from Stoney Creek, leads the league in scoring, and teammate Emma Maltais is second. Oakville's Jaime Bourbonnais is the PWHL's highest-scoring defenceman. Goalies Nikki Cece and Daniela Paniccia have combined for seven shutouts and a .939 save percentage. This from a club that hasn't had a .500 record in PWHL play this decade and has lost 16 of its last 20 playoff games. Yet, those in the Hornets association are not surprised. "This age group doesn't notice anything different," said Oakville Hornets midget AA captain Maddie Sisokin skates past two Hamilton Hawks opponents during a recent Lower Lakes Female Hockey League game at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. Both the midget AA and junior Hornets are enjoying stellar seasons, with the midgets opening the year with eight straight shutout wins and the juniors currently 20-0-2 in Provincial Women's Hockey League play. | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog Warren Edgar, a long-time coach in the Hornets rep system who now serves on the association's board of directors. "They think they should be beating these teams. A lot of the (former players) are sending e-mails and Facebooking, saying `You're having a really great season.' This group has had great seasons all the way from novice. "We've just never been able to keep (teams) together. Now we've done a better job. This is the way it could have been for everybody -- if they'd stayed." Midget AAs drawing NCAA scouts to practices It isn't just the junior Hornets who are dominating. Oakville's team in midget AA, the highest level in the girls' hockey rep system, didn't even allow a goal in its first eight Lower Lakes Female Hockey League contests, opening the campaign on a 10-game winning streak before dropping a 4-1 decision to the second-place Stoney Creek Sabres on Remembrance Day. Outside of league play, Oakville has also toyed with its opposition, posting a record of 25-3-1. The Hornets are doing it with a roster that has no returning players from last year's midget AA squad. Six players moved up this year from midget A, and two of the five imports on the team played midget AA a year ago for other centres. Word about the squad has extended south of the border. NCAA scouts from Wisconsin and Brown even attended Hornets' practices last month. "Did I anticipate this? Are you kidding?" said Hornets coach Jim Nyhuus, who directed last year's midget A Hornets to a 46-8-8 record and a LLFHL championship. "It's just a matter of motivating and getting the best out of individuals, whatever it may be... I really, truly believe that if everyone's on the same page and they believe what you (as a coach) believe, if you can make them believe that, you can do anything. "We have systems in place that are simple. We don't overcomplicate things, but everyone has a role. You set them up for success, you support them and you keep it positive." The Hornets have also benefitted from having five Appleby College players on their roster. Some other teams in the LLFHL don't want Appleby players because of their busy school hockey schedule, Nyhuus said, but the Hornets make see Improved on p.26 THE GYM NAUTILUS Est. 1982 Convenient, clean, and friendly. We're Oakville's best kept secret! High quality weight training and Nautilus cardio equipment. 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