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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, December 12, 2014 | 26 Improved junior program, stability in management contributes to midgets' success continued from p.25 an effort to work around it. "A large part of our success is because we're able to co-operate and communicate with coach Kim Devereaux at Appleby and make the two schedules work," Nyhuus said. Last month, Appleby hosted a tournament the weekend of Nov. 14-15 and made a trip to visit several NCAA schools the following weekend of Nov. 21-22. The Hornets scheduled a game the evening of Nov. 16 and held a late practice Nov. 23. "Your most important thing is education. You're not going to play hockey after high school unless you get those good marks, and if you're going the NCAA route, you need a strong SAT score," Nyhuus said. "Appleby is an amazing school, but their schedule is next to impossible for some of these girls to manage... We make sure everyone's academic (and school hockey) schedule fits in with our hockey program." Midget `opens the pipe` to junior Strong midget girls' hockey teams in Oakville is becoming a trend. Last year, the association's midget AA and two A squads combined to go 147-27-32. This season, the collective record of the Hornets' midget AA, two A and two BB teams is 73-23-15. "We have the best midget program in the league, I think, statswise and comparatively speaking," said Hornets president Mike Turczyniak. That couldn't have been said a few years ago. Though the Hornets were producing top players in the younger ranks, the success of peewee and bantam teams wasn't translating across the board at the midget level. Part of the reason was the struggles of the junior team, which ran independently as the Oakville Ice until the Hornets took over the squad in 2010. "When I left, I had a reason to leave. They didn't have the junior program they have now. If they had the junior program they had now, I wouldn't have left," Field said. Junior head coach Bradi Cochrane said the Hornets simply needed time to develop their own junior system after assuming control of the team five years ago. "Very rarely do you see a new team come into the PWHL and win right away. There were growing pains," she said. "The teams in the past have been good hockey teams. The records haven't shown it, but the development was there. This is our fifth year, and a year in which we as an association need to make an impact. It's a turning point for our program." Regular turnover in the coaching and management of the midget and junior squads was also an issue that the Hornets felt they needed to address. "No one changes at the Aeros. In Stoney Creek, the midget coach is the president of the association and has been there 10-plus years. The junior coach has been there that long. They have consistency," said Edgar. "That bantam to midget year is very important. Getting on someone's midget team usually opens the pipe to go to their junior team, if you want to get on a good junior program." The Hornets believe they've finally found that stability at the top. Cochrane, who is part of the Hockey Canada coaching pool for the under-22 and U18 national team programs, returned to coach the junior Hornets this season after taking a one-year leave of absence for personal reasons. Nyhuus is highly thought of by the association, which hopes he stays with the midgets or eventually inherits the junior team. Cochrane and Nyhuus are supported by a new group of female non-parent mentors and coaches. Courtney Birchard, an assistant coach on the midget AA team, is a member of the national women's see Current on p.27 December 11-17, 2014 IN-STORE ONLY ­ NOT VALID IN QUEBEC. WRAP IT UP. 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