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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, December 18, 2014 | 32 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" Naughton earns first world squash tour win Oakville's Hollie Naughton won her first World Squash Association World Tour title Sunday at Ontario Racquet Club in Mississauga, defeating Pakistan's Maria Toorpakai Wazir in the final of the inaugural Women's ORC Open. Naughton, the second seed in the tournament, rallied to top the fourth-ranked Wazir 8-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-1, 12-10 in the 51-minute championship game. "It means so much to win my Hollie Naughton first WSA event at my own club with my family and friends," Naughton said. "They have all been there for me and supported me, so it makes it that much more special." The 20-year-old Naughton, ranked 65th in the world, defeated Canadian teammate Nikki Todd 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 in the semifinals after dispatching South Africa's Alexandra Fuller 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 in the quarters. The smile on Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton's face says it all after the 20-year-old Oakville native scored his first National Hockey League goal Saturday. | photo courtesy of the NHL/Getty Images Hawtin named to Parapan wheelchair basketball team Melanie Hawtin will once again get the chance to shoot for international basketball gold close to home. The 26-year-old Oakville resident was named Monday to the Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team that will compete in next year's Parapan American Games in Toronto. Hawtin is one of 10 returnees to the team that won gold at the 2014 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Women's Melanie Hawtin World Championship, which was also contested at Ryerson University. The Parapan American Games will take place Aug. 7-15. Laughton's first NHL goal a `surreal moment' by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff Brayden Schenn chipped the puck over the blueline and when Carolina's Victor Rask committed -- but failed -- to intercept the pass, Scott Laughton took full advantage of the open space. Scooping up the puck as it came off the boards, Laughton drove toward the goal. As he cut through the right faceoff circle, defenceman John-Michael Liles tried in vain to block his path to the net. He would arrive too late as Laughton fired a wrist shot that eluded the blocker of Carolina goalie Anton Khudobin, caught the inside of the post and deflected into the net. Laughton circled the net, leaned back and raised his arms in the air. The goal gave the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-1 lead but the smile on Laughton's face made it clear it meant much more than that. "It's a pretty surreal moment," Laughton said of his first NHL goal. "I was pretty happy, which I think showed in my celebration." Goalless stretch was a foreign feeling Laughton couldn't remember the last time he had gone a dozen games without a goal. It was as a 16-year-old rookie with the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals that he last suffered through such a dry spell. But even that slump is misleading. In the midst of that stretch, he suited up for Ontario at the World Under-17 Challenge. He scored in each of Ontario's first two games as the team went on win the gold medal. So really, it had been since....well, maybe, never. Though he had tastes of both the NHL and the American Hockey League, this season marked the 20-year-old's first as a full-time pro. He immediately showed the scoring touch that netted him 96 goals over four OHL seasons. Laughton had a pair of goals in each of his second and third games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and earned AHL player-ofthe-week honours. He continued to produce, earning a mid-November call-up to the Phil- adelphia Flyers. Though used sparingly in his first two games, Laughton has averaged 15 minutes per game and has at least one shot in every contest. But after 12 games, none of his 22 shots had found the back of the net. "It weighs a little in the back of your mind, but I was just trying to do what I could to help the team," Laughton said. "The goal is just an added bonus." Laughton picked up his first NHL point, an assist on Sean Couturier's goal last week in San Jose. He's recently formed an effective line with Schenn and Wayne Simmonds, and with four points in his past seven games, his scoring touch is returning. And while his mom and dad had made the trip to Philadelphia and were there to see their son's first goal, Laughton will have a much bigger cheering section when the Flyers are in Toronto to play the Maple Leafs this Saturday. "It will be good," Laughton said. "It's so close to Christmas that a lot of my friends will be home from school and my grandparents, who have supported me all the way, will be able to come." It will also give Laughton a chance to find a home for a little souvenir fished out of the Carolina net Saturday afternoon. "There's a little room in our basement with all my old jerseys," Laughton said. "It will probably find its way down there." -- Herb Garbutt can be followed on Twitter @Herbgarbutt