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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, July 24, 2015 | 26 G O L D E N P O S S I B I L I T I E S Upset of Green Gaels another chapter in Oakville Buzz's lacrosse history by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff G T.A. Blakelock high school grad Dan Lewis (in red, pictured in action Sunday against Puerto Rico) and the Canadian men's volleyball team won all of their three preliminary-round matches at the Pan Am Games to earn a spot in the semifinals tonight (Friday) in Toronto. If Canada defeats Argentina tonight, the team will play for Pan Am gold Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Exhibition grounds. A loss in the semifinals would send Canada to the bronze-medal game, slated for 11 a.m. | photo by Eric Riehl -- Metroland Media Group Sr. B Titans strike early, advance to Round 2 The Oakville Titans jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back Sunday at Toronto Rock Athletic Centre, routing the Owen Sound North Stars 11-2 and advancing to the second round of the Ontario Lacrosse Association senior B playoffs. Todd Bloxam (two goals, three assists) and Reed Board (one goal, three assists) paced the Titans, who claimed the best-of-three first round series 2-0. Oakville had scored seven unanswered third-period goals the night before to claim the series opener 12-5 in Orangeville. The fifth-seeded Titans will face No. 1 Six Nations Rivermen, who enjoyed a first-round bye, in the best-of-five league semifinals beginning tonight in Six Nations. Game 2 of the series will take place this Sunday at TRAC (7 p.m. start). Todd Kozak (two), Matt Pelkey, Kyle Andrews, Jordan Godin, Allister Warren, Jon Mason and Brendan Fox were Oakville's other goal scorers in the series finale versus Owen Sound. In Game 1 last Saturday, Bloxam had a goal and four assists while Kozak (two goals, two Sports Briefs assists), Mason, Fox and Board (goal, three assists each) collected four points apiece. Eric Wales scored twice and Mack Abbott, Craig Blinkhorn, Godin and Warren added singles. Craig Wende earned the victory in net for Oakville in both games. Blue Devils blank Sanjaxx Lions Early goals by Taylor McNamara and Nicholas Muth propelled the Oakville Blue Devils to a 2-0 win over the Sanjaxx Lions Sunday in North York. McNamara's marker came in the fifth minute of play and Muth added his tally in the 23rd minute, providing more than enough for the undefeated Blue Devils to claim their 11th victory in 12 League 1 Ontario soccer matches this season (the other game ended in a draw). The Blue Devils will be home this Sunday at Sheridan College for a 4 p.m. kickoff against the Woodbridge Strikers. THE GYM Convenient, clean, and friendly. NAUTILUS We're Oakville's best kept secret! Est. 1982 High quality weight training and Nautilus cardio equipment. Experienced and mature personal trainers. Carpeted, air conditioned with ample natural light from large windows. Free indoor parking. rowing up, Joe French spent time in the summer at his family's cottage about an hour's drive from Cornwall. He and his brother Ben were already playing lacrosse, so their dad would take them to watch games in nearby Akwesasne. "Our dad wanted us to understand the history of the game, understand where it started. We spent hours watching games there. It gave me a real appreciation for the game," he said. "There was nothing like going to Akwesasne. They played the game like it was meant to be played. It was such a cool place to watch a game. It was always so exciting." French and his Oakville Buzz teammates will be heading to Akwesasne this weekend (the first two games of the best-of-five series will take place there before the remainder of the series shifts to Oakville) after beating the Green Gaels 11-7 this past Sunday in the deciding game of their Ontario Jr. B Lacrosse League East Conference semifinal. French, playing in what could have been his last junior lacrosse game, had three goals and four assists to ensure that it wasn't. French's appreciation for lacrosse history stretches beyond the origins of the game, though. The Toronto native is also well-versed in the recent history of Jr. B, which only adds to the sense of accomplishment in what the Buzz was able to achieve. Tied 1-1, the Buzz edged the Gaels 1312 in a pivotal road win. After failing to close out the series at home Saturday (an 8-6 loss), Oakville again beat the Gaels in their own rink. "You look back over the last five or 10 years, I'll bet (the Gaels) have lost less than two games a year," French said. It has happened a few times, but his point is well taken. Including playoffs, the Gaels were 9514-2 (.865) at home since 2009 prior to Game 3. It looked like the Gaels might add to that impressive total as they jumped out to a 4-2 firstperiod lead. But Oakville battled back with four goals in the second for a 6-4 advantage. Late in the period, Ben French dropped the gloves with the Gaels' Justin Leith. "Everyone knows he can score, but he's a pretty tough kid. He'll stand up for guys," his brother said. "After that fight, the energy level went up another notch." Oakville scored three times in the first six minutes of the third, including a pair of shorthanded markers 46 seconds apart, to make it 9-4. It was the chance to play with his brother that brought Joe French back to the Buzz for a second season. He had started the year in Jr. A with St. Catharines, but midway through the season, the Buzz acquired Ben. "The minute we picked him up, my phone rang," said Buzz coach Mike Bentivegna. "It wasn't our intent, but it was a very happy accident." With St. Catharines sitting in last place and the commute to games and practices wearing on him, Joe asked about returning to the Buzz. "I had a great experience with Oakville last year," said French, who has racked up 39 goals and 86 points in 16 playoff games over two seasons with the Buzz . "It was hard to turn down an opportunity to play with Ben." The Buzz had been eliminated in series-deciding games each of the last two years and French said Oakville has always been that team on the cusp. Now he believes its time has come. "I think this proves to the younger guys that the coaching staff believes in us. We can go the distance with a team like (the Gaels) and win. There are a lot of great teams out there and a lot of people think we're one of those teams," said French, who will be going into his junior season at the University of Virginia in the fall. "We're a pretty comprehensive group. We have a little bit of everything and beating the Gaels shows we'll do whatever it takes to win." "I told the guys, `I know you want to win. Show me you need to win,'" Bentivegna said. That need has pushed Oakville into the conference final for the first time in 10 years, when Bentivegna played for the Buzz. "After the game I had 20 text messages and eight missed calls. Half of them were from guys on that '06 team," the coach said. "I had NLL players, guys playing pro out west messaging me. They don't have to be checking in on their (former) junior team, but there's a lot of pride." It's a history Joe French and his teammates are becoming increasingly aware of -- and one they want to continue for the rest of the summer. Notes: Oakville's home dates for Game 3 and (if necessary) Games 4 and 5 had not been finalized as of yesterday afternoon... Foster Cuomo, Dalton Follows and rookie Jaden Walcot each had two goals in the deciding game versus the Gaels. Keyan McQueen had a goal and Eddie Renaud had three asissts....Rookie netminder Kyle Hebert is 15-2 in his last 17 games. Buzz coaching staff named best in Eastern Conference Oakville Buzz head coach Mike Bentivegna and assistants Cam Watts, Ben Neeb and Nate Reid have been named the Ontario Jr. B lacrosse East Conference coaching staff of the year. The Buzz finished 12-8 during the regular season, good for fifth in the conference, but finished the season on an 11-4 run after many of its players returned from school. The team has carried that momentum into the playoffs, sweeping Nepean in three games before knocking off the conference's top team, the Green Gaels, 3-2 to advance to the conference final. Joe French said the coaches were instrumental in the series victory over the Gaels. "The real difference maker was the coaching staff," French said. "(The Gaels) are as good as any team you'll find. But the last two weeks, they were outcoached in every facet. Our coaches designed game plans to target the things we do well and exploit the little mistakes they make, and they don't make many. We exploited those little cracks in their shield and we beat away at those cracks." -- Jon Kuiperij Trial Offer: 3 FREE workouts with a trainer! 11 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville, ON www.thegymnautilus.com 905-844-1610