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3 7 | Thursday July 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insidehalton.com Kevin Nagel, Oakville Beaver Sports Editor, knagel@burlingtonpost.com Sports `Connected to your Community " G re e n G a e ls c o m e b a c k t o o u s t O a k v ille B u z z f r o m J r. B p la y o f f s The Green Gaels scored four straight goals to over come a 5-3 deficit, downing the Oakville Buzz 12-7 Sunday in Bowmanville in the deciding game of their Ontario Lacrosse Association Jr. B playoff series. Austin Redding and Henry Follows each scored twice as the Buzz built an early lead in the second period. The Gaels scored four times in the next nine minutes, though, taking a lead they would not relin quish. Mathew Dilella's shorthanded goal pulled Oakville back within one at 7-6, but the Gaels added two more before the end of the period and added two more ear ly in the third. Marley Angus, who had two assists, scored his sec ond goal of the game in third period. Jaden Walcot also had two assists. The Buzz forced the deciding game in the Eastern Conference semifinal with an 8-4 win on Friday The Gaels scored twice in 1:09 to cut Oakville's lead to 4-3 but Austin Redding and Matt Anderson responded with goals in the final two minutes of the second period to put the Buzz up 6-3. Kyle Kennery and Nate Braniff added goals for the Buzz in the third period. Redding, Angus, Anderson and Nick Fulgenzi helped the Buzz build a 4-1 lead. Braniff, the team's leading playoff scorer with 36 points in eight games, had two assists. Braniff and Anderson shared the team lead with 17 playoff goals. Vinny Tucci held the Gaels to four goals to earn the win. Oakville's James Hinchcliffe greets fans prior to the start of Sunday's Honda Indy Toronto. Hinchcliffe matched his best fin ish at his hometown race, reaching the podium with his second straight thirdplace finish. Josef Newgarden won the race with Alexander Rossi was second. | photo by Joe Skibinski - IndyCar Change in luck suits Hinchcliffe just fine By Herb G arbutt Oakville Beaver staff Jam es Hinchcliffe denies that he had no luck at his hometown race. The evidence might say otherwise -- a flat tire in his 2011 debut, engine prob lems forcing him out of the race early, a throttle sticking on the start line. The Oakville native had an average finish of 15 th place -- and no better than eighth -- in his first six starts at the Honda Indy Toronto. "We had lots of luck when we came here before," he said. "It was all bad luck." Since missing the 2015 race while re covering from injuries sustained in a crash during practice for the Indy 500, it seems Lady Luck has been doing her best to balance the scales. Ju st as Hinchcliffe finished his first pit stop Sunday, Tony Kanaan hit the wall, bringing out a caution flag. With the race Oakville's James Hinchcliffe celebrates on the podium with the Canadian flag. | photo by Chris Jones IndyC ar leaders yet to come, it allowed Hinchcliffe to move up from fifth to third once ev eryone completed their first stop. The trio that stopped early -- Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi and Hinchcliffe -- occu pied the top three spots for the remainder of the race. And even if it wasn't the win he's wanted so badly in Toronto, spraying the crowd with champagne for the second year in a row was still a pretty good ending to the day. "I don't even care if I have no good luck, I just want no bad luck. Just let me do my thing, let it play out where it does," he said. "When a day goes like this and the team is able to capitalize on an op portunity like that, it's great, a great day. We took the opportunity and were able to close the deal." It's a chance Hinchcliffe hasn't had very often this season. After starting the sea son with three straight top 10s, including a win at Long Beach, crashes beyond his control at the Indy 500 and Houston de railed promising races while contact with other cars did the same in Detroit and at Road America. "We suffered a lot of bad luck, a lot of wrong place, wrong time since that race," Hinchcliffe said. "To have the occasional yellow fall your way is not the worst thing in the world. It is the nature of the beast in IndyCar racing. Like I said, we've been on both sides of it." Sunday didn't look like it was going to be Hinchcliffe's day early on. He was run ning fifth but was losing ground on the leaders, falling back more than eight sec onds in a span of five laps. Despite his car not handling well and sliding on the track, he managed to fend off the line of cars behind him until he could get into the pits for new tires. "That's probably the loosest race car I've had on a street circuit," he said. "That's one of the most terrifying things you can do. It took every trick of driving race cars I ever learned to keep those guys behind me." As nerve-wracking as that may have been, the early stop would benefit him when the caution flag came out. Hinchcliffe would maintain third place the rest of the way and even began closing the gap on Newgarden and Rossi over the final 20 laps, but couldn't make up enough ground to be in position to over take them. Still, Hinchcliffe earned enough points to move up two spots to 10th in the driv er standings. But for one week, stand ings took a back seat to the people in the stands. "The support I feel from this city grows every single year. It's just incredible. It's the most humbling thing," he said. "We did our parade lap in the trucks before the race. I don't think I've seen the grand stands that full here, certainly since I've been behind the wheel. And, you know, the energy in the crowd was huge. It's ob viously one that has meant a lot to me for a long time." StanleyCup back in Oakville todaycourtesyScottW ilson The Stanley Cup has come back to Oakville. Scott Wilson of the Pittsburgh Penguins is having his day with the Cup today (Thursday). As part of the celebration, he's signing autographs and giving fans an opportunity to get their picture with the Cup. Wilson and the Cup were scheduled to be at Six teen Mile Sports Complex from 10:30 a.m.-noon. The Minor Oaks Hockey Association grad played 78 games with the Penguins in 2016-17, with eight goals and 26 points. He added three goals and three assists during Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup run. Drafted by the Penguins in 2011, he has played 103 career games scoring 13 goals and adding 19 as sists. Scott Wilson lifts the Stanley Cup after his Pittsburgh Penguins won the NHL's biggest prize last year. It's back in Oakville today. | file photo by Nikki Wesley - Oakville Beaver