The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

in si de ha lt on .c om O ak vi lle B ea ve r | Th ur sd ay , Ap ri l 5, 20 18 | 2 HOCKEY Peewee AAA Rangers maintain grip on OMHA title Oakville wins 4th championship in 5 years HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com After managing to score just one goal against Bar­ rie in the opening game of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association peewee AAA tournament, Oakville Rangers coach Jaan Luik wasn't surprised to see his team come out flying in the championship game. Oakville looked to have equalled its output against Barrie 51 seconds into the rematch of last year's final, but the Rangers' goal was waved off. Undeterred, the Rangers continued to press. Calum Ritchie picked up the puck at the top of the faceoff circle, cut through the slot and lifted a back­hand over the blocker of the Colts' goalie. Three minutes later, Matthew Soto used his speed to beat the defender to the puck and centred to Luke Misa, who buried the pass for a 2-0 lead. Before the period was over, Soto fired a shot un­ der the arm of the Barrie goalie and Owen Pagniel- lo's point shot found its way through a maze of players to put Oakville up 4-0 in front of the home fans at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. "These kids have really had a propensity for that in the past," Luik said. "The biggest occasions, they ele­ vate their game." Perhaps that's why they've won three straight OMHA championships and four in five years. Runners-up last year, Barrie did mount a come­back, cutting Oakville's lead to 4-2 in the second pe­ riod but Bronson Ride banged in Nick Lardis' re­ bound early in the third to seal Oakville's 5-2 win. By their lofty stan­ dards, Oakville had a slow start to the tournament, tying Barrie 1-1 in its open­ ing game and then playing to a 3-3 draw with the York- Simcoe Express. "We played well in the Barrie game, we just didn't get the results on the score- board," Luik said. "The second game was a little more concerning. We got up 3-1 and we took our foot off the gas and they clawed their way back." With their fate in their own hands on the second day, Oakville blanked the Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs 5-0 and beat the Niagara North Stars 5-1 to secure a spot in the final. That was more like the team that lost just three times in 36 games and led the South Central AAA Hockey League (SCTA) in both goals for and against. Oakville then won six of eight games, beating Guelph in the SCTA semifi­ nals to earn a spot in the OMHA tournament, de­ spite already being in as hosts. "We wanted to be there on merit and that was one of our objectives," Luik said. "It also gave us a chance to go into the tour­ nament with some mo­mentum." Other members of the Rangers' OMHA champi­ onship team are Matthew Doma, Brayden Gillespie, Andrew Brown, Ben Mc­ Kenna, Jacob Crisp, Quaid Beaudry, Sawyer Luik, Ev­ an Wagner, Mason Zebes- ki, Tyson Rowan, Cody O'Neill and coaches Bob Zebeski, Aaron Jarc, Jus­ tin Pereira and Kyle Morri­son. The Rangers will now play at the Ontario Hockey Federation peewee cham­ pionships in Essex begin­ ning April 9. • GET CONNECTED All our regional publications are online at insidehalton.com. Graham Paine/Metroland Evan Wagner of the Oakville Rangers takes a stick to the chin as he battles the Barrie Jr. Colts' Larry Keenan for the puck during OMHA peewee AAA championship tournament. The Rangers defeated Barrie 5-2 in the final to claim their fourth OMHA title in five years. GET HELP FOR YOUR LOVED ONES C A R E G I V E R SHOW A R ESO U R C E DAY FO R FAMILY C A R E G IV E R S 1 Ask questions Get expert advice Great speakers Friday May 4th 1 Oam - 4pm O N E D A Y O N L Y ! O ntario Science Centre C aring fo r som eone w ith A lzheim ers / D em entia? W ant to learn a b o u t M e d ica l C annab is? Hear about these topics and much more a t the show! FREE A D M ISS IO N Register to a v o id the lines Visit w w w .ca re g ive rshow .ca to register a n d for m ore inform ation SPONSORED BY: (•CanniMed & HumberviewMOBILITY FREE C areg ive r Resource G u ide to all attendees BROUGHT TO YOU BY: DownBfZmgJ)lVA & metrolandmedia Connected to your community" Sponsor / Exhibitor opportunities available Contact RONIT WHITE at rwhite@m etroland.com or 416-774^2247 Tennis Anyone? BECOME A MEMBER Registration at Clubhouse * m W ALLACE PARK T E N N I S CLUB Saturday, April 7th Saturday, April 14th 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Fees: Family $190 Couple $165 Adult $110 __________ www.wallaceparktennis.ca Wallace Park Tennis Club Q A r Q ^ r 245 Reynolds St. <@ Sheddon Ave.) ▼ W W ■ 0 * f W ■ / V * t 7 Cheque Preferred After May 7th fees increase. mailto:hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com http://www.caregivershow.ca mailto:rwhite@metroland.com http://www.wallaceparktennis.ca