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THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 3,1999 An Oakville Beaver Feature Editor: NORM NELSON 845-3824 (Extension 255) Fax:337-5567 Midget Red Devils win Halton championship The Oakville IVafalgar Red Devils won the Halton high school midget basketball champi­ onship with a 52-38 win over Milton at Sheridan College last Friday. Peter Moore, who coaches the team along Photos by Peter J. Thompson Oakville IVafalgar (black jerseys) won the Halton midget boys championship with a 52-38 win over Milton. Caught in action here, for Oakville Trafalgar, are #23 Jamie Grimm (left photo) and #20 Alonzo Thornhill (right photo). with Bill Rennie, credited the defence for spear­ heading the victory. "In the third quarter, Milton only scored four points," he said. Still, the Red Devils were up only 40-35 with four minutes left in the game but secured the Halton championship with a 12-3 run. "It's the first time in at least 25 years that we (Oakville Trafalgar) won the midget champi­ onship," said Moore. Top scorers were Jamie Grimm (14), Justin Lintem (12), Alonzo Thornhill (10) and Adam Byers (10). "Justin (Lintern) and Adam (Byers) are our twin towers," said Moore, adding that they're 6'7" and 6'6", respectively, and both hit double figures in rebounding average this season. Milton finished atop the Volpe division with an 8-2 regular season record while Oakville Trafalgar was second at 7-3. The two teams split their regular season encounters with Milton winning by 14 points and Oakville Trafalgar winning by three points. Both of Oakville Trafalgar's other losses came at the hands of White Oaks who also fin­ ished at 7-3 (but had less points because of the scoring system which gives only one point for wins against teams that are faced twice). Oakville Trafalgar won its quarterfinal game 56-44 over Iroquois Ridge and its semifinal game 49-48 against M.M. Robinson (who topped the Richardson Division at 7-1, along with Nelson). OTHER CHAMPIONSHIP ACTION The senior Halton final was won by Nelson, 64-49 over Pearson. The junior Halton final was won by Nelson, 48-46 over M.M. Robinson. Oakville Blades ousted in three straight It's a wrap for the Oakville Blades as their season, which once held a fair degree of promise, ended ignominiously, in three straight, at the hands of the Bramalea Blues. Mike Lukajic had the lone goal in Friday night's 6-1 loss in Bramalea. Perry Ryerson and P.J. Hiscock assisted. In a way, the playoff series mir­ rored the regular season. There was promise. The Blades started slow and that cost them a 5-3 decision in the open­ ing game in Bramalea on Tuesday of last week. They did put up a fight, rallying back from a 5-1 deficit in the third period. The Blades thought they had made it 5-4 with the goalie pulled and over a minute remaining but didn't get the call. Back in Oakville last Thursday, the Blades lost a 5-4 heartbreaker. They had early leads at 1-0 and 2-1 but then needed a quick two-goal comeback to tie the game at 4-4. But Bramalea salted the game away with a killer goal in the last minute. And that broke the Blades' back as they had their worst outing in the third game. "I guess the biggest difference, they (Bramalea) came out to play for three games and we basically showed up for about a game and a half," said Blades coach and general manager George McDonald. "In the third game, we just came out flat. It was like the regular season in that the Blades started slow (with three losses and a tie) then got it together to where they had climbed all the way to fourth place in the 12- team west conference midway through the season. That was pretty good considering the league's top trio -- M ilton, Bramalea and Brampton (who fin­ ished 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively) -- easily held the top three spots from wire to wire. LOUIS\ Photo by Peter J. Thompson Mike Tarantino of the Oakville Blades (white jersey) has his man tied up. The Blades came close in this game at home Thursday, losing 5-4 on a last minute goal, but went on to lose the series in three straight Yes, things were looking good in the first few days of the New Year with the Blades winning back to back on Jan. 2/3 against Mississauga and Vaughan. They, of course, turned out to be the two worst teams in the league but the Blades did what they had to and defeated them con­ vincingly 9-5 and 6-2, respectively. At that point they were not only consistent over a long stretch, losing only four of 20 games while winning 14 and tieing two, but they were on a hot streak with five straight wins. Little did they know they would­ n't come close to five wins the rest o f the season. During the next 16 regular season games, they won only three games and lost the rest (13 games). While their berth in the playoffs was never threatened, the long slide took them from fourth place, and a home playoff date against the fifth place team, to seventh, and a playoff date against Bramalea, one of the league's vaunted trio. "There was no doubt, it was a frustrating last part of the season," said McDonald. "Being the coach it was my responsibility." There were some moves, in retro­ spect, he said, that he should have made. For one, there were a couple of players with poor attitudes "that I should have got rid of." Other moves he still stands by. He had a chance, he said, to bring in a couple of hired hands at the trade deadline, but at too great a cost. The move would have mortgaged the future which includes what he believes is a promising nucleus of more than a dozen returnees. Do you have a great idea that w ill make a difference to recreational facilities in your community? L O C A L HEROES m MOLSON |son Breweries' Local Heroes Program can help you make it happen! 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