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26 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday March 8, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Backup goalie nearly steals show in girls' hockey final Continued from page 24 Maybe more amazing was the work of Lions' netminder Kristen Prince, who was subbing for regular goalie Ashley Steele, a ringette player busy at the Ontario Winter Games. Prince, who scored a goal and added an assist in Game 1, played as if it was her natural position. Only a Vicki Larken wrist shot in the second period and Ruprecht's similar shot in the shootout prevented Prince from having quite a story to tell in years to come. Sam Galea and Jamie Johns picked up assists on the Larken goal. Steele will be back to bolster the Lions' lineup in April when the team is one of two representatives of the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference at the all-Ontario A/AA girls hockey championships in Pembroke. Iroquois Ridge, a AAA-sized school, is now finished for the year after winning its second straight Halton title. Coach Scott Phillips decided to slot his team in the new Division 2 loop this season because of the loss of many veterans from last year's team. No one questioned his decision after the team got off to a slow start, eventually finishing third in the 10-team loop at 6-3, six points behind 9-0 Aldershot. The younger players, such as Larken, a Grade 9 student, matured as the season went on, said Phillips, and the team pulled off another comeback win in the two-game final format. Last year's victim was T.A. Blakelock. "This game was much the same as the first one," said Aldershot coach Robb McQueen. "We got three goals we maybe shouldn't have in Game 1, but (Thursday) we couldn't put the puck in the net." Raiders also heading to OFSAA The Lions will be joined at OFSAA by the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders, who qualified for provincials with a 5-3 win over the Lester B. Pearson Patriots Thursday in Burlington. Scoring information was not available. The A/AA OFSAA championships are slated for April 2-4. Winter Games `mini-Olympics' for locals Over the course of a season, a typical high-level hockey team will play in half a dozen hockey tournaments. But for three Oakville players on the Toronto midget Aeros, this weekend's Ontario Winter Games hold a little more prestige. "We look at it as a mini-Olympics," said Alex McPhail. "It's the top eight teams in Ontario, so it's pretty special." "It's the closest some of us will ever come to playing in the Olympics, so it's a really big deal," added Olivia Damiani. "It's really exciting." Joining McPhail and Damiani in the quest for Ontario Games gold is Ellen Brandt, a Grade 10 student at Appleby College. The Aeros have certainly proven to be the class of the GTA. They went undefeated in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League, posting a 23-0-1 record and have a 46-7-4 mark overall. However, the Aeros are facing the Local residents (left to right) Ellen Brandt, Alex McPhail and Olivia Damiani are playing in the Ontario Winter Games this weekend with the Toronto midget Aeros. unknown at the Ontario Winter Games as they square off against the best teams from other regions of the province. "We're playing team we haven't played before so we're somewhat nervous," McPhail said. "The teams we play in our league, we know what to expect." -- Herb Garbutt Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 6:30 pm Holiday Inn - QEW and Bronte Rd. 2525 Wyecroft Rd. Halton Women's Place Friday, April 4, 2008 at 6:30 pm Holiday Inn - QEW and Bronte Rd. 2525 Wyecroft Rd. To place your business logo or name here, call your Classified Sales Representative today! 905.632.4440