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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 28, 2008 - 47 Blades at River Oaks tomorrow The Oakville Blades fought tooth-and-nail Wednesday to protect their home ice advantage in their Provincial Junior A Hockey League semifinal series with the Aurora Tigers (story, page 45). How much of an advantage that "home ice" will be for tomorrow's Game 5, however, remains to be seen. Due to previous ice bookings at the Blades' usual home venue, Joshua's Creek Arenas, the Blades will be forced to host the potentially pivotal game at River Oaks Recreation Centre. Oakville led the series 2-1 going into last night's Game 4 in Aurora. Both Oakville forward Nick McParland and goaltender Scott Greenham expressed some concern about playing in a rink they have not even practiced at before, but don't foresee it being a major issue. "We're not really too keen on going to River Oaks. It's a bigger ice surface," said McParland. "But we're fast. They're fast too, but we're a little bigger and a little stronger, and I feel that with our home crowd, the atmosphere should be alright." Greenham added, "It will be different for everybody. All our guys from Oakville know the rink, so that will benefit us, while (Aurora) will be feeling it out. "It's a bit of frustration, but you can't really do anything. It's not that big a deal when you think about it. An ice surface is an ice surface." The Blades played out of Joshua's Creek Arenas (when it was called Dominion Twin Rinks) the past several years when the facility was privately owned. The Town of Oakville purchased the arenas last year. Joshua's Creek Arenas has been booked all week for the Minor Oaks Hockey Association house league championship games. The Blades' game Wednesday began at 8:30 p.m., an hour later than usual. Tomorrow's contest at River Oaks is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start. -- Jon Kuiperij PLAY BALL! ...with the Oakville Girls Softball Association. FREE CLINICS CONTINUE THIS WEEKEND Winter OGSA Skills Clinics - 5470 Harvester Road, Burlington Age groups and times available on our website SOFTBALL - The Fun Starts Now! On-site Registration available from 9am-12pm Bring Your Glove and Play or Register NOW Online www.ogsa.mysportsite.com Train to be an Umpire. Earn money all Summer long. Training/Certification provided. For more information call 905-825-5848 Reduce · Reuse Victorious Venom Recycle TOPS IN STONEY CREEK: The Oakville Venom midget boys' basketball team won all five of its games to claim gold at the recent Battle of Stoney Creek tournament. Oakville defeated Ancaster, Centre-Wellington and Mississauga in round-robin play, then bested Borden in the semis before staging a fourth-quarter comeback to down Mississauga 44-42 in the championship match. Members of the team are Nathan Palmer, Mike Davey, Peter Dziedzic, Kyle Hankins, Marcus Lee, Sartaj Gill, Shane Wyslobicky, Grant McQueen, Paul Strome, David Simmonds, Josh Sholtz and tournament MVP Rohan Boney.Wilton Grant coaches the team and Jim Davey is the manager. Field hockey programs starting soon The Halton Field Hockey Club offers a number of programs to those interested in playing the sport. For youth girls (ages 8-14), an introductory workshop will be held on Saturday, April 5 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Burlington's Sherwood Forest Park gym. It will feature skills instruction for beginners, providing a taste of the sport before registering for the season. Bring shin guards and a mouth guard if you have one (otherwise mouth guards will be provided) and dress in gym shoes and clothing prepared to participate. Pre-registration is not necessary, but encouraged by e-mailing hfhc_youthprogram@hotmail.com or phoning Jen at 905-220-5174. Spring-summer recreational leagues for girls and women are currently accepting registrations. A youth league (Saturday mornings, no long weekends) for girls aged 8-13 aims to teach basic skills of the game in a fun and supportive environment. A junior league (Monday and Wednesday evenings) for girls 14-18 with or without playing experience, and senior league (Thursday evenings) for ages 18-up for any skill level are also available. The club also offers select teams for the U-14 and U-18 age groups for play in outside leagues and tournaments. Start-up is in early May. Visit www.haltonfieldhockey.com for registration form and fees. E-mail Haltonfhc@cogeco.ca or phone Diane at 905-632-7522 for more details.