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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, September 28, 2012 · 30 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 Red Devils shooting for return to OFSAA field hockey tourney By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Having won a bronze medal at last year's Ontario high school field hockey championships, the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils really couldn't rely on the element of surprise as a weapon against their opponents. But when the Red Devils reached the final of the St. John's-Kilmarnock tournament (an event that annually draws the province's best teams) they caught one team completely off guard -- their own. "That was unexpected," said the Red Devils' Ellie Cookson. "That was our first real tournament of the year so we hadn't had a lot of time playing together. The chemistry we had as a team was surprising." Surprising because OT had lost eight players from last year's team, among them junior national team member Alyssa Bull, who is now playing for Rutgers University, and Leah Burke, playing for the Western Mustangs. But, it took the two-time defending Ontario champs, Resurrection, to end the Red Devils' run. "All the big teams were there and they played well," said OT coach Jim Groen. "We have a lot of Grade 11s; so it was a big learning experience for them." Oakville Trafalgar has seemingly not missed a beat. They are 5-0 in league play -- having outscored their opponents 23-1 -- extending their winning streak in Halton to 26 games. Cookson has played a big role in helping bridge the gap. She scored twice in a 3-1 win over St. Thomas Aquinas Tuesday and a couple of hours later added three more in a 5-0 victory over Loyola. The Grade 11 student, now in her third year with OT's senior squad, was selected to be a part of Field Hockey Canada's Target 2017 squad, a group of players who will be eligible to compete in the 2017 Junior World Cup. She was selected based on her performance in the USA-Canada Challenge series. As a Grade 10 last year, Cookson scored five goals in six games at the OFSAA tournament, second only to Bull's eight tallies. But Cookson doesn't have to do it alone. Hannah Rauseo and Rebecca Plouffe, who combined for four goals at OFSAA, are also back. The OT defence has also been stingy as it was last year despite several new faces. "We have really tenacious players on defence," said Cookson, OT's junior female athlete of the year. "They've been taking what the coaches are saying and then going out and doing it on the field. We lost eight players but we found some really good ones." "It really is a coachable group," said Jenna Bull, who has returned to OT to help coach the team after graduating from Rutgers, where she was team captain and a conference all-star. "They've been taking feedback and putting it into action. That speaks volumes about them, especially with so many new faces and young players." There's so certainly no lack of leadership to help the players moving up from the junior team fit in with the returning seniors. Captains Bethany Greer, Cookson and Rauseo, as well as Sydney Johnson, were all members of the OT rugby team that won OFSAA gold in the spring, 12 months after the team won a bronze. Now the field hockey team is looking for a similar upgrade. Though Oakville Trafalgar has OFSAA aspirations, sometimes just getting out of Halton can be the biggest challenge. In the last four years, three different Halton teams have won medals at OFSAA -- OT bronze in 2011; Nelson silver in 2009 and Notre Dame bronze in 2008. Cookson will be doing everything in her power to get OT back there. She feels her time with the junior national team has helped her raise the level of her game. "There are some really, really good players," she said. "It's an eye-opener." The Red Devils have also shown the ability to improve, which is why it shouldn't be a surprise if they're once again battling for OFSAA gold. --Follow Herb Garbutt on Twitter, @herbgarbutt GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG STICKING TO IT: Oakville Trafalgar's Rebecca Plouffe battles for possession of the ball with a St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders opponent in Monday's Halton senior girls field hockey game at Holy Trinity. OT scored a 3-1 victory and are 5-0 this season are looking to return to the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Associations (OFSAA) tournament, where they won a bronze medal last year. Hornets look to build on playoff run as they open PWHL season Sunday By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The last Provincial Women's Hockey League game Camille Leonard played, she stopped 68 shots but it wasn't enough to prolong the Oakville Hornets season. The first-place Toronto Aeros scored a 4-0 victory to eliminate Oakville. While that was probably enough pucks fired at her to last the entire summer, the 17-year-old netminder is ready to start throwing herself in the way of pucks again as the Hornets open the PWHL season in Waterloo Sunday. "For sure, the first league game, we're ready to go," said the Grade 12 T.A. Blakelock student. "We've got a really good team this year." While the Hornets finished 13th in the league last season, they had a strong finish to the season and carried that through into the playoffs. Oakville upset the fourth-place London Devilettes in the opening round, including a 27-save effort by Leonard in the 4-2 win in the decisive fifth game. Leonard shouldn't have to face as many shots with several returnees. Unlike last year, when Oakville only had two returning players, the Hornets have seven back this year, plus four others with PWHL experience. Brooke Caligiuri, Nicole Vigilanti and Heather Hood -- all rookies last season -- will be joined by Kristin Gilmour, who played the last two seasons with the Burlington Barracudas. Leonard will share the crease with another former Barracuda, Kierra Lambertucci. The 18-yearold posted a 1.44 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in 19 games with Burlington last season. "We have two very strong goalies," said Amanda Pereira, who finished third in scoring on the Hornets last season. "They will help See Experience, page 31