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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, November 8, 2012 · 30 Sports Oakville Beaver FITTING RIGHT IN: Oakville Blades netminder Evan Buitenhuis has enjoyed an excellent start to his first season of Junior A hockey. The Burlington native was named the Ontario Junior Hockey League's goalie of the month for October after going 5-1-2 with a 1.41 goalsagainst average and three shutouts last month. PHOTO COURTESY OJHL IMAGES SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Seven local teams in basketball finals Tomorrow's (Friday's) four Halton high school girls' basketball finals at Sheridan College will feature seven different local schools and three all-Oakville affairs. The Garth Webb Chargers and T.A. Blakelock Tigers will get tomorrow's action started in the junior Tier 2 final at 1:30 p.m; the Burlington Central Trojans will take on the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils in the senior Tier 2 final at 3:15 p.m.; the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders and Holy Trinity Titans will clash in the junior Tier 1 final at 5 p.m.; and the Abbey Park Eagles and Loyola Hawks will conclude the slate with the senior Tier 1 contest at 6:45 p.m. Garth Webb, which opened just two months ago, is already shooting for its first-ever Halton sports title. The Chargers went 10-0 during the junior Tier 2 regular season, then posted double-digit wins over King's Christian Collegiate in the quarter-finals and Iroquois Ridge in the semis. Blakelock has lost just once this year -- a 48-25 decision to Garth Web Sept. 25 -- and got to the final with playoff victories over Craig Kielburger and Lester B. Pearson. OT is looking to finish off an undefeated season of its own in senior Tier 2 play. The Red Devils outscored their opponents 504187 on the way to a 10-0 regularseason showing and have continued that domination in the playoffs, downing Blakelock and Iroquois Ridge. Burlington Central won eight of 10 regular-season games before defeating Pearson and Robert Bateman in the postseason. Aquinas comes into tomorrow's junior Tier 1 final fresh off a 41-39 upset of the top-seeded Nelson Lords in Monday's semifinals. The Raiders were third in the regular season with a 9-2 record, a game behind 10-1 squads Nelson and Holy Trinity. The Titans, whose only loss was against Aquinas in the season opener Sept. 19, easily defeated Corpus Christi and Georgetown in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Abbey Park faces a stiff challenge in the senior Tier 1 title match, taking on a Loyola squad that has won each of its league games this season by more than 20 points. The Eagles (9-2 during the regular season) upset 10-1 Holy Trinity in the semifinals Monday, while the Hawks cruised to a comfortable victory over the Bishop Reding Royals. Blades goalie's unflappable nature key in adjustment to Junior A By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF One of Evan Buitenhaus's strengths is his ability to stay calm and not get rattled. Whether it's brushing off an opposing player crashing his crease or instantly forgetting about the rare goal that gets by him, the Oakville Blades netminder doesn't let too much bother him. But even Buitenhuis couldn't help but wonder if his Jr. A career might have been derailed before it even got started. Recruited by former Oakville general manager Carlo Coccimiglio, the 19-year-old was excited by the opportunity to be a starting goalie for one of the league's best teams. Then, over the summer, Buitenhaus heard that the Blades were being sold and a new management group would be taking over. "I was kind of worried. Going into the summer, I was thinking I had a spot and then it all changed," he said. "I didn't know if the new guys had ever seen me play or if they knew anything about me. I really had to prove myself all over again." Having to prove himself was nothing new for Buitenhaus. Coming off a season in which he had led the Grimsby Peach Kings to a Niagara & District Jr. C championship, Buitenhaus was ready to handle the starting duties with the Jr. B Thorold Blackhawks last year. While there were some bright spots, like a shutout in his third start, he mostly struggled through the first two months of the season, winning just two of his first eight games and posting a 3.46 goals-against average. Thorold brought in Alex Fotinos, a second-round draft pick of the OHL's Barrie Colts, who handled the bulk of the duty until the Colts recalled him at Christmas. Having already started to turn his game around, Buitenhaus continued to thrive after the departure of Fotinos. From the last week of November until the end of the season, Buitenhaus posted numbers that were even better than those of his more high-profile counterpart, going 14-2-1, with four shutouts, a 1.98 average and a .935 save percentage. Coming into the Blades' camp in the fall, the team was overhauling its roster. With no guarantees, Buitenhaus could have asked for a trade. Instead, "I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt," he said. "I knew they would still be a good team." Any concerns the netminder might have had turned out to be unfounded, though. See Buitenhuis, page 31 Hornets earn first victory of year Whatever Oakville Hornets coach Bradi Cochrane said between the second and third periods Saturday certainly worked wonders. The Hornets dominated the final frame to earn their first victory of the Provincial Women's Hockey League campaign, downing the Burlington Barracudas 5-2 at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Tied 2-2 after two periods, Oakville outshot the Barracudas 12-3 in the third and was rewarded with goals by Michelle Quick, Victoria Medeiros and Heather Platt. Hayley Scamurra and Lindsay Stenason scored earlier in the game for the Hornets. Platt, Scamurra and Stenason all added assists in support of goaltender Camille Leonard, who made 24 saves to record the win. Oakville dropped a frustrating 3-1 decision to the undefeated London Devilettes the previous night at Joshua's Creek. The Hornets outshot London 27-11 on the evening but could manage only a second-period goal by Scamurra in a 3-1 loss. The Devilettes broke a 1-1 tie with 2:56 to go in the third period, then added an empty netter in the final minute. Oakville (1-6-2) will be home once again this weekend, hosting the Bluewater Hawks tomorrow (Friday) at Joshua's Creek. That game is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m.