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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | Th ur sd ay , M ar ch 2 2, 2 01 8 | V i s i t i n s i d e h a l t o n . c o m f o r m o r e c o v e r a g e Westlake, Canada take Paralympic silver Scott Grant Oakville's Greg Westlake shields the puck from an American opponent in Sunday's para hockey gold-medal game at Paralympics. Canada led throughout the game until the Americans scored the tying goal with 38 seconds to play and then went on to win 2-1 in overtime. HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com An empty-net, a puck off the post, a late tying goal followed by an over­ time win. Canadian hockey fans had seen this before, ex­ cept that four years ago it was Canada benefitting from the goalpost in the Olympic women's gold- medal game in Sochi. Sunday the Canadian men's para hockey team found out what it's like to be on the other side. Leading 1-0 in the final minute, Canada's Rob Armstrong chased down a loose puck in the Ameri­ can zone. Cutting toward the net with a U.S. defender racing back to cut off his path to the empty net, Armstrong fired a shot that rang off the post. The Americans would corral the rebound and carry the puck down the ice. With just 38 seconds to play, Declan Farmer o f the U.S. lifted a shot over Cana­ dian goalie Dominic Laroc- que to tie the game. It was the first goal allowed by Canada in the tournament. It would be Farmer again scoring the winning goal 3:30 into overtime to hand the Canadians a heartbreaking loss and give the Americans their third straight Paralympic gold. Oakville's Greg West- lake, Canada's captain for the past two Paralympics, said the Canadian team has come so far since win­ ning bronze in Sochi. "Three or four years ago we were getting five shots on net (in games against the U.S.). We've worked so hard to get to the point where we're pushing the pace and carrying the play," he told the CBC fol­ lowing the game. "Now it's a missed net here or there, a penalty here or there. The margin for error is so low, that's what happens in these games." It was Canada holding the U.S. without a shot in the opening period as Can­ ada took a 1-0 lead on Billy Bridges' goal. The U.S. pushed back in the second but couldn't beat Laroc- que. Both teams had good chances in the third, in­ cluding a shot from the slot by Westlake that American goalie Steve Cash just got a piece o f with his blocker to send it wide. Canada last won the Pa­ ralympic gold in 2006 in To­ rino at Westlake's first Pa­ ralympics. After losing the bronze medal game to Nor­ way in Vancouver, Canada won the bronze in Sochi. "I believe there are gold medallists in that (Canadi­ an) room, they just don't know it yet. I believe they will do it in the future," Westlake told the CBC. "The four-year cycle is a long, long, long time to wait, which is why it stings so much now in this m o­ ment." Oakville Rangers set to host OMHA peewee championship Peewee Rangers host OMHA tourney HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com They may be the hosts, but that doesn't mean the Oakville peewee AAA Rangers are to be taken lightly. Despite having a spot in the Ontario M inor Hockey Association championship guaran­ teed, the Rangers earned their spot in the final by defeating Guelph 3-1 in their South Central AAA Hockey League (SCTA) semifinal series. Also qualifying for this weekend's tourna­ ment at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex are Bar­ rie, Niagara and York- Simcoe. They w ill be joined by one more team. With Oakville taking one o f the qualifying Oakville Rangers spots, SCTA rivals Ham­ ilton and Guelph will have a one-game playoff to determine the final en­ try. Oakville went 25-3-8 this season to finish sec­ ond in the SCTA, despite leading the league in goals for (141) and goals against (46). The Rangers then won three o f four to finish second in their qualifying group and ad­ vance to the semis. The tournament schedule w ill be set once the final entry is deter­ mined. 0 a £ ijTSjp ^ p ^ P A W ^ i s i i i g ^ i g B Call fo r free in house quote! CONTINENTAL * F I R E P L A C E S • S pec ia l p r ic in g w n 'a ll gas m odels ^o n te m p o ra n y and Trad itiona l designs HemeStars 2 6 2 4 ROYAL WINDSOR DRIVE, L5J 1K7 YoutfllB Honda ATVs & Power Equipm ent Canada © □ @HondaATVPECA honda.ca HRS216PKC lawnmower model shown has an MSRP of $389. HHT25SLTC trimmer model shown has an MSRP of $389. F220C tiller model shown has an MSRP of $999. Prices do not include freight and PDI or applicablesales taxes and are not applicable in Quebec, For optimum performance and safety, please read your owner's manual thoroughly before operating your Honda Power Equipment product. Specifications subject to change without notice. Model colours may not be exactly as shown. Errors and omissions excepted. See your Honda Power Equipment dealer or honda.ca for full details. CURRENT POWER MACHINERY see currentpowerinc.ca 9 0 5 - 822-4211 mailto:hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com mailto:hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com