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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, March 13, 2013 | 10 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor For the first time in more than a decade, the Oakville Blades won't be competing in the second round of the Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs. Oakville was eliminated from post-season play Friday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, dropping a 7-4 decision to the North York Rangers. North York claimed the best-ofseven first-round series in six games, marking the Blades' earliest departure from the OJHL playoffs since an opening-round loss to the Georgetown Raiders in 2002. The Rangers quickly seized control of Friday's contest, chasing Oakville netminder Evan Buitenhuis with three goals on their first five shots, then scoring twice in the first three minutes of the second period to take a 5-0 lead. The Blades, who trailed 6-1 after two periods, scored three times in the final frame to make the score more respectable. The teams finished the night with 24 shots apiece, the lowest shot total for both teams in the series. "You hate to blame a game so critical as this just on luck," said Oakville head coach Kevin Gomes. "But most of their goals (weren't spectacular goals). They weren't power-play goals, they weren't oddman rushes. Our goaltending has been just outstanding for us the whole season so you don't want to look there, but over the course of the season we made those saves." Goaltending might not have been the Blades' greatest asset Friday, but Oakville captain Aidan Orbinski wasn't about to point the finger at the team's netminders. "After the second period, I told (Buitenhuis) he's been outstanding all year. You can't judge a whole year on a couple of bad bounces. They were awkward goals, but Blades suffer earliest playoff exit since '02 Major lacrosse team coming to Oakville? by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff North York Rangers' John Carpino (in white) leaves fallen Oakville Blades forward Rory Bell and a referee in his wake during Game 5 of the Ontario Junior Hockey League playoff series last Wednesday in Toronto. North York eliminated the Blades from the playoffs two nights later in Oakville. | photo by Tim Bates -- OJHL Images he's been phenomenal," said Orbinski. "We relied on him all year. He was our MVP , no questions asked." Buitenhuis ranked third in the OJHL in both victories (26) and minutes played (2,565) during the regular season. A few soft goals or bad breaks -- the Blades' Luke Laidlaw hit the post twice in a one-minute span during the first period, seconds before North York scored a shorthanded goal to make the score 3-0 -- would not have been Oakville's undoing Friday had the Blades been able to win a game in North York earlier in the series. The Rangers outscored Oakville 11-3 en route to winning all three contests played in North York. The Blades, meanwhile, needed overtime to earn victories at Sixteen Mile in Game 2 and Game 4. "For one thing, it's their barn and they know it better than we do," Gomes said when asked to explain the Blades' inability to win a road game during the series. "It's a little tighter quarters, smaller ice surface. We play half our games on the (Olympicsized ice surface at Sixteen Mile). Our team is designed to be a speed and skill team. We were designed for where we play half our regular-season games." Oakville's power play was also a culprit in the series loss to North York. After converting at a 23-per-cent rate in the regular season (ranking second in the league), the Blades were held to two goals in 30 extraman opportunities (6.7 per cent) in the playoffs. The Rangers, meanwhile, made good on eight of 38 power-play chances (21 per cent). "Their penalty killing was good," Gomes Oakville could be the new home of a Major Series Lacrosse team if the Ontario Lacrosse Association approves a request to relocate the Ajax-Pickering Rock. MSL commissioner Jim Brady said the league has approved an application by Ajax-Pickering Rock owner Rob Roche to move the team to the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC) in Oakville. However, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, the league's governing body, must also approve the move. "From the league's standpoint, having a major franchise in Oakville makes more sense than having two (Brooklin and Ajax-Pickering) in Durham Region," Brady said Monday. Ajax-Pickering began as a Senior B team in 2003 and joined MSL (Senior A) in 2010. It has struggled in making the transition, going 7-43 in three seasons, including 1-13 last year. Roche hopes to take a step toward rectifying that by bringing in Terry Sanderson, the general manager for the NLL 's Toronto Rock, to fill the same role with his team. A large part of the Ajax-Pickering team's struggles has been its inability to secure junior affiliates. The junior teams in the region (the Whitby Warriors in Jr. A and the Green Gaels in Jr. B) are affiliated with the Brooklin Redmen, a team that has been around since the mid 1960s and has won seven Canadian championships. That made it difficult for a new team to gain a foothold in the area. By moving to Oakville, the team would be able to affiliate with the Jr. B Oakville Buzz, the Jr. A Burlington Chiefs and the Sr. B Oakville Titans. "It's a win-win situation," Roche said. Not everyone is so sure, though. The Titans are currently affiliated with MSL's Brampton Excelsiors. MSL see Blades on p.11 see Toronto on p.11 THANK YOU OAKVILLE! The Oakville Blades would like to thank Oakville for another great season. There was a lot of change this season but we are proud of our team and where we will be next season. A huge thank you to Oakville for helping the Blades have the best Home attendance in the whole OJHL! We want to wish all our fans a safe summer and we will see everyone in September!