The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, April 24, 2014 | 30 HALTON TRANSMISSION 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" A-Buzz with anticipation Oakville's junior B lacrosse team features plenty of returnees be key offensive contributors. Hudson averaged nearly a point a game last year as a rookBeaver Sports Editor ie with the Mississauga Tomahawks, while Forde -- picked sixth overall in this year's Junior B lacrosse teams typically don't get the junior A draft by the Brampton Excelsiors opportunity to build on what they accom- -- and Follows were affiliate players for the plished the previous season. Buzz in 2013. Veteran players often graduate to the senior Defence ranks, while elite young talent has the option A veteran group of defenders will be anof moving up to junior A. chored by 21-year-old captain Colton WatSo, with nearly 20 returnees from last year's kinson, who Gillies considers "one of the top Oakville Buzz team that came one strong defensive transition players in junior B." Paul period away from advancing to the Ontario Roakoczy, also 21, is back for his fourth year Lacrosse Association's Eastern Conference with the Buzz, and 19-year-old Justin Martin final, Buzz general manager will be leaned on heavily unKen Gillies is excited about til Watkinson returns from the team's chance to pick up school next month. Jake where it left off. Nyhuus and Jimmy Shea are "There's definitely a strong two other defencemen who presence of coming into this will turn 20 this year. season on a high note," said "We should be known as Gillies, whose squad opens a back-door team," Gillies the 2014 campaign tomorsaid. row (Friday) with a 7:30 Goaltending p.m. home game against the The Buzz's biggest transiMimico Mountaineers at tion this year will be in net, Oakville's Toronto Rock Athwhere the team features letic Centre. two new goaltenders. SixLast year, the Buzz was Ken Gillies foot-six, 245-pound Josh fourth in the East with a Oakville Buzz general manager Falkenstern appears to 12-8 regular-season record have the starting job, with before winning its firstOakville native Errol Spring -- who helped round playoff matchup and giving the topMimico reach the under-16 field lacrosse naseeded Clarington Green Gaels a scare in Round 2. Oakville won the first two games tional championships last season -- backing of the best-of-five series, then held a 7-5 him up. "It's always nice to have a veteran in net," lead through two periods of Game 4 before Gillies said. "And Errol has looked very good the Gaels rallied to win 11-9. Clarington went on to edge the Buzz 6-5 in the deci- in camp. We're happy with him as a rookie coming in to supplement Falkenstern." sive fifth game. Last year's No. 1 goaltender, Brent Nose"We definitely felt good about the season, worthy, broke his leg playing hockey and is somewhat overachieving even though we didn't finish off the Gaels like we wanted to," out for the season. Gillies said. "But at the same time, we don't Coaching want to be satisfied. That got us started, but Mike Bentivegna, a member of the 2006 there's still a big mountain to climb." Founders Cup national champion Buzz team, takes over behind the bench from Sam Offence The two major departures up front are Rook. "Mike's been with us (in a coaching capac2013 leading scorer and MVP Greg Campity) for five or six years," said Gillies. "I'll be bell (taking the season off to focus on hockey training) and 21-points-in-five-games veter- helping out with the offence and Cam Watts an Todd Nakasuji (age graduation). But eight will help out on the defensive side." Bentivegna was also an assistant coach of of the club's top 10 scorers from last season the Oakville midget AAA Rangers hockey are back, including Troy O'Donnell (28 goals, 22 assists in 15 games played), Eddie Renaud team this past season and will take over the (20 G, 24 A in 14 GP), Foster Cuomo (15 head job of the midgets in the fall. Rook, who was the Buzz's head coach for G, 28 A in 14 GP) and playoff MVP Keyan four years, is now the team president, a role McQueen (12 G, 12 A in 8 GP). Gillies also expects youngsters Robert that should allow him to spend more time Hudson, Mac Forde and Dalton Follows to with his young family. by Jon Kuiperij There's definitely a strong presence of coming into this season on a high note. Foster Cuomo, pictured in action last year against the Mimico Mountaineers, is one of nearly 20 returning players to the Oakville Buzz junior B lacrosse team this season. The Buzz opens the 2014 campaign tomorrow against Mimico at Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. | Oakville Beaver file photo Oakville researcher concerned about long-term impact of soccer headers St. Michael's Hospital, to author a review about the cumulative impact of heading a Beaver Sports Editor soccer ball. In the study, which appeared in the medical journal Brain Injury, Maher Having served as the last line of defence for and Schweizer concluded more needs to be nearly two decades, Monica Maher consid- determined about the long-term cognitive ers herself to be one of the lucky ones. and behavioural consequences for athletes "Keepers and defenders are at who subject themselves to multithe most risk for concussions," ple sub-concussive head impacts said the long-time soccer goalie, (blows to the head that do not who is now pursuing her masters cause concussion symptoms). in neuroscience at the University Maher has since begun workof Toronto. ing on a project that specifically "I've been fortunate enough to examines the long-term potential never have had a concussion." impact of heading soccer balls on Concussion may be the buzza regular basis. Limited research word when it comes to athletes' that already exists shows headmental health these days, but Ma- Monica Maher ing may contribute to cognitive her warns soccer players might decline or impairment, with one have something else to worry about as well study of professional soccer players show-- something that might not rear its ugly ing those who executed the most headers head until much later in their lives. did poorest in tests of verbal and visual The Oakville resident recently teamed memory as well as attention. with Dr. Tom Schweizer, director of the "The theory is that an accumulation of see Study on p.31 neuroscience research program at Toronto's by Jon Kuiperij