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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, December 31, 2015 | 40 Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports The following season, donning the pads on a permanent basis for the first time with the Oakville Rangers AAA tyke team, Cece and her goaltending partner combined to record seven shutouts. That same season, the Ceces got a call from the Oakville Hornets novice coach, who didn't have a goalie. He asked if Nikki could play for his team as well. For the next couple of seasons, she pulled double duty, often shuttled between practices in goalie gear. "I just fell in love with the position," she said. "It was rewarding giving the team a chance to win." That's exactly what Cece has done since making the jump to the Provincial Women's Hockey League with the Hornets. She began her junior career with a 20-game unbeaten streak (16-0-4) and over her two-plus seasons in the league, has an .824 winning percentage. With 15 saves in a 5-0 win over the Southwest Wildcats on Dec. 19, Cece recorded her 11th career shutout, moving her into the top 10 on the league's all-time list. The remarkable aspect of that is fellow Hornets goaltender Daniela Paniccia, bound for Penn State next season, is also on that list with 13 shutouts, despite the fact the pair has evenly split time in the crease for the past two seasons. "Daniela and I are able to push each other and drive each other to reach for more," said the Grade 12 Holy Trinity student. "Plus the defence we've had in front of us, having that strong line of D always there to help, is the reason why we're able to play with so much confidence." Likewise, Cece instills confidence in her team, something she was able to do even "Connected to your Community" Cece, Hornets eager to win first PWHL title By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff When the emergency call went out for a volunteer to play net shortly before the Oakville Rangers tyke team was about to play, the assistant coach did a double take when he saw a lone hand raised. "Are you kidding me?" he thought. That hand belonged to the youngest player, and one of only two girls, on the team. Carlo Cece had never heard his daughter express an interest in being a goalie before. The six-year-old's only experience was in the family's basement as the goalie/target for her two older brothers to practise against. "She would put on these pads that were up to her chin and her brothers would fire balls at her," Carlo Cece said. "But I had no idea she wanted to play net. She never said a word about it." How that first game unfolded differs depending on which member of the Cece family you ask. "I think we lost by a lot," Nikki Cece says. "She got a shutout," says Carlo Cece. "We beat Guelph 2-0." Given that dad has a few more details, we'll have to assume father knows best. But when it came to deciding on a position to play, Nikki definitely had the right idea, even if her parents initially had reservations. "It's not easy being a goalie parent," Carlo says. "As a forward, your kids are scoring goals and everyone's happy. When your kid's the goalie and a goal goes in, everybody's looking at you." Fortunately, there have been very few sideways glances cast in the Ceces' direction in the decade since. Nikki Cece, who recently committed to the University of Wisconsin, has an .824 winning percentage since joining the Oakville Hornets. She climbed into the PWHL's top 10 in career shutouts with her 11th on Saturday, a 5-0 win over Southwest. | photo by Herb Garbutt ­ Oakville Beaver (follow on Twitter @herbgarbutt) prior to joining the Hornets on a full-time basis. Before even playing her first midget game, Cece was forced into her first junior action with the Hornets when Paniccia and Stephanie Loukes suffered concussions in pre-season play. Cece went 2-0-2, notched her first shutout and posted a 1.67 goals-against average before the Hornets' goalies returned. "It was a bit intimidating at first but the team was so welcoming, it helped me get adjusted to playing at a higher level," Cece said. In her rookie season, Cece continued her winning ways. She didn't suffer her first loss until the final game of the regular season. At one point, she reeled off a streak of 244 minutes without allowing a goal, a run that ended on a power-play goal 39 seconds short of a fourth consecutive shutout. Cece was already on the radar of the top college programs by that point. The University of Wisconsin first contacted her while she was still playing bantam hockey in Grade 9. "Right away, I looked up the school. I knew Wisconsin was pretty well-known and had a good team, but I didn't know how good," she said of the Badgers, who won four NCAA titles between 2006-11. "It was really intriguing how successful they've been." Cece committed to Wisconsin in November, but for the moment she's intent on adding to the Hornets' success. Oakville won the Ontario Women's Hockey Association championship last year, but missed out on its first PWHL title after being upset by Stoney Creek in the semifinals. Heading into the Christmas break tied for second, the Hornets have first-place Durham West in their sights. "Our team is really driven to grab that firstplace spot," said Cece, who is 8-3-1 with a 1.37 average and .938 save percentage. "We have a couple of big games coming up after Christmas. 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