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Ridge blazes trail to Halton hockey final backed by novice netminder By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff 27 | Friday, March 4, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Chemistry can be that intangible that pulls a team together to work for a common goal and help it achieve more than it thought possible. Chemistry didn't just help the Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers reach the Halton girls' hockey final, it saved their season. Iroquois Ridge coach Ramiel Nassara was talking to a student during a Grade 12 chemistry class. Though there was plenty of interest in a hockey team, it was in danger of folding because it didn't have a goalie. All it had was a pair of size 9 goalie skates. Sitting nearby and overhearing the conversation was Jocelyn Geisler, a member of the Trailblazers' swim team for the previous three years. `Those would fit me,' she thought. Until that moment, Geisler had fully intended to swim again. "I'll do it," she told Nassara. The job interview was quick. "Have you been a goalie before?" "No." "Have you played hockey before?" "No." And with that, Geisler won the Trailblazers' starting goaltending job. "I just thought it would be fun to try something new in my Grade 12 year," Geisler said. "I had no idea what to do but I thought it would be a fun experience." Playing in her 21st game ever, Geisler and the Trailblazers went into the third period of the Halton final trailing 1-0, the league title still in their grasp. Notre Dame would score a minute apart in the third, once on a screened point shot and another on a redirected shot, on its way to a 4-0 win. "We may have ended up in sixth place," Nassara said, "but we earned being in the championship game." Iroquois Ridge secured its place with a pair of unlikely victories. The Trailblazers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat third-place Abbey Park 5-4 in the quarter-finals on a last-minute goal by Shannon Fenwick. Against the undefeated Georgetown Rebels, Gillian Day scored twice in a shocking 4-1 upset. So as tough as it was to lose in the final, the Trail- When Iroquois Ridge needed a goalie for its girls' hockey team, Jocelyn Geisler blazers found it difficult to volunteered, even though she had never played hockey before. With Geisler be disappointed. tending net, the Trailblazers upset first-place Georgetown in the semifinals to "Honestly, I was just reach the Halton final. | photo by Nikki Wesley -- Oakville Beaver happy we had a team," Day 7-2, giving the novice netminder a boost of said. Four months earlier, Geisler skated on to confidence. There were bumps along the way. Oppothe ice for the Trailblazers' first practice wearing borrowed equipment. A couple of rep nents scored 11 times in the next two games. players came out to help her with the basics ­ That only made Geisler's teammates rally the proper stance, how to go into a butterfly. around her even more. "Jocelyn stepped up for us," Day said. "It In its season opener, Iroquois Ridge won was a little rocky at the beginning, but we just tried our best to support her, because without her, we didn't have a team." The Trailblazers finished the season 5-7-2 to earn the final playoff spot. Facing elimination in its first playoff game, Jamie Brioux, Gennie Cloutier, Amanda Molyneaux and Day scored to erase the 3-0 deficit and set up Fenwick's winner. Four days later, Geisler allowed just one goal against the league's highest scoring team and Molyneaux and Zoe O'Neill each had a goal in a shocking 4-1 upset of the first-place Rebels. "We never really focused on offence, that came naturally," Nassara said. "We played a little more conservatively to protect Jocelyn and minimize the chances and our defence is stronger than people give us credit for. Once teams figured out we had a rookie goalie, they started shooting from anywhere. But Jocelyn's gone from someone who had never played net before to a goalie we can trust. We know we can expect that first save from her." The Trailblazers still had a chance to advance to OFSAA but lost a 7-1 to a Bishop Tonnos team that has won four provincial medals and has the advantage of having rep players on its roster, a luxury the rules in Halton prevent. Still, the Trailblazers took pride in what they accomplished. "The teamwork we showed and the way we pulled together to win those (playoff) games," Day said, "nobody thought we had a chance." Sounds like chemistry. Oakville Trafalgar relay teams would Love to add more medals at OFSAA swim meet By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Scott Love had a tough choice to make. The Oakville Trafalgar swimmer qualified for OFSAA in both the 50-metre freestyle and 100m backstroke and also as a member of the Red Devils' freestyle and medley relay teams. However, the provincial high school championships restrict swimmers to three events. With both relays having won OFSAA medals last year, the decision came down to his individual events. Love won the 50m freestyle at the Golden Horseshoe championships and was second in the 100m backstroke, but has opted for the latter. "He swam a great free, but his strength has always been his back," said OT coach Kathy Stearns-Brown. "He's always done really well in it. It's his signature event. He's super competitive and he's so tall. That always seems to be an advantage (in the backstroke)." It's not that much of a stretch that Love could earn a medal at OFSAA. At GHAC, he finished second to Aquinas' Omar Lozano, last year's OFSAA bronze medallist. Oakville Trafalgar's senior boys' medley and freestyle relays landed bronze medals at OFSAA a year ago. And with Love and Andrew Nguyen back from last year's teams, OT is looking to land on the podium again. "The medley relay is looking really good," Stearns-Brown said, "but we don't know where they are ranked yet." Mark Montague will join the returning duo on both relays while Robert Lasso (freestyle) and Albert Nguyen (medley) round out the teams. Love, again facing a choice of strokes for the relay, will naturally swim the breaststroke. "That shows how versatile Scott is," Stearns-Brown said. OT also has two others GHAC champs headed to OFSAA, Mohamed Elmarsfawi in the junior boys' 100m individual medley and Cameron Montague in the open boys' 100m freestyle. Lozano, a double bronze medallist last year, will look to add to his OFSAA medal collection. He won the 100m backstroke at GHAC with a time of 1:03.59, a couple of tenths better than the time that earned him a bronze medal at OFSAA last year. He also won the 50m butterfly with a comparable time to last year's OFSAA swim. Like Love, Lozano will have to make a choice. He teamed with George Papangelakis, Matthew Harris and Panos Papangelakis to qualify both Aquinas' medley and freestyle relay teams. Their winning GHAC times should put them in medal contention. White Oaks' Alyna Liu and Lena von Buren each earned a pair of individual wins at GHAC. Liu won the open girls 100m butterfly and the 200m IM while von Buren took first in the senior girls' 50m and 100m freestyle. Liu added a third victory with the open girls freestyle relay team, along with Ashley Ordinario, Jeannie Lam and Donalda Morris. The Wildcats' Justin Kirkham won the senior boys' 100m freestyle. Ryan Works earned a pair of victories in the SWAD 50m backstroke and the 100m freestyle. "We didn't have any special needs students on the team until this year," said White Oaks' coach Dragana Nedic. "They're really excited about (OFSAA) and it will be a really good experience for them." Iroquois Ridge's Sebastien Krewdel earned a pair of victories at GHAC, taking both the junior boys' 100m freestyle and 50m backstroke. Other winners at the GHAC meet were Iroquois Ridge's Pamir Gurler (open boys 200m IM); Holy Trinity's Leah Creelman (junior girls' 50m butterfly); Garth Webb's Moustafa Khalifa (open boys' 100m breaststroke); and T.A. Blakelock's Marissa Telzer (open girls' 100m IM). White Oaks' Ryan Works qualified for two events at OFSAA. He will compete in the SWAD 50-metre backstroke and 100m freestyle. | photo by Eric Riehl -- Oakville Beaver file photo