Sports Oakville Beaver Call Today for our Special Promotions 905-304-4774 or 1-866-929-4774 www.uniquepools.ca SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2007 41 Largest field ever set to compete in Richard Bell tourney More than 120 teams registered for annual hockey competition By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR This year's Richard Bell Memorial Minor Hockey Tournament will feature a record-high number of teams, the Minor Oaks Hockey Association announced Monday. One hundred and twenty-one teams are signed up for the tournament, held annually from Dec. 27-30, including squads from England, Norway and Finland. In fact, in order to accommodate the 121 games slated for the second day of competition, organizers needed to rent additional ice time at two Mississauga arenas. Tournament committee member Ron Millichamp attributed the growth of the tournament to the way MOHA treats the participants. "We don't just treat it as a big money-making venture. We put money back into the tournament," he said, noting the tournament provides players with soft drinks, goodie bags, skate sharpening, hockey magazines and other freebies. "It's also four games guaranteed, with a good chance for at least a fifth game." Glen Abbey Recreation Centre, River Oaks Recreation Centre, Oakville Arena, Kinoak Arena, Canlan Ice Sports, Joshua's Creek Arenas and Maplegrove Arena will be the local venues for tournament contests. Mississauga's Clarkson Arena and Erin Mills Twin Arenas, selected for their proximity to east Oakville, will be utilized for some games Dec. 28. Triple-A, double-A, single-A and AE (additional entry) divisions will be offered in the minor atom and minor peewee age groups. Minor bantam and minor midget play will not feature a triple-A division. Top local hopes in the tournament will likely be the minor bantam AE and minor peewee AA Rangers (both 17-2-3 in league play, as of Monday), minor atom AA Rangers (14-4-5), minor atom A Rangers (13-4-5), and minor midget A Rangers (13-5-3). Oakville teams will compete in all the divisions. Adding European flavour to the tournament will be Manglerud Star-Norway (minor midget A), FOPS ForsaFinland (minor midget AA) and England National (minor bantam AA). Upstate New York's Amherst Knights, competing in both minor bantam A and minor peewee AA, are the other international squads scheduled to participate. Finals in the younger age divisions will be played Dec. 29, with the older age groups playing their championship games Dec. 30. Anyone interested in volunteering, or billeting players, is encouraged to call MOHA's Mary Card at 905-338-9200. Local residents Paul and Mitch Maurice -- Paul, of course, is the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs -- will be billeting two players from the Finnish minor midget AA squad. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER REGIONAL RIVALS: Oakville bantam AE (additional entry) Rangers player John Oldfield (left) and Georgetown Raiders' Brett Gresswell chase down the puck during Tuesday's showdown of the top two teams in the Tri-County Hockey League standings this season. Oakville edged the Raiders 3-2 at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. Both teams will compete in next week's Richard Bell Memorial Minor Hockey Tournament. Rebuilding Red Devils still have high hopes The word "rebuilding" has different connotations for different teams. In the case of the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils senior girls' volleyball squad, even a team in the reconstruction process is good enough to challenge for the Halton title. Last season, having three junior-aged starters didn't stop the Devils from reaching the Halton quad-A final for the fourth consecutive year. This year, the Devils are even younger with a pair of Grade 9s on the roster, including starter Julia Zakrzewski. Megan Sampson also sees significant playing time. "I don't like taking Grade 9s unless they are going to play," said Devils coach Mario Seto. "I would rather have them playing junior instead of sitting on the bench." The Devils also have a pair of Grade 10s, Lizzy Sikios and Ally Torrence. Torrence is currently out of the lineup with a broken ankle, an injury suffered while she was playing basketball. For a team carrying just nine players, that's a lot of junior-aged members. Morgan Downer and Lauren Egglestone are among the players taking on larger roles on the team and the Devils lean on a strong core of returning players, including Jenny Pierce, Monica Hirano and captain D.D. Dionisio. That trio's comfort level with one another on the court helps give OT many options. "They give us the option of running multiple offences," Seto said. "They work together well as a unit. They communicate well and take charge, and they've been encouraging the younger kids." Dionisio, who has been with the senior squad since Grade 9, is the only graduating player. That means if the Devils can overcome their northern nemesis, Georgetown, they are positioned well to start their own run of titles. OT hands Loyola first loss They made that point Monday with a 25-13, 25-18 victory over the Loyola Hawks, who were also undefeated heading into the match. The defending tripleA champion, Loyola also has a strong core with returning starters Alex Pecar, Rachel Vukson, Leah Franco and Christine Shaw, though it certainly missed not having Vukson -- a club teammate of Dionisio's on the provincial champion Durham Attack -- at 100 per cent for Monday's game. To win a Halton championship, the teams will have to dethrone the Georgetown Rebels, winners of 10 of the last 12 championships. With the playoffs no longer tiered by school size, there will be only one Halton champion, which has thrown the doors wide open. The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders, the only other team to interrupt the Rebel dynasty, previously competed at the double-A level. But they will also factor into the mix as they've opened the season with five straight victories. Holy Trinity and White Oaks, both 4-1, are other contenders. White Oaks pushed OT to three games in a tournament match and the Devils had to rally from a 9-4 deficit in the deciding game. Seto said Acton (3-1), Assumption (21) and Notre Dame (2-2) also have potential to contend. --Herb Garbutt www.icesports.com 905-845-6989