Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2008 30 Rangers open OHF tourney with win By Adam Johnston SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Heavy fog and freezing rain made for poor visibility outside Joshua's Creek Arena yesterday morning, as the puck dropped on the Boston Pizza Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF) Atom AAA Championship. Inside, however, the Oakville Rangers -- the host team for the weekend-long event -- had no trouble seeing the back of the net on their way to a 5-2 tournament-opening victory over the York-Simcoe Express. Oakville jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Jesse Barwell. Jesse Wiemer evened the score for the Express with 3:35 left in the period. The score was not reflective of the game to that point, as Oakville dominated the first period with quick puck movement and punishing physical play. "We've got big guys that can skate," said Oakville coach Duncan Harvey. "Everyone else [in the tournament] either has big guys that are slow, or little guys that don't hit." The Rangers didn't let up in the second period, though. They came out of the intermission flying, and went up 2-1 when Boston Elliott snapped a one-timer into the top corner one minute into the period. This was followed by back-to-back, near-identical Oakville goals. Both goals were two-on-one passing plays, after defensive lapses by the Express. The first of the two goals was scored when Michael MacDonald snapped home a smooth saucer pass from Misha Song. The next goal was LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER RESTRICTED AREA: Oakville Rangers forward Ashur Elliot (in dark) attempts a wraparound while being checked by a pair of York-Simcoe Express defenders during yesterday's Ontario Hockey Federation atom AAA championships at Joshua's Creek Arenas. The Rangers opened the tournament with a 5-2 win. See Conditioning page 33 HARD WORK PAYS OFF: Former National Hockey League player and Olympian Rob Zamuner delivers a point to his young audience during Thursday's welcome banquet for this weekend's Boston Pizza Ontario Hockey Federation Atom AAA Championship. The local native was joined by another Oakville hockey hero, Stefan Legein, with both stressing the importance of hard work. MICHAEL IVANIN / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Work hard, persevere and have fun By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Rob Zamuner and Stefan Legein concede they were not the most skilled players on their hockey teams growing up. It takes hard work and dedication to make it to the National Hockey League, as Zamuner did for 13 years and Legein -- a draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer -- hopes to do in the future. That was the message the two local residents chose to pass along to the young audience they had at a welcome banquet Thursday for this weekend's Boston Pizza Ontario Hockey Federation Atom AAA Championship. Zamuner spoke of the importance of work ethic and having fun during his short speech. Legein, a big hit with the 10-year-olds that watched him help Canada to gold at the recent world junior championships, talked about how he never lost hope while waiting for his opportunity to show what he could do with the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga IceDogs. "Sometimes this day and age, those values (working hard and having fun) get lost," said Zamuner. "If I can be an example of someone who held those values to a high esteem and had success with that, maybe I can affect one or two kids. All the better if it's more than that." Zamuner also recalled how when he was in minor peewee, his father Frank called the coach and threatened to take Rob off the team because he was getting too much ice time. "That's a great story. It's not fabricated, and you can take it for what it's worth," said Zamuner, who recently took a job with the NHL Players Association. "Success is not necessarily making it to the NHL. The focus is always being in the NHL, and that's a great goal to have, but there are so many other things hockey can provide you." Legein said he never lost sight of his dream, even when he was having difficulty working his way into the IceDogs lineup several years ago. Suspensions and injuries to Mississauga play See Legein page 31 TRAFALGAR GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB Individual, Corporate, Social & Family Golf Memberships Available If you love golf, you will love Trafalgar Golf & Country Club! Whether you are a beginner or an advanced golfer, our new greens, fabulous bunkers and beautiful layout offer all golfers a challenging, fun, first class golf experience. 905-878-2303 www.trafalgargolf.com 2008 MEMBERSHIP SALE APRIL 21-30 RECEIVE $1250 IN EXTRAS Call 905-878-2303