OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, March 20, 2009 · 30 Minor bantams could be dangerous at OMHA tourney The Oakville minor bantam AAA Rangers haven't dominated opponents this season the way they have in the past, but head coach John Guzzo isn't discounting their chances as they host this weekend's Ontario Minor Hockey Association championships. The Rangers, OMHA peewee AAA champions a season ago, finished fourth in this year's South Central Triple A regular-season standings with an 18-12-6 record. After starting the season with wins in seven of its first eight games, Oakville was a .500 hockey team over its final 28 contests. But the Rangers have shown signs of life the past few weeks, particularly at last weekend's SCTA tournament. Although Oakville was already guaranteed a berth in the OMHA championships as the host, the Rangers still posted a 3-1 record in round-robin play before giving the highly-touted Welland Tigers all they could handle in a 2-1 semifinal loss. "Oakville's back," Guzzo said. "I think a lot of (teams) thought we'd just be loose and forget about (trying to win) last weekend, but it was the exact opposite. Some teams will be on their heels a bit more when we play this weekend." The OMHA championships opened this morning (Friday) when Welland faced the St. Catharines Jr. Falcons at Joshua's Creek Arenas, the site for all tournament games. Oakville's first game of the tournament was scheduled for noon today against the Barrie Colts, and the Rangers were slated to play again at 4:30 p.m. against St. Catharines. The tournament, hosted by Oakville because the Rangers won last year's OMHA title, concludes Sunday with gold- and bronze-medal games. The York-Simcoe Express, Oakville's opponent in the last two OMHA finals, rounds out the tournament's five-team field. Guzzo attributes the Rangers' regular-season struggles -- by comparison, they were 252-2 two years ago and 28-5-3 last year -- to injuries and the improvement of other teams in the SCTA loop. "Illnesses, a sprained ankle, someone with a quad injury... significant enough (things) to not have a healthy lineup the last three to four weeks," said the coach. "That makes it tough to play." Oakville native Rob Zamuner, a former longtime National Hockey League player who represented Canada in the 1998 Olympics, was a speaker at last night's (Thursday's) tournament banquet. Toronto Maple Leafs player development coach Paul Dennis was also slated to speak at the banquet. The opening ceremonies are scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday). -- Jon Kuiperij OMHA minor bantam AAA championships schedule DAY Friday Friday Friday Friday Friday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Sunday Sunday TIME 10 a.m. 12 p.m. 2:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 9 a.m. 12 p.m. 2 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 12 p.m. 2 p.m. HOME AWAY Welland St. Catharines Oakville Barrie York-Simcoe Welland St. Catharines Oakville Barrie York-Simcoe Barrie Welland Oakville York-Simcoe St. Catharines Barrie Welland Oakville York-Simcoe St. Catharines Third place Fourth place First place Second place · Bold = gold-medal game, italics = bronze-medal game · Opening ceremonies Saturday at 11 a.m. · All games will be played at Joshua's Creek Arenas Ice facing elimination The playoff hopes of Oakville's junior women's hockey team are on thin Ice. The Ice trails its opening-round Provincial Women's Hockey League series 2-0 to the Hamilton Hawks, entering tonight's (Friday's) Game 3 at Canlan Ice Sports. Hamilton defeated the Ice 5-2 Wednesday in the series' second game. Alex Cieslowski and Paula LaGamba scored for Oakville in the loss. If the Ice staves off elimination tonight, Game 4 will be played tomorrow (Saturday) at Ice Sports, beginning at 1:15 p.m. GIRLS SOFTBALL SEASON CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND RLS Winter OGSA Skills Clinics - 700 Third Line (Arkema building) Age groups and times available on our website. On-Site Registration available from 9am - 12pm Bring Your Glove or Equipment Available TEAM SPONSORS ARE NEEDED NOW CALL 905-825-5848 OR VISIT WWW.OGSA.MYSPORTSITE.COM FOR MORE INFO Register now online - go to www.ogsa.mysportsite.com DRIVING RANGE 1330 Burnhamthorpe Rd. W. (1 km W of Ninth Line Oakville) Hours: 9:00am to 9:00pm Monday thru Sunday MAHL Mens Amateur Hockey League Join the MAHL as an individual or with a team and look forward to the once a week hockey night in Oakville. 905-257-6075 CPGA GOLF INSTRUCTION · Private Lessons · Clinics · Swing Tips Voted Best Adult Hockey League in Oakville! Summer League Info: · Joshua's Creek Arena · Monday to Thursday · $4150 per team (taxes incl.) · All divisions are offered · No off night games or byes · Season starts first week of May · Quality Referees LEAGUE ALMOST SOLD OUT! · Online Stats - Pointstreak · Online Registration LUNCH SPECIAL $6.00 LARGE BASKETS Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. NOW OPEN VALUE CARDS NOW AVAILABLE 10 LARGE BASKETS $ FOR ONLY www.mahl.ca 905-580-3684 email: info@mahl.ca 79