Buzz flexes muscle in home opener n By Adam Johnston SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER 25 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 29, 2009 The Oakville Buzz showed all the swagger of a league favourite with great expectations Friday against the Sarnia Pacers. The team walked the walk, taking the home opener 11-5 in a stylish manner at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. The Buzz scored several flashy goals, including a "(Winning) a pair of second-period markers championship is initiated by passes from goal- our goal right tender Cam Watts, which he now and that's launched from his own crease and resulted in breakaways the only thing we'll settle for." for his teammates. The Buzz physically punished its opponents in a game n Buzz forward that featured five fights, Brad Gillies including a line brawl that involved every position player on the floor for both teams and resulted in several Oakville players being ejected from the game. The Buzz talked the talk as well following the decisive victory, declaring its intentions to improve on last year's 17-3 regular-season record and early playoff exit. "(Winning) a championship is our goal right now and that's the only thing we'll settle for," said Buzz forNIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER ward Brad Gillies. That early-season optimism was tempered a bit WHITEWASH: Oakville Buzz forward Mark White carries the ball down the Sunday as the Buzz suffered its first loss of the season, floor Friday during Oakville's 11-5 win over Sarnia at Glen Abbey Rec Centre. falling 6-4 in London. Oakville led 4-0 after the opening period, but then surrendered six unanswered markers. So far, Gillies is doing his part in the team's championship pursuit. He followed a three-point performance in the Buzz's season-opening victory at Niagara April 20 by dazzling spectators in attendance at Joshua's Creek Arenas with a five-goal, two-assist output Friday. "My approach is to just keep working hard mainly, always trying to shoot glove side and just fight through all the rough stuff and just keep firing the ball. You can't score if you don't shoot," said Gillies. As last year's leading scorer on the team, Gillies' return will help ease the loss of offensively-gifted forward Josh Ruys who did not rejoin the Buzz this season. However, Ruys was the captain of last year's team, and his leadership will be sorely missed. Veteran Buzz forward Braden Gallant will look to fill that leadership void. "I've just got to communicate to the team and make sure everybody is here on time for games and practices. I've got to try to lead on the floor and on the bench to make sure everyone stays positive and sticks to the game plan," said Gallant, who contributed two goals Friday. Mark White, Alex Kruse and Brad Gallante added to Friday's offensive showcase with one goal each, while defensive stalwart Jimmy Whelpdale added an emptynet goal late in the game. Sunday, Gillies scored twice, with Robert Bentivegna and White adding singles. The Buzz will meet Guelph in its next home game Jones ninth to start World Cup Marlins host Kyle Jones opened the World Cup triathlon season with a ninth-place finish in Ishigaki, Japan on Sunday. The 24-year-old Queen Elizabeth Park High School grad finished the course in one hour, 51 minutes and 59 seconds. Australia's Courtney Atkinson won the race in 1:48.24, finishing 37 seconds ahead of Russian Ivan Vasiliev. The result was Jones' third top-10 finish in his last four World Cup races. The Canadian team will compete in the opening event on the World Championship Series this weekend in Tongyeong, Korea. SPORTSBRIEFS Naughton, the tournament's second seed, received a first round bye before defeating Alina D'Asti. She then beat sixth-seeded Brynn Daniels of Saskatchewan in the quarter-finals before topping Avril Cross of British Columbia in the semifinals to advance to the championship game. swim meet More than 100 athletes from eight different communities participated in the Oakville Marlins Special Olympic swim team's annual regional meet recently at Iroquois Ridge Community Pool. Competitors from the Region 3 and 5 areas raced in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley events. More than 50 volunteers made the day possible, including many Oakville Marlins swim team athletes (left to right) Kristi Wright, Elisha Donagheyfrom the Oakville Aquatic Club. Johnston and Jamie Adam. David Lawson officiated the meet. Royal Canadian Legion Oakville Branch 114, Tim Horton's (Dundas and Neyagawa Blvd. location) and Fantasy Fruit Market provided refreshments and food for the athletes. The Marlins swim team meets once a week from September to May at the White Oaks pool. Members work on improving strokes and endurance and attend a swim meet once a month. For information about becoming involved with the Marlins as an athlete or a coach, visit the Special Olympics website at http://oakvillespecialolympics.org/ swimming/index.html or call head coach Bernie Cuzzolino at 905257-5114. Dawson shares NLL record for assists in a season Dan Dawson picked up five assists in the Boston Blazers' final game to establish a new National Lacrosse League record for assists in a season. Dawson had 74 assists in 16 games, eclipsing the mark of 71 held by Josh Sanderson. The Oakville native will have to share the assist record with Sanderson, though. The Calgary Roughnecks player also finished the season with 74 assists. Dawson's 104 points this season ranked second in the NLL, second only to San Jose's Colin Doyle, who had 111. Doyle was also a contender for the assist record, finishing the year with 73. The Blazers will open the National Lacrosse League playoffs this Saturday in Buffalo against the Bandits. The teams split their two regular season meetings, with Boston Naughton reaches U15 national squash final Oakville's Hollie Naughton made the under-15 final of the Canadian Junior Squash Championships Sunday in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Naughton won three matches, two of those against seeded players, to reach the final. However, No. 1 seed Michelle Gemmell of Toronto beat her 11-7, 12-10, 11-3 in the championship match. "It was a good match and I always had to stay alert," Gemmell said on the Sqaush Canada website. "Hollie is a very dangerous player and if I would have lost my focus she would have come back."