Cudmore helps Canada win U18 hockey crown By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Depth made Blades tough to stop Continued from page 32 33 · Wednesday, April 14, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com H ayleigh Cudmore may not have seen the biggest moment in her hockey career, but she will certainly always remember it. Cudmore had just finished her shift and returned to the bench as the Canadians took the puck in the U.S. end. Sitting on the bench, she saw teammate Brigette Lacquette take a shot from the point. What she didn't see -- blocked by the backs of her teammates as she took a drink of water -- was team captain "Playing the U.S., Jessica Campbell tip in overtime, it's Lacquette's shot by what you dream American goalie Alex about the whole Rigsby. Within sectime.." onds, the Canadian players were leaping n Team Canada U18 over the boards to player Hayleigh celebrate. Cudmore The goal gave Canada a 5-4 overtime victory and its first World Women's Under-18 Hockey Championship. "Playing the U.S. in overtime, it's what you dream about the whole time," said Cudmore, who also captained the Oakville Ice this past season. "Coming back to win, it's definitely the highlight of my career." The prospects of ending the States' twoyear reign at the event seemed unlikely after the U.S. scored twice in 47 seconds to take a 3-1 lead in the first period. That's where the preparation of two training camps in Calgary paid off. "We did a lot of mental training and at the time it seemed kind of silly," Cudmore said. "But it was the most amazing thing. We were never really worried. It was so calm in the dressing room, even down two goals." Canada cut the lead to one midway through the second period but the U.S. restored its two-goal edge with less than four minutes remaining in the period. Within a minute Canada responded to make it 4-3. With under eight minutes left in the third, Canada pulled even on a goal by Jenna McParland to force overtime and completed the comeback in overtime. After receiving their medals, the Canadian team stood arm in arm as O'Canada played. "That was such an amazing moment. Standing on the blueline and hearing your national anthem, it's something you dream of when you're six years old," Cudmore said. "I have the video on Facebook and I still tear up when I watch it." Canada opened the tournament with a 6-3 win over Russia before finishing group play with a pair of routs, 15-0 over Germany and 8-0 over Sweden. In a semifinal rematch with Germany Canada won 10-0, setting up the third straight meeting between Canada and the U.S. in the gold-medal game. "We kept getting better every game," said Cudmore, who finished the tournament with two goals and two assists, sixth among all blueliners. "We were gearing up for the tournament championship game and we were ready." Cudmore is now ready for the next challenge in her career. She will head to Cornell in the fall, all the while working toward earning the opportunity to pull a Team Canada sweater over her head once again. "Once you get that first one," Cudmore said, "it makes you want it that much more." Appleby College student Jill Saulnier was also a member of Canada's gold-medal winning team. The Halifax native finished fourth in tournament scoring with four goals and six assists. goals in the final, four of them coming off the stick of the previously slumping Josh Ranalli. "That's been the theme all season long. You look at our team... and we've had a balanced attack," said Oakville coach Jason Nobili. "Look at Josh. He had 36 "That's been the goals in the regular theme all season. season but only two You look at our (playoff) goals until team... and Game 4, but he was we've had a playing well." Ranalli scored balanced attack." twice in both Game 4 and Game n Oakville Blades 5, netting the win- coach Jason Nobili ner in both contests. He added two assists Monday, giving him seven points in the final three games of the series. He also tied with Kyle Badham for the team lead in plus/minus with a plus-5 rating. "A lot of people were telling me to keep bearing down," said the Stoney Creek native. "Jason kept believing in me. He just gave me a chance and I picked it up a bit." Now the Blades prepare for the Dudley Hewitt Cup, which begins Tuesday. Dan Hunt, Kellan Lain, Badham, Guzzo and Alcock helped the Blades win the tournament in 2008. "To be going back to where I went my first year is unbelievable," said Hunt. "You've just got to keep it simple, basically. Do the little things right. That's pretty much what we do. We just play our game and it works out." NOTES: Oakville defeated the Aurora Tigers, Georgetown Raiders and Kingston to win the Ontario Junior Hockey League championship before downing Newmarket in the OHA final... Alcock's goal Monday was shorthanded and came with two seconds remaining in the second period... Savelli went 4-1 for Oakville in the series, posting a 2.08 goals-against average and .932 save percentage... Lain and Ingoldsby scored third-period goals in Game 5 Saturday at Joshua's Creek Arenas as the Blades came back from a 3-1 deficit to force overtime, then won on Ranalli's marker 15 minutes into OT... Badham added a single to Ranalli's pair in Game 4 Thursday in Newmarket... Sumsion had six of Newmarket's 16 goals in the championship series, setting up two others... This year's RBC Royal Bank Cup will be held in Dauphin, MB, beginning May 1. www.insidehalton.com SUMMER BASKETBALL LEAGUE The Oakville Basketball Club is a community based not for profit organization dedicated to providing athletes the opportunity to play basketball at every skill level. Since 2005, we have provided Microballers (for boys and girls ages 5 to 8) and house league (for boys and girls ages 9 to 17). We have since added a rep and travel team program, an adult house league and elite camps and training. We are the complete source for basketball in the Town of Oakville. Our Thursday Microballers program is one of our most popular programs and has developed athletes who are now part of our competitive rep and travel teams. Our house league and adult league provide competitive play and continue to grow yearly. Our athletes benefit from elite camps and training with specialized basketball trainers from Canada and the USA. The Oakville Basketball Club is a proud member of Basketball Ontario and the Amateur Athletic Union (USA). Our teams compete at the highest level of competition in Ontario and abroad. We count amongst our achievements, Provincial Championships, Eastern Canadian Gold medal winning teams and US Division 1 National participants. We are extremely proud of the achievements of our athletes in the five short years since our inception. We are currently taking registration for our upcoming SUMMER LEAGUE. Register early to avoid disappointment. This is a fun and pressure free way to learn and develop your basketball skills for school, house league or rep play in the fall. Summer Ball features a half hour of instruction followed by game play. Catch the Excitement! We've got the best football in Halton for boys ands girls. Register now! Fall Stampeders tryouts begin in May Register now for fall football BURLINGTON FOOTBALL IN-PERSON REGISTRATION DATES: Wednesday April 14 · 7-9pm Mainway Arena & Saturday, April 17th 11am - 1pm at the BMFA Clubhouse behind Nelson High School t ipmen All equ uded is incl ation* str in regi pt cleats *exce Summer Stampeders (ages 13-19) Spring Flag (ages 6-17) - Limited space Fall House League (ages 6-14) Fall Stampeders (ages 9-14) Check www.burlingtonminorfootball.ca for details Get your registration form today! Visit our website www.oakvillebasketball.com