24 Sports Oakville Beaver Minor bantam AE SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2012 Rangers teams take different paths to OMHA gold By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Eight Oakville Rangers teams have won Ontario Minor Hockey Association titles this season. Coverage of the minor atom AAA, minor atom AE, atom AE and minor midget AA Rangers' championship wins has already appeared in the Beaver. Following are details of the different paths the minor bantam AE, minor bantam AA, minor atom A and minor midget AE Rangers took to OMHA supremacy. It might be a stretch to refer to serious injuries as a blessing, particularly when they happen to young hockey players. But, in a way, the string of injuries the minor bantam AE Rangers suffered through early this season might have helped them win their second straight OMHA championship. The Rangers clinched their latest title Thursday at River Oaks Recreation Centre, blanking the Whitby Wildcats 4-0 to finish off a three-game sweep of the first-to-six-points championship series. Looking back on the season, Oakville head coach Nelson Pavao saw a couple hidden benefits from the injury bug that hit his team before Christmas and forced the Rangers to play games with as many as six regulars out of their lineup. "A lot of our boys had never had serious injuries," Pavao said. "But, when they came back, they weren't even tentative. They were just excited to be playing hockey again. It was almost like a rejuvenation for them." It also allowed new players on the team to establish themselves, since this year's Rangers squad featured nine different players from the club that won the OMHA peewee AE title last season. "Those (new) kids were all of a sudden being counted on when our top-end, more-experienced guys were out," Pavao said. "They just started to come through and their confidence started to build. When (the "A lot of our boys had veterans) came back, they all looked at each other and felt never had serious they could all be part of injuries. But, when they this." came back, they weren't After returning to full even tentative. They strength in mid-December, were just excited to be the Rangers won all six of their games at the homeplaying hockey again." town Richard Bell tournament, capturing the title. Oakville minor bantam AE They then rode that momenRangers head coach tum into the OMHA playNelson Pavao downs, sweeping Milton in the quarter-finals and knocking off rival Brampton in four games before easily dispensing of Whitby. Pavao said the series against Brampton -- a team that finished ahead of the Rangers in the Tri-County regular-season standings -- in effect determined the OMHA champion. "I think most people knew that was the big matchup... that the team who won that series would likely win the OMHAs," he said. "But at the same time, you have to give Whitby a lot of credit. It's a long season, filled with ups and WON'T BE STOPPED: Oakville minor bantam AE Rangers players Adam Nemcsek (left, in white) and Jared Schulz push their way past two Whitby Wildcats opponents during Game 3 of their Ontario Minor Hockey Association championship series last Thursday at River Oaks Recreation Centre. Oakville blanked Whitby 4-0 to conclude a threegame sweep. ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG downs along the way." The Rangers' season isn't done yet, though. They'll compete in the SEDMHA Honda International in Halifax next month, a bit of a farewell present from Pavao as he leaves to coach a minor peewee squad next season. "Last year, our season ended with the OMHA championship on March 16. There was almost a month between that ending and the start of tryouts," Pavao said. "I know a lot of boys just sat around and didn't do a lot. It's a long time to be off. "We wanted to give them something special and take them some place that they might never get an opportunity to do again." Members of the Rangers are Luke Dickson, Jared Schutz, Julian Chiovitti, Jacob Zedor, Malik Wocker, Adrian Mendez, Adam Lefebvre, Adam Nemcsek, Jake Dickson, Ben Yacula, Bradley Byers, Grant Vassos, Hamish McNeill, Jack Baldin, Joseph Serrao, Kostya Makarevich and Nicholas Li. Brent Scarrow, Joe Baldin and Dan Lefebvre as the club's assistant coaches, and Steve Schutz is the trainer. Minor bantam AA When all the chips were finally on the table, the minor bantam AA Rangers still had an ace up their sleeve. The Rangers held off on playing that card until the fifth game of their OMHA championship series Sunday in Whitby. Oakville overhauled its forechecking system, then skated to a 4-2 win over the Wildcats to win the series 3-2. Rangers head coach Jim Franko said the move was designed to counter an unusual overload system the Wildcats were using. "They played a system where they put four or five men in a zone on the puck. If the puck was in the defensive zone, they'd leave one guy in front of the net and send four guys to the puck," Franko said. "So we changed our forecheck to a 3-2 system to combat that." Waiting until Game 5 of the series to make that move might have been a bit of a gamble. Oakville actually had a chance to clinch gold at home in Game 4, but dropped a 4-1 decision last week at Joshua's Creek Arenas. "I truly didn't think we'd win Game 4, but I really believed we would win Game 5," Franko said, explaining his decision to save the adjustment until the final game of the series. "It sounds funny, but our kids were under a lot of pressure at home. The rink was packed, and I just felt Whitby would be more desperate than us. In Game 5, both teams were equally desperate." The Rangers, who also won the hometown Richard Bell tournament in December, won their Tri-County league this See Minor, page 25