www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 12 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" The Oakville novice AAA Rangers pose for a unique team photo after defeating the Clarington Toros 7-3 to win the Ontario Minor Hockey Association championship Sunday in Whitby. | photo by Frank Misa -- Special to the Beaver Novice AAA Rangers win Ontario Minor Hockey Association title The Oakville novice AAA Rangers won an Ontario Minor Hockey Association championship Sunday in Whitby, trouncing the Clarington Toros 10-3 in the gold-medal game. After opening the OMHA tournament with a 6-4 loss to the York-Simcoe Express, Oakville rebounded with wins over the Whitby Wildcats (7-5), Clarington (8-1) and Brampton 45's (4-0) to reach the final. "We just had great goaltending, some solid play from our defencemen and some timely goals by some real talented forwards," said Rangers head coach Duane Snelgrove. "We had great competition all year long in our (South-Central Triple A) league... By the time we got to playoffs playing outside our regular loop, we were pretty well prepared." Nicholas Lardis scored four goals for Oakville in the final, with Ayden Kenalty adding a hat trick and Calum Ritchie contributing a goal and three assists. Jacob Crisp also tallied for the Rangers in the championship game, and Brayden Gillespie earned the victory in net. Lardis finished the tournament with 17 points (including 14 goals) while Ritchie recorded 14 (six goals). Bronson Ride, Sawyer Luik, Mason Zebeski and Joshua Beaupre had Oakville's other markers at the OMHA competition. Evan Wagner, Luke Misa, Jack Snelgrove, Owen Pagniello, Logan McDermott, Hudson Ligon and Jake Fisher also contributed at both ends of the ice, and Matthew Doma earned the goaltending win versus Whitby. Though the Rangers scored 44 more goals than any other team in SCTA play this year (174 in 40 games), Snelgrove said Oakville's success begins in its own end. "Our overall team defence was our strength, and that allowed us to go score a bunch of goals," he said. "We preach quick shifts and a lot of puck movement." The Rangers, who went 5-0 at the SCTA championships the previous weekend in Brampton, were 32-4-4 in league play and finished the season with an overall record of 67-114. Another highlight of the team's campaign, Snelgrove said, was winning the West London Byron Optimist Cup Tournament against strong opponents from Detroit and Toronto. -- Jon Kuiperij Westlake, Canada to face Norway for Paralympic bronze Oakville's Greg Westlake and the Canadian men's sledge hockey team will play for bronze at the Paralympics. The United States exacted a little revenge on the Canadian squad that beat them in the final of both the world championships and the World Sledge Hockey Challenge, defeating Canada 3-0 yesterday (Thursday) in the semifinals. "Zero excuses," Westlake, the Canadian captain, tweeted after the game. "Thank you to everyone who came to Sochi and everyone back home. We will finish strong." Canada will face Norway in Saturday's bronze-medal game, a rematch of the 2010 bronze game Norway won in Vancouver. The bronze-medal game will begin at 5 a.m. EST. Fanelli plays final OHL game tonight just seven games for the Blueshirts before his career was put in jeopardy after he was Metroland Media Group seriously injured in a game in Kitchener. Erie bruiser Mike Liambas ran Fanelli Before and after every game, Kitchener from behind into the end boards, knocking Rangers captain Ben Fanelli texts his mom the defenceman unconscious. Fanelli was taken to the hospital with a Sue. "It's a thing we do," said the 21-year-old head injury and spent the next two years fighting to return. Oakville defenceman. He proved doctors wrong by Pre-game, the message usually making it back for the beginning reaffirms how happy he is to be of the 2011-12 season. heading out on to the ice. After That's when the texts home the tilt, he just wants to make sure started. His mom supported his she knows he's all right. journey, but was uneasy about "It's something little, but it's a seeing him in action. huge thing for us," he said. "It's just something that I think Only one game remains for helped her be OK with me playFanelli in a Rangers uniform. Ben Fanelli ing again," said Fanelli. As the club's sole overage player, During his two-year layoff, he he'll move on from junior hockey after tonight's (Friday's) season finale at the still went to school in Waterloo Region, Kitchener Auditorium against the Windsor trained at the rink daily and launched Head Strong: Fanelli 4 Brain Injury Awareness, a Spitfires. That's two more texts before it's all done. program dedicated to spreading the word "I want to finish the right way," he said. about brain injuries. Without the support from the team and "I'm making sure I enjoy every shift and evfans, he says he probably would have reery second of it." Kitchener selected Fanelli in the third tired. round of the 2009 OHL draft. He played see Fanelli on p.13 by Josh Brown