The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday February 10, 2007 - 23 Strong house league system Continued from page 22 SABRINA BYRNES / OAKVILLE BEAVER STINGY: Connor Challis (above) and Trevor Caruso teamed to allow only 50 goals in 28 regular-season games this season for the Oakville minor peewee AA Rangers. be credited for contributing to the success of MOHA rep teams this year, Murray said. "The (strength) of AE is a testament to the strength of our house league system," said Murray. "Often, our red house league teams are denied entry into tournaments because some centres think of our red as a select level -- which we're not." Since becoming part of the Ontario Hockey Federation's Lake Ontario Region, meaning players below the minor bantam level no longer needed a release from their association to be able to play in other leagues, MOHA has seen a number of its higher-skilled young players leave for the Greater Toronto Hockey League. Murray is hopeful successful seasons for the MOHA, such as this one, might decrease those departures. "It's a very complex situation. Kids leave for all kinds of reasons," he said. "I used to take it real personally when someone left, but I came to the conclusion that you can't. You just continue to provide as good a program as you can, and we're emphasizing development. "If some people think they should leave to get a better opportunity for their kid," he added, "if they can find Jonathan Cheechoo in Moose Factory and Jordin Tootoo in Rankin Inlet, they're going to find your son in Oakville." Most MOHA coaches queried about the subject said they didn't completely understand the reasoning why some players leave for the GTHL. Minor atom A Rangers coach Glenn Lacoste, however, managed to find one positive from the situation. "The good news is that it allows more kids in Oakville to experience the rep system. I am very big on teaching the kids about being proud to represent their town and that they need to act like young men at all times, even off the ice," he said. "They ask to play rep so they must be accountable for representing our town at the highest level of sportsmanship and professionalism. It is an honour to play for your city; not a right." Following is a bit more information on some of Oakville's top minor hockey teams this year: Novice A The novice A Rangers have done a lot of things right this season, en route to their 25-0-3 TriCounty campaign. Oakville allowed the fewest goals in the league (38), had the fewest penalty minutes (87) and scored the third-most goals (125). The Rangers also breezed through the first round of their OMHA playdowns, winning all four of their games. About the only thing Oakville didn't accomplish this year was reach a tournament final, having lost three semifinal contests by one goal. "It starts with goaltending. No one has the tandem we do," said Rangers head coach Rob Stanbury. "Then our defence (does) the tough work, taking care of our end game after game. Our forwards love playing the game from the other team's blue line, and consistent forechecking makes this happen. As a team, we are having success." Minor atom AA Despite a nine-player turnover from last year's OMHA championship-winning squad, the minor atom AA Rangers have managed to pick up where they left off. Oakville won 20 games this season, one more See MOHA page 24