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48 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday May 9, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com 48 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2008 Blades victory keeps playoff hopes alive By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR CORNWALL ­ Given up for dead two days ago, the Oakville Blades were very much alive at the Royal Bank Cup entering last night's action. Oakville needed a victory against the Camrose Kodiaks last night(Thursday) in order to advance to the semifinal round of the national junior A hockey championship tournament in Cornwall. That contest began after the Beaver's press deadline; visit www.oakvillebeaver.com for coverage of last night's game. Oakville might have caught a break by facing the top-seeded Kodiaks in its final round-robin match. Camrose won its first three games to lock up a firstplace finish in the preliminary round before last night, and Kodiaks head coach Boris Rybalka planned to sit several of his regulars against the Blades. Oakville (1-2) had an opportunity to clinch a spot in the semifinals yesterday afternoon if the Humboldt Broncos lost to the Weeks Crushers, but the Broncos won 4-1. Both Weeks and Oakville had one win entering last night's action, but Weeks owned the tiebreaker after beating the Blades 4-3 in overtime Monday. The Blades avoided elimination Wednesday by surprising the Broncos, 7-6, to notch their first win of the tournament. Geoff Guimond led the way with a hat trick (though he was only officially credited with two goals), and Jeremy Welsh added a pair. Dustin Alcock and Lindsay Sparks had the other Oakville tallies, with Sparks' goal standing up as the winner. The Blades led 3-2 after one, but a cough-up by Oakville sniper Nick McParland late in the second period led to a Humboldt shorthanded marker and gave the Broncos a 5-4 lead heading into the second intermission. Rather than fold, the Blades came out firing in the third. Welsh tied the game 4:58 into the frame, Guimond completed his hat trick 47 seconds later, and Sparks added another goal at the seven-minute mark. Humboldt made it 7-6 with 1:05 left in regulation. "We just had to stay composed and focused. We were lacking confidence in the first two games," Guimond said. "Our veterans stepped up and said if we get a lead on them, we can hold it and pull off a victory." Blades goalie Oliver Wren said he and his teammates wanted to get McParland off the hook. "He's been an offensive threat all year. He was just trying to move the puck forward and get us a goal," said Wren. "We said we'd get it back for him. No one doubts what he does for a minute, cause he put us in his backpack and carried us through the Dudley (Hewitt Cup)." The semifinals of the Royal Bank Cup will be played Saturday, with the championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday. UTE FREISE / COURTESY OF CANOEKAYAK CANADA OLYMPIC BOUND AGAIN: Adam van Koeverden, celebrating his victory at last year's world championships, is headed back to the Olympics after winning the Olympic trials on the weekend. The defending Olympic champ in the 500m will be the favourite to repeat. van Koeverden embraces favourite role Oakville kayaker looks forward to defending his Olympic title in Beijing By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF It was almost four years ago that Adam van Koeverden was walking through Pearson International Airport, on his way to his first Olympic Games. Spotting a copy of Sports Illustrated previewing the Athens Games at a newsstand, curiosity got the best of the him. He picked it up and flipped through the pages until he reached the predictions for kayaking. He scanned the list of names, then placed the magazine back on the shelf and walked away. He didn't buy the magazine or what it had to say. Despite coming off a silver medal in the K-1 1000m at the previous year's world championships, van Koeverden was nowhere to be found in the medal predictions. "What do they know about kayaking?" he remembers thinking. "They ignore it for four years and then at the last second send a reporter off on Google to tell everyone who is going to win." It wasn't like van Koeverden was a sleeping bear being poked with a stick. He already had the drive that still sees him relentlessly pursuing his goals. But the snub by North America's leading sports publication meant there was one more doubter he could prove wrong. As it turned out, the medal hopeful at least in the eyes of those closer to home - became Canada's most successful Olympian in Athens, winning a bronze medal in the 1000m and following it up with a gold two days later in the 500m. On the weekend, van Koeverden rubber stamped his return to the Olympics it would have been unimaginable for the reigning world and Olympic champion to not be on the team - by winning both the 500m and 1000m at the Olympic Team Selection Trials at Lake Lanier, Georgia. The Burloak Canoe Club mem- ber didn't even need to compete to earn the spot. He could have skipped the trials and instead earned the berth by being the top Canadian on the World Cup circuit this summer. But van Koeverden saw no reason delay confirming what was a certainty. "It doesn't do anyone any favours," he said. "It's better for the process if everyone knows where they stand." Where van Koeverden stands is one thing that everyone knows heading into the Beijing Games. Even a reporter searching the Internet to make a prediction this time around would have to totally miss the boat -- or kayak, as the case may be -- to not have van Koeverden as the favourite. The one thing van Koeverden lacked heading into 2004, he now has in spades. "He's more experienced racing at that level," said Scott Oldershaw, his longtime coach, first with Burloak and now See Olympic page 48 www.icesports.com 905-845-6989