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18 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2009 Goaltender Ellis leads Warriors to Jr. B crown By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF One on one IN ALONE: Orange Tigers player Jacklyn Murray (with puck) moves in on Green Gators goalie Quinn Dawson in the Oakville Hornets house league tyke championship game Sunday at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Finals were also held in novice, atom, peewee, bantam, midget/intermediate and ladies divisions to conclude the house league season. See an upcoming issue of The Oakville Beaver for results. DEREK WOOLLAM / OAKVILLE BEAVER Stoney Creek Warriors general manager Dave Hill had heard the criticisms: his team wasn't going anywhere without better goaltending. But despite bringing 10 goalies through training camp, Hill didn't see anyone who impressed him more than his returning netminder, Dylan Ellis. Seven months later, Ellis rewarded his general manager's faith by backstopping the Warriors to the Golden Horseshoe Jr. B hockey championship. "In my view, I was excited to get him back," said Hill. "In the latter part of the season, you could see his confidence growing daily and the team was playing with more confidence with him in net." Those who simply looked at Ellis' numbers in his first season with the Jr. B squad might have been worried. A 4.68 average and .863 save percentage may not have inspired confidence in followers of the team, but Hill said the numbers were just as much a product of a struggling club. This year, the Warriors underwent a rebuild that included bringing in former NHL defenceman Ric Nattress as coach. Understandably, Nattress focused on the team's play inside its own blue line. That produced a much more sound defensive team, but the Warrirors still needed the key stops if they were going to succeed. "Dylan's done exceptionally well and I don't think people give him enough credit," said Nattress. "We play strong defence but when we needed to rely on him, he's been huge." Ellis sported a 3.02 average and .897 save percentage with the Warriors, but never was his play more vital than in the playoffs, when Ellis earned the post-season MVP award after posting a 1.67 average and .936 save percentage. The Oakville netminder did not allow more than three goals in any of the Warriors' 15 playoff games, 12 of them wins. Ellis said Nattress helped him in his game preparation, making sure he was calm and focused before hitting the ice. That was a process that had begun before he arrived in Stoney Creek. After playing for the Oakville Rangers minor midget AA team, Ellis took the drastic step of heading to British Columbia for a year to enroll in the Pursuit of Excellence hockey program. The program focused on academics and hockey and benefited Ellis, especially in his conditioning. The downside was by the time the program ended, Ellis had missed all the junior rookie camps. He attended teams' camps in the fall as a walk-on and arrived in Stoney Creek with two days left before the Warrior's main camp. "I was nervous. The level was a lot higher going to junior. I just Moodies have chance at two titles There's already been one championship celebration in the Moodie household this spring. Now Luke Moodie is hoping to give the family cause to celebrate one more time. Moodie's goal in the final minute of overtime Wednesday gave the Oakville Blades a 5-4 victory over the Kingston Voyageurs and renewed the Blades' hopes of defending their Ontario Junior Hockey League title. Oakville trailed the best-of-seven series 2-1 heading into last night's (Friday's) game in Kingston. "It's probably the biggest goal I've ever scored," Moodie said after redirecting a centering pass from Blades captain Jeremy Welsh. "I think everyone thought we were going to double overtime. To get that win, it's got to be a heartbreaker for them. Scoring with (27) seconds left, hopefully it changes the momentum of the series." As Moodie discussed the goal, he stood under a banner honouring his brother Lane and his number 7, the number Luke now wears with the Blades. The Moodie brothers almost won a junior A championship together in 2006 when Oakville went to the league semifinal against Stouffville. While Luke got his championship with the Blades last season, Lane had to wait until this year when he joined the Dundas Real McCoys and helped the senior A squad win the Ontario Hockey Association title with See Warriors page 19 See Blades page 19