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32 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell 905-844-4444 I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D Broker of Record B R O K E R A G E SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009 McGowan, Blades eager for Friday Showdown with league-leading Georgetown By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Sweet emotion SECTIONAL SKATING: Travis SherriffClayton performs his novice men's free program routine Saturday during the BMO Central Ontario Sectional Skating Championships, held at River Oaks Recreation Centre. Results of local competitors will be printed in an upcoming edition of the Beaver. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER Mark McGowan will have a bit of added incentive when he and the Oakville Blades host the Georgetown Raiders Friday at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Not only is the contest a showdown between two of the Ontario Junior Hockey League's elite teams and fiercest rivals, it's also an opportunity for McGowan to show the Raiders what he feels they're missing. McGowan, traded to Oakville from Georgetown at the start of this season, said he'll be extra motivated for Friday's 7:30 p.m. clash after falling out of favour with the Raiders last year. "I needed a change of scenery. I was there (in Georgetown) for two years, two pretty successful years, but I guess the coaches didn't see me in their plans," said the 19-yearold forward. "I want to show them that they were wrong. I want to make them feel a loss." Raiders general manager James Richmond, who dealt McGowan for checking forward Sean Teakle, said the two sides just grew apart last season. "I like Mark and I respect him as a hockey player," Richmond said. "It just got to the point where he wanted to move and we were okay with it." McGowan admits he struggled last year with the Raiders, scoring 19 goals after netting 26 in his rookie year. But the Toronto native also felt that after a slow start to the year, the coaches lost confidence in him. "I was playing on third and fourth lines," he said. "It wasn't that I was playing bad. It's just that they weren't giving me a shot." McGowan's been given that shot in Oakville this year, and he's making the most of it. Playing with Mark Bennett and Ryan Murphy, McGowan has already scored 11 goals and added 15 assists in 18 games. "Mark's a very skillful player," said Blades general manager Carlo Coccimiglio. "He's playing great hockey for us right now. When he got here at the beginning it was a bit of a rough run, but he's starting to get comfortable and you're starting to see his true colours." See Rematch page 33