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Cudmore's last shot delivers hockey glory Blakelock wins Halton title in shootout, Tigers now carry on without star player By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 27 · Wednesday, March 10, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Hayleigh Cudmore broke in alone on the Loyola net knowing exactly what she was going to do. She had already capitalized on her first breakaway opportunity, slipping a backhand past Loyola's Emily Robinson in the opening minute for T.A. Blakelock's lone goal in regulation and overtime. But Robinson had stopped her twice in the shootout and both times, Cudmore had a plan. "I had scored on a backhand, so I was going forehand the first time, but then I lost the puck in the snow," she said. "So then I was going to go fivehole, but I completely blew it. The last one, I thought, I'm just going to shoot this puck." Now into sudden death, Cudmore knew she couldn't waste many more opportunities. She drew the puck back at the edge of the left faceoff circle, then fired. The puck sailed past Robinson's glove and as it hit the mesh at the back of the net, Cudmore raised her arms. A split second later teammate Brittany Aldworth kicked out her pad to stop Loyola's Mia Favretto at the other end of the ice, sending the Blakelock NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER TERRIFIC TIGER: Blakelock's Hayleigh Cudmore, left, avoids the check of Loyola's Katie Fergus in Thursday's Halton girls' hockey final. Cudmore scored the winning goal in a shootout for a 2-1 Tiger win but the member of the national under-18 is ineligible to compete beyond league play. Blakelock will be looking for players like Alex Saunders (background) to lead the way as Blakelock faces Bishop Tonnos in today's Golden Horseshoe final. players racing from the bench at the Glen Abbey Recreation Centre to celebrate their second Halton girls' hockey championship in three years. It would be hard to imagine a better ending than scoring the title-clinching goal with the final shot of your high school career. And yet for Cudmore, it was only her second-biggest thrill of the week. Three days earlier, the 17 year old received a phone call. With Olympic gold medal victories by Canada's men's and women's hockey teams still fresh in the minds of Canadians, Cudmore was told that she would be representing her country at the World Under-18 championships in Chicago later this month. "I did not believe it," she said. "I'm so excited. I'm counting down the days." The Cornell-bound defender said making the Canadian squad is a direct result of her time with the provincial team, where she helped Ontario win two national titles. "Both years I've gone to nation- Reinders drawing attention of CFL scouts Reinders has the chance to attract more Toronto Argonauts' general attention from CFL scouts this weekend at manager Adam Rita was at the the evaluation camp, where he'll be tested on Warriors' first practice of the sea- his bench press, 40-yard dash, vertical jump, son and gave McPhee some advice wing span and flexibility. He'll also do oneon how to make better use of his on-one drills against defensive linemen. Reinders has spent the last few prospect. "I remember hearing Coach months training intensely at Sport McPhee telling me to go over to the Specific Training in Burlington. He's other side of the field with the hopeful that what began as something offensive linemen," Reinders to fill a void in his life can turn into a recalled. "That jog over was brutal long career. because I was just dreading it. The O-linemen are those big, fat guys. That's the stereotype. D-linemen get more credit, really. I was not looking forward to that." Going on the offensive Reinders doesn't question Rita's suggestion anymore. Reinders was selected to play in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport East-West Bowl, a showcase of the country's top university talent, after his rookie season, and he drew interest from the MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER Calgary Stampeders during his sec- NOT TIRED: Joel Reinders works out in ond year on the gridiron. preparation for the CFL evaluation camp. Continued from page 25 "I'd ideally like to finish my degree before I start playing in the CFL," said the kinesiology student, "but I can always finish in the winter once the CFL season is over. "If I stay healthy and don't get any injuries, I think I'll play for 20 years." als, I've come out a way better player," Cudmore said. "It's so fast, you have to up your decision making. The biggest thing is poise, just passing and finding teammates." "What we really liked was her solid defensive play," said under-18 national coach Dan Church. "She's got a good shot and makes a great first pass on the breakout. She can contribute offensively but what we really liked is that she's always on the right side of the puck." Blakelock coach Ron Larose also coveted those qualities, but with a solid group on defence and needing a little extra punch up front, he shifted Cudmore to forward mid-season. Loyola's Stef Solty tied Thursday's final with a slapshot from the point in the third period, and Larose was not surprised to be heading to overtime. "We've played (the Hawks) five times and all the games were decided by one goal, so we don't expect anything different," he said. But when overtime didn't settle the championship, Larose called on Cudmore not only to lead off the shootout, but to take Blakelock's fourth and fifth shots as well once it switched to a sudden-death format. "We're not going to have her anymore so it was her game to win," he said. That's the lone downside to making the national team. Cudmore is now ineligible to play for Blakelock beyond league play. That means the Tigers will have to earn a trip to the provincial high school tournament without her. The Tigers face Bishop Tonnos, which edged Loyola 3-2 Friday, in the Golden Horseshoe final today (Wednesday) with the winner advancing to OFSAA. www. com HURRY! RECEIVE $2630 IN GOVERNMENT REBATES* on high efficiency up to Gas Furnace & Central Air Immediate Installation & Service Do not pay for 6 months* BUY NOW AND SAVE THE HST! 905-849-4998 9 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER *See dealer for details www.aireone.com 1-888-827-2665 A+ Rating