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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, MARCH 31, 2010 25 They're going seven Blades, Voyageurs deciding league final tonight in seventh games. After both Kingston and Oakville opened the series with a victory at home, the road team has prevailed in the Twenty-two periods of hockey haven't past four games. been enough to decide a winner in the "We've both won on each other's ice," Ontario Junior A Hockey League champi- Bennett said. "We're comfortable there. It's onship series. not a big deal to us. It'd be nice to have won The Oakville Blades and Kingston it at home, but now we'll have to do it on the Voyageurs are going to need at road." "I have faith in least three more. It didn't take long to get the Oakville will visit the defend- our team. I sense Saturday that it wasn't ing champion Voyageurs tonight know we're going to be the Blades' night. (Wednesday) in Kingston for the going to come Just 32 seconds into the conseventh and deciding game in back strong." test, Kingston's Dean Howard the fiercely contested league fired a harmless-looking shot final. The first six games have n from the blue line. Somehow, Oakville Blades' decided by one-goal margins, the puck took a wicked bounce Mark Bennett with three needing at least one on the way to the net and shot overtime to determine a victor. up into the top corner of the Oakville goal, The Blades had an opportunity to finish eluding stunned Blades netminder Daniel Kingston off Saturday at Joshua's Creek Savelli. Arenas, but the Voyageurs were the more "We can't put too much in that. Bad desperate team -- particularly in the first bounces have happened all series. We've got period, when they built a 2-0 lead and bad bounces and they've gotten theirs," allowed only five shots against -- and skat- Bennett said. "We played the rest of the ed to a 3-2 victory. game hard." Mark Bennett, who scored the second Kingston added to its lead with five minOakville goal Saturday, felt his team didn't utes to go in the opening period as Tyler come out with the necessary intensity in Melancon scored on the power play. Game 6. The local resident promised a betRyan Murphy sliced the Kingston lead in ter effort tonight. half seven minutes into the second period, "I have faith in our team," he said. "I his fifth goal of the series. know we're going to come back strong. The Voyageurs went up 3-1 in the openMICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, we're going to bring our `A' ing minute of the third period as defenceTIGHT SQUEEZE: Kingston captain Kevin Christmas (left) squeezes Oakville's Kyle Badham off the game and come out with a `W'." man David McMullen's point shot beat puck Saturday at Joshua's Creek Arenas. The Blades had a chance to win the Ontario Junior A Hockey Home ice might not be as significant an Savelli. Bennett got Oakville within 3-2 with League final at home, but Kingston forced a seventh game with a 3-2 victory. advantage for the Voyageurs as it typically is See CCHL page 28 By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR FOREVER RIVALS: Members of the Burlington Eagles (in blue) and Oakville Rangers follow the puck during Saturday morning action of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association novice AAA championship tournament at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. Pictured in foreground are (left to right) Zachary Odbert, Cooper Hood, Ryan O'Hara and Alton McDermott. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER Eagles nip Rangers... again By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF One win was all they needed and, for the Oakville Rangers, it looked like Sunday might finally be the day. Meeting for the 12th time this season, the Rangers were still seeking their first victory against their neighbours to the west, the Burlington Eagles. And with a Burlington player sitting in the penalty box in the final minutes of a 2-2 tie in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association novice AAA final, it looked like Oakville's time had come -- on the biggest stage in front of a home crowd at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. "We had set the goal at the beginning of the year to reach the OMHA final and then beat our archrivals once," said Oakville coach Bryan McDermott. "We thought the stars aligned to get us into the final and we thought it was going to be our day." Oakville had reason to be confident. Mathew Hill had tied the game early in the third on a power-play goal and Duncan Penman had scored the Rangers' first goal seconds after a Burlington player stepped out of the penalty box. The Eagles would not cooperate, though. They killed off the penalty and five minutes later Dylan Abbamont -- the same player who sunk the Rangers in the final of the Golden Horseshoe tournaSee Rangers page 27