The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Alex Pace tourney win extra special for St. Dominic By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR 33 · Friday, March 9, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER SPECIAL WIN: Len Pace (left) and his son Ben helped the St. Dominic Huskies win the overall championship at last week's Alex Pace Challenge Cup hockey tournament. The tournament is held in the memory of Len's son Alex, who succumbed to bone cancer three years ago at the age of 11. The Alex Pace Challenge Cup memorial hockey tournament is more about promoting fair play and fun than about deciding champions. No team would understand that more than the St. Dominic Huskies. But you could forgive the Huskies for being a little extra excited about winning the tournament's overall title last week at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. With Alex Pace's father Len behind the bench and younger brother Ben on the ice, St. Dominic defeated Pope John Paul II 5-3 to claim the A championship of the eight-team Catholic elementary school competition. "It was a thrill for both of us," Len Pace said. "It was emotional... but it was a happy emotion, rather than sad or melancholy. It felt like Alex was along for the ride to some extent and helping us along. I always sort of felt throughout the day that he was sitting there on our shoulders, helping us out." Alex Pace passed away three years ago, succumbing to bone cancer at the age of 11, but not before touching many people with his remarkable spirit. Even as he battled his illness, Alex spent his time creating awareness and support research for bone cancer. It's that spirit that Derek Sebastian and John Guzzo were looking to capture when they created the tournament three years ago. The Alex Pace Challenge Cup features balanced competition with an equal number of games for all teams involved and an emphasis on fair play. Prior to competing, teams must submit a roster detailing the caliber of their players (AAA, house league, etc.). Teams are then seeded accordingly in an effort to ensure parity. "We wanted to make sure kids can compete and have fun, but also this is for a little guy who lost his life," said Guzzo, whose wife Susan is the principal at St. Dominic. "I didn't know Alex personally, but from what I heard, this little guy basically drew people because he was so kind and generous and didn't worry about winning or losing. We want to make sure coaches are aware of what Alex's dream was and the kind of person Alex was. Hopefully they'll instill that in their players when they're playing." The Paces were thrilled when Guzzo and Sebastian approached them with the idea in 2009. "It was really quite fitting. They didn't just want a sporting event, they wanted something more meaningful than that," said Alex's mother, Frances. "Derek and John really made a point of that. They wanted that message put out to the kids." Goaltender Daniella Serrao backstopped St. Dominic to a 4-0 showing at this year's tournament, with Kyle Maksimovich and Colton Trumbla leading the way offensively and Joey Berkopec anchoring a strong defensive corps. Josey Guerin, Kate Shewchuk, Dale Walden and Dave Berkopec joined Len Pace behind the Huskies bench. Venom major bantams earn tourney silver The Oakville Venom major bantam basketball team earned silver at the recent Richmond Hill Motion tournament. Oakville won its first three games to reach the final before dropping a 51-46 decision to the Grimsby Grizzlies. The Venom's wins came over the Ottawa Shooting Stars (60-50), Richmond Hill Motion (42-37) and Kanata Cavaliers (62-39). Dimitri Lim was named the Venom's MVP in the tournament. Other members of the team are Jaelin Llewellyn, J.B. Cabrera, Elijah Lostracco, Samory Fonderson, Jamal Stewart, Joshua Armstrong, Graham Burski, Jordan Malo and Romello Smith Hibbert. Maurice Armstrong and Bobby Llewellyn coach the team. Gold for Blue Lightning Ryan Shannon posted a shutout and had plenty of offensive support in front of him as the Oakville minor atom Blue Lightning defeated the Petrolia Oilers 8-0 in the final of the recent Oakridge Classic hockey tournament. The Blue Lightning won four of its five games at the tournament, including a 2-0 victory in the semifinals. Members of the Lightning are Justin Bye, Alex Zamuner, Sam Clarke, Elliott Frith, Wyatt Welyhorsky, Jacob Bruce, Noah Caputi, Justin Ruth, Trevor Sands, Michael Napolitano, Silas Feaver, Owen Ainslie, Jake Logan and Kyle Wood. Bob Langlois, Todd Frith, Chris Shannon and Rob Zamuner coach the Lightning. Grazio Napolitano is the trainer and Jovawne Ainslie is the manager. The Oakville minor atom Blue Lightning won the Oakridge Classic. NOW OR NEVER Purchase a Carrier Hi Efficiency Furnace and Receive a DON'T MISS OUT! LIMITED TIME OFFER! Quality Baseball in Our Community since 1963 For House League and Select Programs for all Players Born 1994 to 2007 Register online at www.baseballoakville.com or download registration form and mail with payment. Or Visit our clubhouse on Saturday's From 9 AM to 12 PM at 1236 Speers Road, Unit #4 For more information email us at info@baseballoakville.com 2012 Player Registration FREE CARRIER High Efficiency CENTRAL AIR absolutely free! er Carri Free ficiency Ef High ral Air Cent (Installation Extra) OVER 120,000 UP TO $650 IN HYDRO REBATE Reserve now and you will receive a central air This is a great opportunity to replace your old SATISFIED CUSTOMERS inefficient furnace and air conditioner with hi-efficiency and greatly reduce your utility bill. LIMITED Call today to book an appointment with our LIMITED TIME OFFER. QUANTI Professional Home Comfort Advisors. AVAILABLE. TIES PLUS: NO PAYMENT NO INTEREST FOR 6 MONTHS O.A.C. THE FORECAST CALLS FOR *Call Dealer for Details 905-849-4998 9 Locations To Serve You Better! www.aireone.com 1-888-827-2665 A+ Rating