Ontario Community Newspapers

Oakville Beaver, 30 May 2012, p. 25

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Buzz wins two of three The Oakville Buzz solidifed its hold on second place in its division by winning two of three Ontario Lacrosse Association contests last weekend at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. The Buzz blanked the Mississauga Tomahawks 12-0 Friday, fell 9-5 to the Akwesasne Indians Saturday and dumped the Kahnawake Hunters 10-4 Sunday. Oakville (6-4-1) now owns a three-point lead on the Mimico Mountaineers for second spot in the junior B loop's South East Division. Ian Duffy stopped all 14 shots he faced in the victory over Mississauga, earning the shutout -- a rarity in lacrosse at any level. Mike Beirgard (two goals, two assists) and Chris Young (goal, three assists) led the offence with four-point efforts, while Sam Neeb and Ryan Callaghan each contributed hat tricks. Colton Watkinson added two goals and a helper, with Greg Campbell rounding out the scoring. Saturday, the Buzz trailed the then-undefeated Indians 4-3 after two periods, but was outscored 5-2 in the final frame. Robert Bentivegna had four assists in a losing cause for Oakville, with Callaghan (two), Keyan McQueen, Spencer Gallant and Campbell providing the Buzz markers. Duffy took the loss against the Indians, who improved to 10-0 but suffered their first loss the following afternoon in Clarington. The Buzz bounced back Sunday with a comfortable win over the Hunters, breaking open the game with five unanswered goals in the second period. Colton Watkinson led the way offensively with a hat trick, while Callaghan (goal, two assists), McQueen (goal, two assists) and Gallant (three helpers) enjoyed three-point afternoons. Elliott Cowburn, Ryan Cavanagh, Neeb, Campbell and Beirgard had Oakville's other goals in support of Duffy. The Buzz returns to action tonight (Wednesday) with a visit to Mississauga. Oakville will then host the Orillia Kings Friday at Glen Abbey, an 8 p.m. start. 25 · Wednesday, May 30, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com MARTA IWANEK / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG teammate Sydney De Marchi (centre) looks on during Monday's Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference girls' rugby final in Burlington. The Devils qualified for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations tournament with a 27-0 win over Hamilton Cathedral. WHO WANTS TO STOP ME: Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils player Alex Wilson (with ball) charges up the field as OT rugby girls OFSAA bound, again By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF BURLINGTON -- After winning their fifth straight Halton girls' rugby title -- and 10th in 12 years -- you could forgive the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils if their focus sometimes jumps ahead to the provincial championships. "(Qualifying for OFSAA) is sort of the point, but we don't take Halton for granted," said OT coach Dan Valley, whose team beat Holy Trinity 28-12 in last week's Halton final. "We don't want to overlook the process." While the process may be important, Molly Labenski -- who will be playing in her fourth straight Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations tournament -- can't help it if she wants to eliminate one of the stops along the way to the team's ultimate goal. "Every year we've been getting one step closer -- fifth, then fourth, then third last year," the Grade 12 student said. "I hope we can skip second and go right to gold." Labenski helped ensure OT will have that chance, scoring a pair of tries as the Red Devils shut out Hamilton's Cathedral 27-0 Monday at Burlington's Sherwood Forest Park in the Golden Horseshoe qualifier for the OFSAA tournament. Oakville Trafalgar, third in Rugby Ontario's high school rankings, will now head to Ottawa for the tournament that begins Monday. It will be a different team than the one that won bronze last year, but Labenski is confident in her team's abilities. "I think we've got a good chance to win," she said. "Size-wise, we're smaller, but we have some young players that have come in and will really help us." Among those players is Maddy Seatle. She played on OT's Halton junior championship but went to OFSAA with the senior squad. "I'm so excited," the Grade 10 student said. "It's really intense (at OFSAA) and everyone wants it really bad. We just have to step it up and give it our best, especially for our seniors, because this is their last chance. We want to win it for them and our coaches." Though OT lost six key players from last year's provincial bronze medal team, players like Danielle Spice, who played with Labenski on the Ontario under-17 team, and Alex Wilson have excelled while taking on bigger roles. Adrian Lui, who took over the coaching reins while Valley was in Australia for the early part of the season, said a focus on fundamentals is the key to ensuring players are ready for those roles. "Since Grade 9, we've been harping on the basic skills -- catching and passing -- and now they have that solid base," he said. "Now they're more aware of what they need to do." And if last year's narrow semifinal loss at OFSAA that prevented them from playing for gold isn't enough motivation, OT has one more reason to make a big splash at OFSAA. The Red Devils' girls will carry the OT rugby banner alone this season after the boys team lost the Halton senior final for just the second time in 42 years. "It was so sad to see them lose," Labenski said. "Hopefully we can bring back the gold and keep that OT reputation going." -- Herb Garbutt can be followed on Twitter @Herbgarbutt team last year Join the biggest cancer event to make the biggest difference. REGISTER TODAY FOR RELAY FOR LIFE OAKVILLE! Register now! Early bird teams are eligible for prize incentives. Don't miss out. Gather your team and join the fight! For more information, please contact Maggie at mirving@ontario.cancer.ca or call (905) 845-5231 Register now at relayforlife.ca Save the date: June 1-2, 2012 @ Appleby College One Night · One Community · One Cause

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