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The Canadian Chmpion. Tusday, April 4,2M0 23 SPORTS Photos by GRAIIAM 9PAiNt Wint.nhawk Daniel Babin itta thus uhot peut a aprawi.d Guelph goaltonder (loft) and Toumnament Saturday. The. team .nglneer.d four stralght wlns on the way to cllnchlng thon ceebratns the. goal (rlght) durlng tyke champlonshlp action ut the Miton Optimiat the. champlonhlp. Th.y wsre the. onIy hoats to tal. the. titiS. «ýMil1ton tykes deliver dynamite debut By STEVE LeBLANO The Champion he local tykes may have been Ta littie late for the party, but they certainly made up for lost time. Twelve years after the inaugural Optimist Toumnament, Milton's yaungest representatives flnally debuteti at the spring showcase. Tise pintaize rink rats hati traditionally been part af the Beaver Toumnament -- until il waa cancelleti this past winter. Making the most of tuis taumament transition, tbey engineereti four atraight victories on the wsy ta capturing division bragging righs. Theira was the anty cbanspianship won by the hasts over the weekend. The Lions Club Winterhawks -- who going into asat night's Tri County clash with Georgetown were on a seven-game unbeaten atreak -- clinciset the tille by autlasting Guelph 5-3 Saturday. Milton ainasseti four unaniswered goals in thse opening haîf andti Ien westbereti s late starin ta prevail. Spencer Abrabham backstappeti the lacals ta victary -- caming tbrough with key stops early an, inclutiing a buge pati save during s two-an- nane break -- wbile five of bis teainiatea lit the larnp. Scoring were Daniel Babin, Jake Cochrane, Brandon Denhain, George Kapas anti Michael Sgarbosss. The 'Hawks were particularly patent en route ta the finals -- Winning ail three preliminary gaines and collectively outgunning the opposi- tion 16-4. In addition ta Guelph, Brampton anti St. Thomas were their other victima. Scott Dennott staod out offensively in round robin play with five goals anti five assista. Not far bebinti paints-wiae with three goals anti four helpers was Jeffrey Clarke. Meanwhile, Abrahamn anti netmintiing partner Richard Monk combined for s goals-against average of 2.33. Each was between the pipes for twa contesta. Bantanas battered Milton'a bantsmn teama -- minor anti major -- coultin't take ativantage of their second aisance, so they bati ta seule for second beat. The Lsfarge minora were dumpeti by Samnia 6- 2 in opening round play, anti farei fia better against themn in the title match Saturtiay nigbt -- gelting humbleti 7- 1. Suffering througb bati breaks with regard ta line changes anti otit-man nrases, the locals felI behinti early anti were neyer reslly in thia one beyond the firat periati. Darren Yorke's powerplsy marker in tise final frame --which tempararily stappeti s running dlock --representeti abaut the only bright spot for Milton. Sandwiched between their first anti final round lasses weoe mucis stronger sbawinga -- including a 6-0 whitewash of Kitchener anti 7-1 rout of Acton. The Docs & Denta majora weren't any more aucceasful in their awn cbampionship biti, losing ta Flambaro 6-2 in the second round anti then again ta tbemn 5-l in tbe finals Suntiay. Much like with their minar counterparts, il was a third-perioti goal -- by Jash Caswcll -- that anappeti tise shutout. His unassiateti tslly came courtesy ai some peraistence in the ýslot, where bie acoapeti up bis own rebaunti anti planteti it in the top rigbt camer. The bota' only atrong suit was s flawleas 3- for-3 penalty killing campaign. Overaîl, tbey were mucb mare impreasive against round robin apponenta Chedoke anti Caletion -- besting themn 5-2 anti 4-2 respectively. Caswell anti Keitb Bewick eacb tallieti twice againat Chedake wbile chipping in with a pair ai assista was Chris Seto. Atonas downed Hligblighting the round robin with a tour-goal. five-point effort agarnat Actan was Ian Komnack. A lack of firepawer ditin' t keep tbe local Meanwbile, Brandon Gwilliam delivereti a bat- major atama out of the cbamnpionsbip -- althougb trick versus Kitchener. il titi prevent tbemn from winning il. The 'Hawks adivancedi ta the finals despite only scoring six turnes anti flot winning any gaines in round robin play. Unfortunately, their offensive struggles continueti in the tille mstch and they were beaten by Acton 4-1 Saturday. Milton kept pace through mucb of the after- noon tilt, but dhre tbird-period goals -- scoreti within s three-minute span -- flnally diti tbemn in. Potting their lone maricer was Jeff Lowe. In preliminary competition, they weoe bombed by Acton 9-2. Their other gaines bath endeti in stalemates -- sgainst Innisfil and Lambeth. Justin Moir ws the team's only multi-goal scorer during the toumament. He hsd three of their seven gaines. Consolation sweep Milton enjoyed a clean sweep in dthu consola- tion finals -- as the mînor atama, minar peewees and major peewees ail came awsy victorious. The minor peewees' win was by far the moat dramatic, as Jacob Caswell sank a backband shot witb just 2:20 remaining ta lift thein psst Bradiford 2-I1. Carl Chan was red bat in the cage anti deliv- ereti one final save in the dying seconda of play to preserve the win. Equally sharp in net was major peewee Mark Strazdins, wbo earned a shutout in their 4-0 deci- alan over Georgetown. Captain Steve Ellison led offensively with two goals and an assist. The minor atoms kick-started the consolation sweep in style, thusnping Stouffville 7-3. Mark Glinney and David Majka each tallieti twice in the lopsideti win.