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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, August 7, 2013 | 18 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" U19 Rangers win national Jr. ball hockey championship The Oakville Rangers under-19 team went from worst to first in a matter of days at the Canadian junior national ball hockey championships. After finishing last in the tournament's preliminary round with an 0-3 mark, the Rangers went 2-0 in elimination play to win the national title, clinching gold with a 5-3 victory over the Alberta Red Wings Sunday at Joshua's Creek Arenas. "The first three games, players didn't really know each other's tendencies and I had to utilize all of the players to see what their strengths and weaknesses were," said Rangers coach Elio Pascuzzo. "Once we got to the semifinals, the better players started to play more and I had to put players on the floor to best suit their strengths and maximize their chances to succeed. It was a grind... but we had to build and get better game by game, and we did." Anthony Salis, Alex Festerini, Matthew Luff, Foster Cuomo and Anthony Giro were the local residents on the team, named Oakville Rangers because the town was the tournament host. Salis scored the Rangers' first goal in the final, while Festerini contributed a goal and an assist. Oakville had lost 8-1 to Alberta in round-robin action, when the Rangers also lost 3-1 to the Newfoundland Marshalls and 4-1 to the West Coast Express. Oakville edged the Express 1-0 in the semifinals. Other members of the U19 Rangers were Mark Terry, Vincent Romaniw, Greg DiTomaso, Daniel DeSousa, Drake Wilde, Charlie Graham, Matt Luff, David Niel, Graeme Dadson, Joey Molinaro, Joseph DiNardo, Michael Romaniw, Michael Pezzetta, Stefano Pezzetta and Troy Taylor. U15 Rangers finish fourth The U15 Rangers featured the tournament's top scorer in local resident Zach Foweather, but that wasn't enough to earn them a medal. Oakville lost the bronze-medal game 6-3 to Dek espoir St-Jerome. Foweather had a goal and an assist, while Myles Vita-Finzi also tallied for the Rangers. In the semifinals, the Rangers dropped a 5-1 decision to the Winnipeg Warriors. Vita-Finzi and Foweather drew assists on the lone Oakville marker. In round-robin play, the Rangers sandwiched victories over Saskatchewan (4-2) and the Caledon Bulldogs (6-5) around a 3-1 loss to Dek espoir St-Jerome. Zach Ribau and Vita-Finzi tallied in the win over Saskatchewan, with Foweather drawing two assists and Jake Tomkowiak contributing a helper. Foweather had an assist in the first loss to Dek espoir St-Jerome, then exploded for two goals and two assists in the victory over Caledon. Chis Tremblay and Ribau both had a goal and a helper versus the Bulldogs, with Tomkowiak also tallying and Alexander Ishmael earning an assist. Foweather and Ribeau were named to the U15 tournament allstar team. Oakville hosted the Canadian junior national ball hockey championships last week at Joshua's Creek Arenas and River Oaks Recreation Centre. In top photo, Jake Tomkowiak of the Oakville Rangers under-15 team (in white) tries to escape a Caledon Bulldogs opponent. In bottom photo, the U19 Rangers celebrate after winning their division. | top photo by Eric Riehl -- Oakville Beaver / bottom photo submitted Flyers, coupons deals and money saving tips all in one place! Find, browse, share and favourite New contests, money savings tips, top grocery deals and more in our View your favourite flyer items in detail, then add them to our new and print! facebook.com/savedotca @saveca