Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports S H O W D O W N 31 | Thursday, February 26, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Burlington Blue Dolphins player MIkayla Barnes moves in alone on Oakville Hornets White Lightning goaltender Madeline Round in Sunday's tyke final at the Hornets' annual girls' house league hockey tournament. The Blue Dolphins blanked the White Lightning 5-0. A total of six Hornets teams reached division championship games, including an all-Oakville final in the atom division that the Terminators won 3-0 over the Orange Attack. For full results from the tournament, visit bit.ly/1GupwBi. | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog Blades open OJHL playoffs tomorrow vs. Orangeville The Oakville Blades will face the Orangeville Flyers in the first round of the Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs, beginning tomorrow (Friday) at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. Oakville has home-ice advantage in the best-ofseven series after finishing third in the conference standings with a record of 31-19-2-2. Orangeville was seventh with a 25-25-1-3 mark. Following tomorrow's 7:30 p.m. opener at Sixteen Mile, the series will shift to Orangeville for Game 2 Saturday and continue to alternate venues until a winner is determined. The Flyers and Blades split their two regular-season meetings, each prevailing on home ice. The Blades enter the playoffs on a 9-2-1 run, even after losing their final game of the season Sunday, 2-1 to the regular-season champion Aurora Tigers. Kamil Tkaczuk provided the Oakville goal. Ryan Burns scored twice -- giving him seven goals in five games -- while Ross Sloan and Josh Kosack also tallied in the Blades' 4-1 win over the Mississauga Chargers last Friday at Sixteen Mile. Daniel Mannella made 19 stops to record the win in net. Matt Lippa won the Blades' regular-season scoring title, collecting a team-high 22 goals and adding 24 assists in 51 games. Defenceman Greg Campbell led the team in assists with 30 in 49 contests. Aggressive approach pays off for Ridge in junior basketball final The less deliberate the Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers were with the basketball, the better off they were. Utilizing a fast-paced, free-shooting attack, the Trailblazers won their first-ever Halton high school boys' basketball championship Tuesday at Sheridan College, downing the Garth Webb Chargers 57-51 in the junior Tier 2 final. Iroquois Ridge showed no hesitation in taking long shots from the perimeter, rather than working the ball inside and looking for layups. Twenty-one of the Trailblazers' 57 points came on three-pointers, with several other baskets coming off rebounds from missed threes. Even when Ridge held a six-point lead in the final two minutes, the Trailblazers kept pushing the pace. After all, it's a style that worked for them all season. "Our coach (Tim Cummings) said that if you believe you can shoot a three, you can do it. (Take the shot) if you're feeling it, if you're wide open or if you have the hot hand," said Trailblazers point guard Bishop Quaye, who led all scorers with 25 points. It's a system that can keep both teams in the game, which might help explain how Ridge went just 8-4 during the regular season. Iroquois Ridge lost by 16 points to the first placefinishing Frank Hayden Huskies in league play, but pounded the Huskies 68-44 in the playoff semifinals. "When we faced Frank Hayden (the first time) we were easing off and not really playing aggressive," Quaye said. "The second time, we were more aggressive." Daniel Jurkovic added 16 points for the Trailblazers, with Luka Miercetic scoring 11 and Stefan Momcilovic providing six. The Chargers were led by Zoran Savic (14 points), Hayden Coulman (11) and Chris Tani see Garth on p.32 Ridge's Daniel Jurkovic attempts a three-pointer Tuesday. | photo by Eric Riehl -- Oakville Beaver Register Now Oakville Little League - 2015 Youth Baseball Registration Register Now Division Age Blastball 4 T-Ball 5-6 7-8 T-Ball Minor A 8-9 Minor AA 10 Minor AAA 11 Major 12 Int / Junior 13 - 14 Senior 15 - 17 Big League 17 - 20 WHERE: OAKVILLE LITTLE LEAGUE FIELDHOUSE, 425 Cornwall Road WHEN: SATURDAY, February 21st & February 28th 9:00AM to 3:00PM Oakville Little League offers: The largest youth baseball organization in Oakville. The highest caliber, fun and fair-play house leagues. Grass infields, pitching mounds, outfield fences & dugouts for ages 9 & up. The only All-Star program to compete in Big League, Senior,for Junior Grass infields, pitching mounds, outfield fences & dugouts ages& 9 & up. Little League World Series play downs. Fees include: Major League replica uniform, individual & team photos. Proud Sponsor of Oakville Little League For more information call 905-827-1831 or register online at www.ollb.org