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Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports The 25 | Friday, April 22, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" players will get a chance to make their mark early in the season before the veterans return from school. The Buzz will also be looking for players like Adam Wolf and Patrick DeHueck to build on strong rookie seasons as well as continued steady play from veterans like Josh Morton. In net, Bailey Brown returns for his second season after splitting time with Kyle Hebert in 2015. "He's had an unbelievable camp," Burton said. "He's in midseason form." Brown will be backed up by Matt Hoodowany. "The guys we've had out in camp, we've got a good group now and for the future," Crepinsek said. "We have great coaches who know how to put us in the best position to win." And the Buzz captain would like nothing more than to make up for his lost season by playing a lot of extra games this year. "I hope to be playing in the last game of the season and win the Founders Cup," he said. Notes: Last year's coach and GM Mike Bentivegna has taken over the coaching duties of the Jr. A Burlington Chiefs. Al Burton takes over behind the bench for the Buzz. He's joined on the coaching staff by three Buzz alumni. Cam Watts returns as associate coach while Dan MacRae (when his season with the NLL's Calgary Roughnecks wraps up) and Sean Gillies join the team as assistant coaches... The Buzz will play home games at Joshua's Creek Arenas this season with the exception of the June 11 game at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. The Buzz will honour its 2006 Founders Cup team that night. The 13U Halton Hurricanes will attempt to win their second provincial volleyball tournament in a month after taking gold in Division 3 at the 14U provincials. They're in action this weekend at the 13U provincials and will be in Ottawa May 5-8 for the national championships. | photo submitted New captain Nick Crepinsek can't wait to return after 2015 back injury By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Buzz is Each new season brings anticipation, a new opportunity to improve on the previous season and chase a championship. As the Oakville Buzz prepares to open the Jr. B lacrosse season Friday, nobody is looking forward to the opening game more than the team's new captain Nick Crepinsek. Every spring since he was three years old, Crepinsek has grabbed a lacrosse stick and charged out on to the floor. But as he prepared for his fourth season with the Buzz, Crepinsek was experiencing pain in his lower back. An MRI revealed a herniated disk, an injury that sidelined him for the entire season. If the injury wasn't painful enough, Crepinsek could only watch as the Buzz enjoyed its longest playoff run since the Founders Cup victory in 2006. Finishing up his school year at McMaster University, the 20-yearold didn't get a chance to play in any of Oakville's pre-season games, so the season opener will mark his first game back in the Buzz lineup since July 2014. He'll write his final exam this morning and join the Buzz for its 7:30 p.m. game against the Newmarket Saints at back 7:30 tonight -- Joshua's Creek Arenas Foster Cuomo (right, in action last season) is among the key returning players for the Oakville Buzz, which opens the Ontario Jr. B lacrosse season Friday at Joshua's Creek Arenas. | File photo by Graham Paine ­ Burlington Post Joshua's Creek Arenas. "I'm excited to get back," he said. "It was really hard last season but I tried to involve myself as much as I could. Just watching from the bench, you see things you can improve on, so hopefully that will make me a better player." The Buzz will welcome back his veteran presence. "He a character guy," said Marc Burton, who takes over the general manager's duties this season. "He's a shutdown defender and we'll need him this season." The Buzz defence will play a big role early in the season as Oakville awaits the return of college students Eddie Renaud and Foster Cuomo, a pair of key offensive players. Renaud has racked up 217 points over four seasons with the Buzz, including 74 last season that ranked 11th in the league. Cuomo played a key role in Oakville's run to the East Conference final last season with 20 goals and 41 points in eight playoff games. "Our left side might be as good as a lot of junior A teams," Burton said. "We'll score a lot of goals." While the Buzz struggled to a 2-5 start last season before winning 10 of its final 13 games, Burton believes the Buzz can avoid early season troubles this year because of the depth of talent in the local lacrosse organizations and the play of several young players in training camp. He said it's the reason the Buzz has been able to sustain its success, advancing to at least the second round each of the last four years. "The amount of turnover you have every year, it can be difficult," Burton said, "but Oakville has arguably the strongest minor program in the province, maybe the country. That sets you up well every year to compete." Matt Anderson, Nate Braniff and Yvon Bolduc are among the rookies to crack the roster with strong showings in camp. Other young 13U Hurricanes gain Division 3 14U title The Halton Hurricanes' 13-and-under Black team played up an age group and still managed to come out on top. The Blacks won the 14U Division 3 provincial volleyball championship in Waterloo earlier this month. The Hurricanes were the No. 3 seed in the division and beat the North Bay Lakers 2517, 25-14 in the semifinals. The Hurricanes advanced to the final against the Cambridge Scorpions, winning 25-9, 25-11. To bring home the gold medal, the Hurricanes went undefeated in all nine matches over the three days. The team will now prepare to play in its own age group at the 13U provincials this weekend. The nationals follow May 5-8 in Ottawa. Members of the team, all of whom are from Oakville or Burlington, include head coach Dan Hayes, assistant coach Sean Holland and players Emily Galloway, Emily Byers, Kate Clermont, Hailey Holland, Ana Zaric, Isabel Clarke, Julia Legon, Jocelyn Brooks, Meaghan Wittig and Priya Reddy.