Wednesday, March 24, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D1 845-3824 (Extension 255) Fax:337-5567 They've earned their way into Tournament of Champions . . . Triple-A atoms in Newmarket The Oakville Rangers atom triple-A rep team defeated Sun County (Windsor) 4-1, taking their short third round playdown series two games to one. With the win the Rangers claim the championship of the Central division of the South Central Triple-A league and advance, for the third consecutive year, to the OMHA Tournament of Champions in Newmarket. The team is sponsored by Newcourt Financial and Erin Mills Volvo. Strong team play in the first and third games and solid goaltending throughout the series from Marc-Thomas Nano and Russell Brownell (combined GAA of 1.7) brought Oakville the championship. The OMHA Tournament of Champions begins this Friday (March 26) in Newmarket, home to last year's champions, York-Simcoe. Oakville took the opener 5-2, with two empty net goals in the final minutes of the third period breaking open a very close game. Goals were scored by Ryan Badham, Craig Speers, John Davitsky, Bryan Carey and Chris Hunt. Assists went to Eric Murray (2), Davitsky, Carey, Badham, James Albrecht, Michael Maganja, Corey Martin and Conor Kelly. The long drive down the 4-1 to Windsor in game two must have taken its toll on the Rangers as they suffered their first loss of the playdowns, 2-1. Corey Martin had the lone goal, assisted by Ryan Badham and Michael Maganja. The rubber match back at Oakville Arena on March 21 was another tight contest with Oakville eventually scoring four unanswered goals to win 4-1. The key point of the game occurred midway through the third period with the game tied at 1-1 when a Windsor clearing attempt somehow found the back of the Windsor net. The miscue took some of the wind out of their sails and the Rangers managed to put them away. Conor Kelly had a pair of goals (including credit for Windsor's own-goal) and singles were added by Zack Shepley and John Davitsky. Assists went to Michael Maganja (2), James Albrecht and Bryan Carey. . . . Triple-A minor atoms in Barrie P O S T S E A S O N : in atom house league action, Oakville Gator goalie Buck Spencer makes a big save during playoff action against the Wolf Pack Sunday at Oakville Arena. He earned the 6-0 shutout. As is tradi tional, the season winds up with the volunteer MOM's annual week of awards and championship games. It kicks off this Sunday, run ning until Thursday. Photos by Peter J. Thompson v,. X, YOU WOULDN'T TRUST JUST ANYONE TO DRIVE YOUR CAR, SO WHY TRUST JUST ANY COMPANY TO INSURE IT? SM l Fm* AuNmaUi Imuronci Compony M Offer Surfetoufh. Orton. Hal Mayer 2861 Sherwood Heights Dt 829-5200 * Bruins earn national bronze Steve Walker SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER It wasn't the color they were looking for but the Sheridan Bruins brought home the bronze medal at the national men's college basketball championships in Edmonton this past weekend. The Bruins had a good shot at gold but were denied that opportunity in the semifi nals, losing a heartbreaker to the Dawson Blues, 74-69. It was a tough loss for the Bruins who led for much of the contest but were done in by two bad stretches. After taking out Cariboo, B.C., 84-76 in their opener, to avenge last year's bronze medal loss, Sheridan came out strong against Dawson, leading 32-24 with three minutes left in the half. But the Quebec champions went on a 14-2 run to lead 38-34 at the break. The Bruins came back and regained the lead before Dawson came back with a 9-2 run to take the lead 72-69 with 30 seconds left. Bruins all-Canadian guard Shane Bascoe, (S ee B a iin s ' p a g e D3) The Oakville Rangers triple-A minor atom rep team overcame the Grey Bruce Highlanders in four games in their third round, divisional final and have won the right, for their third consecutive year, to attend the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) Tournament of Championships. It kicks off Friday (March 26) in Barrie. Here's a recap of their divisional championship. The Rangers, as regular season runners up, were expect ing a tough senes against regular season champion Grey Bruce, and they were right, losing the opener on March 14 7-2. Both teams were unhappy with the officiating, although Oakville conceded they probably wouldn't have (S e e 'S p o rts m a n s h ip ' p a g e D3) FRONT ROW: MIDDLE ROW: BACK ROW: Peter (Mad Dog) Disalvo, Ian (Tattoo) Paradis, Patrick (Marshmallow) Marsh, Anthony (Elvis) Scalia, Brian (Sneaky Pete) Urquhart, Mathew (The Cat) Quigley Adam (Mr. Shoulder) Dimarco, Scott (Road Runner) Tanski, Jordan (Boom Boom) Bortolotti, Andrew (Eagle Jr.) Neuwald, Mark (Mr. B.) Borcsok, Steven (Stevy 'G ') Guzzo, Spencer (Spike) Metcalfe, Connor (Joker) McMonagle, Tyler (Bull) Stothers Charles Neuwald, Danny Stotners, Terry Tanski, John Guzzo, Bill Metcalfe, David Quigley, INSET: Patrick (Patch) Chiasson /T fxm kyou to a ll our sponsors, parents a n d supporters1 Qualifiers for the O .M .H A . Tournament o f Champions March 26 - 28, 1999 at the Memorial Arena in Brampton. 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