www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 9, 2008 - 3 Need Help Choosing Natural Stone? See our design team! Looking for something different? You'll find it here. We specialize in importing and supplying quality ceramics, porcelain, and natural stone with a variety of exclusive lines. Check Out Our BACKSPLASH SHOWROOM & EXTENSIVE NATURAL STONE DISPLAY TRAVERTINES GLASS MOSAICS SLATE GRANITE MARBLE PORCELAIN NATURAL STONE TRAVERTINES GLASS MOSAICS SLATE GRANITE MARBLE PORCELAIN NATURAL STONE TRAVERTINES GLASS MOSAICS SLATE GRANITE MARBLE PORCELAIN NATURAL STONE TRAVERTINES GLASS MOSAICS SLATE GRANITE MARBLE PORCELAIN NATURAL STONE TRAVERTINES GLASS MOSAICS SLATE GRANITE MARBLE PORCELAIN NATURAL STONE Factory Tile Depot DEREK WOOLLAM / OAKVILLE BEAVER GOLDEN GREETING: Stefan Legein, middle, was greeted by his buddies, Carson Jenkins and Dan Arcaro, at Pearson International Airport. Long wait at airport Continued from page 1 "My body was literally shaking," she said. She went upstairs with instructions to call her if Canada scored. She wasn't alone. "We were all on the edge of our seat," Donna Mason said. "My heart was pounding." The tension wouldn't last long. Just three minutes and 36 seconds into overtime, Mississauga's Matt Halischuk poked a rebound through the legs of Swedish goalie Jhonas Enroth, touching off a huge celebration. "I had never seen him so happy," said the mother of the tournament's most valuable player, perhaps now warming up to the idea of having a goalie in the family. The revelry extended beyond the Czech Republic to Oakville, which, as the home of three gold medalists, had more reason to celebrate than anywhere else in Canada. At Monaghan's Sports Pub & Grill, friends of Stefan Legein, dismayed when he had left the game with a shoulder injury suffered on his first shift, were thrilled to see him racing around the ice celebrating with his teammates. In his honour, they tied up one sleeve and continued the celebration with one arm, toasting him throughout the night with a drink they invented and named after their friend. Back at the Mason house, the celebration continued until 2 a.m. as neighbours dropped off bottles of champagne. Less than 12 hours later, they were among the several hundred people waiting at Pearson International Airport for the arrival of Team Canada. Like the road to the gold medal, the trip home for the newly-crowned world champions was not without its speed bumps. After an abbreviated celebration in the dressing room, it was on to a bus to take the team back to its hotel. Just nine hours later, they were boarding a plane to return home. Even as they sat through a four-hour layover in Frankfurt, few players could sleep. After landing in Toronto, already an hour late, the players discovered that their equipment was arriving on a later flight. Meanwhile, the crowd at the arrivals entrance gate waited anxiously, expecting to see the returning hockey heroes at any moment. Passengers arriving home from Cuba and Jamaica were shocked to be greeted by the massive crowd of flag-waving fans and a wall of television cameras and photographers. "What's going on?" one asked. "Don't you know? We won," came the reply. "I've been in Hawaii, I didn't know," he said. "That's great." Taylor McLeod, a goalie for the Oakville Rangers' bantam AAA team, joined the growing crowd. He was playing in Brampton, but asked his dad if they could stop by to welcome home the Canadian players -- one in particular. "He's a big Steve Mason fan," said Ross McLeod. "I like his style," Taylor said. Updates continued to filter in. Bill Mason took three calls from his son on their progress. "They're coming," said a flight attendant as she walked past the crowd. "Ten more minutes," said a Hockey Canada official who poked his head through the gates. Finally, shortly before 5 p.m., the arrival gate opened and a huge cheer roared through Terminal 1 as the first group of players arrived, led by Oakville's John Tavares. He waded into the sea of reporters and answered their questions. Though Tavares had intended to rejoin his Oshawa Generals' teammates for their Sunday game, after traveling halfway around the world and arriving later than expected, he had now reconsidered. "I don't think so," he said when asked if he was going to play. "I'm still going to go to the game, but I don't think I'll get there in time." As Tavares signed autographs, Mason was next to have the cameras turned his way. "I haven't slept in 24 hours," said the newest member of the Kitchener Rangers, who hadn't had any shuteye since his pregame nap prior to the final. "I couldn't sleep. I think I'm still going on adrenaline." After finishing his interviews, Mason finally got a chance to celebrate with a mass of Masons that nearly outnumbered the media -- his parents, his older sister Melanie wearing his sweater from the summer's Canada-Russia Super Series, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more waiting back at the family's house. The last to make his way down the ramp was Legein, who was greeted by friends Dan Arcaro and Carson Jenkins, there to pick him up because Legein's parents were still in the Czech Republic. The two, with their arms in slings fashioned out of Canadian flags, had some bad news. "The car broke down on the highway," Arcaro said. "We had to run here." "Are you kidding me?" Legein said. But there was no bad news that could wipe the smile off the face of the team prankster. "The injury will heal, the medal will last forever," he said. And when you're a world champion in a hockeycrazy country, even having to find a way home after a 14-hour flight isn't so bad. 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