Hawks hope to learn from rare basketball loss Senior girls bounced from Halton playoffs, but still alive for OFSAA It is said there is more to learn from a loss than there is from a victory. After educating other teams in the Halton senior girls basketball league for the better part of three years, the Loyola Hawks finally got a lesson of their own in Monday's league semifinals. Riding a 29-game league winning streak, the Hawks got a three-pointer from Jaelyne Kirkpatrick with 12 seconds remaining in regulation time to go up by one point. Nelson's subsequent three-point attempt missed but the Lords' Amy Jarvis grabbed the rebound and drew a foul with 3.7 seconds left. Jarvis then made both shots and Nelson held on for a 47-46 victory after Loyola's desperation half-court shot missed. "It's unfortunate that it happened, but going forward, it's most important what we make of it," said Loyola coach Gary Laurin, whose team will play in the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference triple-A qualifier Tuesday against Hamilton's St. Mary's. "Are we going to get better from it? It's one of those little bumps in the road that you have to learn from." There had not been many bumps for the Hawks, who had last lost on Halloween 2011. Loyola had compiled a 40-1 record over three years going into Monday and early on looked as though it might extend its run, taking a six-point lead into the half. However, Nelson held the league's top-scoring team to just four points in the third quarter. The 19-4 Lords run helped them build a lead of as much as nine. The Hawks then clawed their way back into the game, but their comeback fell short. "We didn't play to our capability, but part of that is Nelson and their preparation," said Laurin. "They had two girls that we had difficulty stopping and in the end, we couldn't score." Laurin believes Loyola still has plenty of promise. The Hawks are likely to lose just two players next season and potentially only one starter, Alex Ruscica. Without a junior coach this season, the Hawks carried seven Grade 9s on the senior roster, giving them valuable experience at a high level. "It's tough now," Laurin said, "but when these girls look back at what they accomplished, they can hold their heads high." -- Herb Garbutt Dawson re-signs with Rochester Perhaps Dan Dawson was simply sick of changing addresses. The Oakville native passed on a chance to test National Lacrosse League unrestricted free agency, opting instead to re-sign with the Rochester Knighthawks -- the sixth team he has played for in the last 12 years. Dawson, who ranks seventh alltime in the NLL in both assists (577) and points (946), inked a sevenyear deal with the Knighthawks last week. "It allows me to play for Curt (Styres, the Rochester owner and general manager) and play out my career in Rochester," said Dawson, 31. "I am excited to make a serious run at the championship this year." Rochester acquired Dawson last December in a six-player, two-draft-pick deal with the Philadelphia Wings. Dawson's brother, Paul, was also sent to Rochester in the trade. The Knighthawks went on to win the NLL championship, Dawson's first of his career. The veteran was second on the Rochester roster in regular-season scoring, then scored a team-high six playoff goals and tied for the team lead in post-season scoring. Dawson has also appeared in 179 consecutive league games, ranking fourth all-time. 25 | Friday, November 8, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Oakville native Dan Dawson (in white, pictured in action against the Toronto Rock last season) signed a sevenyear contract with the Rochester Knighthawks last week. | photo by Carlos Osorio -- Toronto Star Six local players competing in national U18 hockey tourney Lindsay Agnew got Ontario Blue's title defence off to a good start at the National Women's Under-18 Hockey Championship. Ontario Blue rallied from a 3-2 thirdperiod deficit with Agnew scoring the winning goal with just 52 seconds to play in a 4-3 victory over Team Atlantic. Agnew also had the game's first goal, set up by another Oakville native, Kirsten Miller. Six Oakville players are on the Ontario Blue team playing this week in Calgary. Miller, who plays for the Oakville Hornets of the Provincial Women's Hockey League, was a member of last year's championship team, which upset Ontario Red 7-1 in the semifinals before doubling Manitoba 4-2 in the final. The Oakville Trafalgar student had one goal in five games at last year's tournament. Agnew, who plays for the PWHL's Mississauga Chiefs, is the second-youngest player on Ontario Blue. Agnew and Loyola student Kristen O'Neill are the only 1998-born players on the team but O'Neill takes the honour of youngest player by three weeks. O'Neill has four goals in eight games with Stoney Creek of the PWHL. O'Neill is joined by three other Stoney Creek teammates, all from Oakville -- goalie Sarah McDonnell and forwards Madison Field and Rosie Heffernan. McDonnell made 19 saves to earn the victory in Wednesday's opening game at nationals. She has a 1.82 goals against average and a .913 save percentage in six games. Field's seven goals ranks sixth in the PWHL. Heffernan has a goal and three assists in eight games. Ontario Blue faces British Columbia Thursday and Quebec Friday. Playoff games start Saturday with medal games on Sunday. Keeper Edgar was only player to score in shootout for Western continued from p.24 who led off for the Mustangs and impressed her former teammate. "She had a very well-placed kick, right in the bottom left corner," Farano said. "I'd never seen (a keeper take a penalty kick) before. She never did that in high school. She was just the one that saved them." Another Holy Trinity grad, Julie Maheu, was also a member of Laurier's OUA championship team. The OUA first-team all-star was Laurier's most dangerous player in the final, figuring prominently in all of Laurier's best scoring chances during regulation time. In the second half, Maheu got behind the defence and slipped the ball past Edgar but just wide, then headed a return pass over the net. Farano later set up Maheu for a good chance but Edgar came sliding out of the net to corral the ball before Maheu could get to it. Laurier finished second to Western (11-0-5) in the OUA West Division with a 9-3-4 record, then went 3-0 in the playoffs. Both Laurier and Western advanced to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport tournament, which began yesterday (Thursday) in Toronto. Edgar hoped Western could rebound from its first loss of the season. "We still have a chance to win the big one," the Western keeper said. "Maybe it was good to get that first loss out of the way. I'm sure whoever wins nationals won't even remember OUAs." Oakville's Emma Ostermeier is also playing in the national tournament with the host University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Mauve Friday is Coming. Black Friday will never be the same.