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Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell Broker of Record 905-844-4444 B R O K E R A G E I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2008 34 Taylor hopes Blades can make hockey fun again Forward returns to hometown club after sour OHL experience By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR L iving away from home, enduring long bus rides and receiving limited ice time in the Ontario Hockey League was sucking the fun out of hockey for Brendan Taylor. The 19-year-old is looking to rediscover his passion for the sport with the Oakville Blades, his hometown junior club that he played with three years ago. Taylor rejoined the Blades last weekend, scoring twice in his first game back to help the Blades to a 6-3 victory over the Milton IceHawks Friday in Milton -- a debut that surprised even him. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot out of (last) weekend. I hadn't played a game since March," said the forward. "It took me a little time to get into it, but it was nice to get a couple goals." After scoring 10 goals and 25 points as a rookie with the Peterborough Petes in 200607, Taylor struggled last year following a trade to the Belleville Bulls. He scored three times in 26 games with the Bulls and was dealt to the Saginaw Spirit last December, where he tallied three more times in 30 contests. Rather than return to Michigan this season, Taylor chose not to report to the Spirit. He received interest from several other OHL squads but, after skating with the Blades in preseason workouts, decided he wanted to play Tier 2 junior again. Wanted to play for contender "I had some opportunities to go to (OHL) teams that were rebuilding, but I felt I wanted to play for a competitive team. And that was here," Taylor said. "I didn't want to go to another bottom-feeder. Skating here this summer, I had a lot of fun, and that was the biggest reason for coming here." Blades head coach and general manager Carlo Coccimiglio is familiar with Taylor. Coccimiglio was an assistant coach with DEREK WOOLLAM / OAKVILLE BEAVER BACK IN TOWN: Brendan Taylor (left) returned to the Oakville Blades last weekend after deciding not to report to the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit this season. The 19-year-old forward scored twice in his debut against the Milton IceHawks Friday. Oakville three years ago when Taylor scored one of the biggest goals of the Blades' playoff run, converting a penalty shot in overtime to beat the heavily-favoured IceHawks. "I know his character and what he can bring to the table," Coccimiglio said. "I knew his situation in Saginaw last year. Now it's up to him to turn his career around. It's up to him how much time he wants to put into the game right now. If he decides to play, he can be an asset for us." Current Blades Luke Moodie and Julian Cimadamore were also teammates of Taylor three years ago, and Taylor played with a few other Blades players as a youngster. "I know quite a few of them," said Taylor. "From what I've seen so far, they have the ability to do what they did last year (winning the Provincial Junior A Hockey League and Central Canadian championships) and more." The Blades appear to be on course so far this year, improving to 8-1 on the season with the victory in Milton and a 6-5 triumph over the Brampton Capitals the following night at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Moodie had a goal and two assists against the IceHawks, while Ryan Murphy, Mark Bennett and Kellan Lain also tallied. Braden Birch and Taylor Farris each contributed two helpers. Versus Brampton, Dustin Alcock broke a 5-5 tie in the final minute of regulation with his second goal of the game. Kyle Badham, Birch, Murphy and Moodie had the other Oakville goals, with Jeremy Welsh and Lain both recording a pair of assists. Ian O'Brien stopped 58 of 66 shots over the weekend to earn both victories in goal. Despite earning 16 points in nine games, the Blades currently sit third in the Ontario Junior Hockey League's Mackinnon Division. The Mackinnon leaders, the Georgetown Raiders (8-2-1-1), will travel to Joshua's Creek Arenas Friday for a 7:30 p.m. clash. Oakville will visit the Streetsville Derbys Sunday to conclude a two-game weekend. NOTES: Cimadamore did not play last weekend, nursing a sore thigh. He skated at Monday's practice and might return against Georgetown... Forwards Steven Guzzo and Matt Ribeiro, who suffered concussions on back-to-back nights last month, are not expected back for a while. Guzzo visited his teammates Saturday for the first time since sustaining a Grade 2 concussion Sept. 26. "We were happy to see him," said Coccimiglio, who is concerned Guzzo might miss the rest of the year. "He's wellmissed by everybody."... Moodie holds the early-season team scoring lead, totaling eight goals and nine assists in the first nine games. Murphy and Lindsay Sparks both have 15 points, Welsh has 14 points and Farris -- a defenceman -- has 11 assists... Badham has already exceeded his goal total from last year, when he played nearly the entire season. The bruising winger has five goals in the first nine games this season after netting three markers in 47 games last year. He also leads the team in penalty minutes (26). 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