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S Sports By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011 19 Sr. Hawks' k ' first f loss l doesn't mean much King beat Corpus Christi, and Christ the King didn't make the playoffs. One through eight is wide, wide Notre Dame's visit to Loyola open. Scratch whatever you saw for Monday had all the makings of a the last month and a half." The playoffs start tomorrow heavyweight championship bout. It was a showdown of the two top (Thursday) with quarter-final matchteams in Halton senior girls' basket- ups of Notre Dame (11-1) home to Corpus Christi, Loyola ball, fighting it out for (11-1) hosting Bishop first place in the league "There's so much Reding, Oakville standings on the final parity in the league, Trafalgar (7-5) travelday of the regular sea- the difference ing to Abbey Park and son. between first and Holy Trinity enterBut, in the end, it taining Nelson (7-5). didn't mean a hill of second (place) is splitting hairs." Irish guard Angela beans. Cutaia, part of the That's what both Notre Dame team sides were saying, at Notre Dame senior girls' that won provincial least, after Notre coach Mike Johnston silver two years ago, is Dame's 48-34 win over the Hawks that ended Loyola's quest looking forward to the competition. "The last couple years, it's always for an unbeaten season and enabled the Irish to finish first in the Tier 1 been Notre Dame," the 17-year-old said. "Now, it could be anyone. There standings. "This isn't (our) first rodeo. We are five teams that could possibly know the playoffs is a second sea- win the league. "It's challenging, right? It's borson," said Notre Dame head coach Mike Johnston, who has led the ing when you're on a team that's Irish to six straight Halton champi- (way better than everyone else). You want to be challenged." onships. NOTES: Cutaia led all scorers "We just see it as the slate being wiped clean and restarting. There's Monday with 28 points. She and so much parity in the league, the Siobhan Manning (18 points) comdifference between first and second bined to score all but two of Notre Dame's points. "It's not something I (place) is splitting hairs." worry about, but you want more balThere's no disputing that. Notre Dame and Loyola might ance than that," Johnston said... appear to be clear-cut favourites Loyola struggled with Notre Dame's after both finished the year with full-court press in the first half, 11-1 records (the Irish technically turning over the ball with regularity. finished first because of its head-to- "We passed the ball to them more head win over the Hawks), but nei- than we passed to ourselves," ther team can afford to look ahead Juzenas said... Both coaches said to next week's finals at Sheridan they didn't want to show too much of their playbooks in case they meet College. Not when you consider that the again in the playoffs. "I think we did 8-4 Holy Trinity Titans handed Notre a good job of not showing them Dame its lone loss of the season and anything, whether or not that was only the Irish's third defeat in the intentional," Juzenas laughed. past six years. Or that the 8-4 Abbey Meanwhile, Johnston isn't worried Park Eagles lost at Notre Dame by that he showed the Hawks his fulljust three points. Or that Loyola court press. "We've got more that beat eighth-place Corpus Christi we're working on," he said... Sam Pocrnic (16) and Emily Wilk (nine) (5-7) by just four. "The parity is unbelievable," were the Hawks' top scorers Loyola coach Alana Juzenas said. "I Monday. think Assumption beat Holy Trinity -- Jon Kuiperij can be followed d in a tournament, and Assumption on Twitter at @Beaversports didn't make the playoffs. Christ the Pink passion ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER GRIDIRON GRIP: T.A. Blakelock Tigers player Richie Panton (with ball) tries to break the tackle of Abbey Park Eagles defender Greg Piper during last week's Halton junior football contest at Bronte Athletic Field. Both teams wore pink on their jerseys in support of breast cancer awareness, while Toronto Argonauts offensive lineman Taylor Robertson was also in attendance. Blakelock won the game, 31-0. Five locals at U18 hockey nationals Five Oakville players have been named to the Ontario teams that will represent the province at the national under-18 women's hockey championship, which begins today (Wednesday) in Saguenay, Quebec. Blueliner Melissa Channell and forward Kristyn Capizzano will be members of Ontario Red, while suiting up for Ontario Blue will be Bryanna Neuwald, Hannah Bale and Sydney McKibbon. Channell has attended national team training camps. She plays for the Burlington Barracudas of the Provincial Women's Hockey League. She has nine assists in eight games this season. Capizzano plays for Mississauga of the PWHL. The 16-year-old Appleby College student has four goals and 10 points in nine games for the undefeated Chiefs. She had 20 goals in 35 games last season. Neuwald, a Grade 12 student at T.A. Blakelock, is a teammate of Capizzano's with Mississauga. Both were members of the Chiefs' OWHA championship team last season. Neuwald has a goal and four assists in nine games this season with Mississauga. Bale and McKibbon are teammates with Stoney Creek of the PWHL. McKibbon, the Sabres' captain has three goals and five assists in eight games this season. The 16-year-old had 29 points in 35 games last season. Bale, a 17-year-old rookie with the Sabres, has two goals and four assists in eight games. Ontario Red opens the eight-team tournament against Manitoba at 5 p.m. today, while Ontario Blue meets Quebec at 8 p.m. Ontario has won the championship in each of the six under-18 championships, which was first held in 2001. Ontario Red has won the last five, since Ontario started sending two entries. The two Ontario squads met in the final at the last championship in 2009.