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SKATING HOCKEY Schizas skates to Winter Games gold HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com The off-season is a crit­ ical time for a skater. While considered a winter sport, it is the summer months when skaters work on per­ fecting new skills and de­ veloping and learning their programs for the com ing season. Although she'll be mak­ ing the jum p from the nov­ ice ranks to jun ior next season, Maddie Schizas will have less time to pre­ pare than ever before. And the Oakville skater is OK with that. Schizas had already ex­ tended her competition season by qualifying for the national cham pion­ ships, where she finished sixth. But the M ilton Skat­ ing Club mem ber tacked another six weeks on to her season by also qualifying for the Ontario Winter Games. She capped a strong season in Orillia by winning the gold medal in the novice women's divi­ sion. "The season went really well," the 14-year-old said. "I'm proud o f how I skated. I made a lot o f progress." Schizas scored a 40.39 in her short program, putting her in a virtual tie with Gloucester's Emmanuelle Proft, who led with a 40.44. Skating last in the free skate, Schizas knew exact­ ly what she needed to se­ cure the gold. Despite a fall in her pro­ gram, she earned the top score o f 73.78 - one o f only two skaters to top the 70 mark - to take the gold. Though her scores for her short program and free skate were both slightly be­ low scores earned earlier in the season, they com ­ bined to give her a new per­ sonal best total score of 114.17. With the new season just four months away, Schizas is looking forward to expanding on what she accom plished this seaso- n."I was a lot better on spins this year. They were a Danielle Earle photo Maddie Schizas scored a personal best of 114.17 to earn the gold medal in the novice women's division at the Ontario Winter Games. lot more consistent," the White Oaks student said. "I enjoy doing the summer competitions. It's going to be a challenge, but I have to continue to get better and improve." 47 Kellenberger, Jackson brothers among OJHL honourees Matthew Kellenberger made the jump from prospect to all-star in his second sea­ son with the Oakville Blades. Kellenberger was one of two Blades who earned year- end honours from the Onta­ rio Junior Hockey League while three Oakville natives were also recognized. The 19-year-old finished second in scoring among OJHL defencemen with 51 points and his 12 goals ranked fourth, earning him a spot on the OJHL first team. The six- foot-one, 175-pound defence- man has committed to Princeton University. Coming off a 10-goal, 28- point rookie season, Kellen­ berger was invited to the Vancouver Canucks develop­ ment camp in the summer. He is again eligible for the NHL draft this year and is ranked 178th among North American skaters. Joining Kellenberger on the year-end all-star team is Oakville's Jack Jeffers, who was named to the OJHL sec- Ryan McCullough photo Matthew Kellenberger was named to the Ontario Junior Hockey League first all-star team after finishing second in the league in scoring among defencemen. ond team. The 20-year-old had a career year with the Markham Royals, finishing fifth in league scoring with 79 points. Jeffers represented the league at the Eastern Canada All-Star Challenge in Novem­ ber. He also passed the 200- point mark for his OJHL ca­ reer, which has included stops in Burlington, Orange­ ville and with his hometown Blades. Oakville brothers Dylan and Ty Jackson were named to the OJHL Top Prospect first team. Dylan finished fifth in the league in goals, scoring 33 times for the St. Michael's Buzzers while adding 25 as­ sists to finish second on the Buzzers with 58 points. Ty finished tied for third on the Buzzers with 53 points (17 goals, 36 assists) The 16-year-old twins have committed to Northeastern University for the 2019-20 sea­ son. Named to the prospects second team was the Blades Thomas Maia. Building on a 35-point rookie season with the Milton IceHawks, the 17- year-old finished third on the Blades with 48 points. Maia has committed to the Roches­ ter Institute of Technology for 2019-20. YOUTH HOCKEY LEAGUE 1 OF P i Aft® H O C KE Y LE A G U E BAUER30N3.com | O akville B eaver | Thursday, M arch 29, 2018 insidehalton.com mailto:hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com