Kyle Potts scored on a goalmouth scramble
with 45 seconds left in overtime as the Oakville Rangers Midget AAA team qualified
for the OMHA championships with a 3-2, game five, semifinal win over the Halton
Hurricanes.
The Rangers finished the season in third place and went 2-0-2 in the recent SCTA qualifier in Fort Erie to set up the match-up with the Hurricanes, who had the edge in regular season play against Oakville.
Coach Mike Bentivegna on the win; ”Playing Halton was a roller coaster. We won games 2 and 3 of the series with our best defensive efforts of the season. Every line contributed offensively, and did their part in our own end. After losing game 4, the 5th game was a microcosm of the whole series. We struggled to start the game, went up 2-0 only for Halton to score late to tie it 2-2. We were outplayed in overtime but the players never quit and ended up scoring an ugly goal to win.”
“I was so proud of all the boys and they showed a lot of character not quitting when most players in their situation would have.”
The Rangers will play in this weekend’s OMHA Midget AAA championships in Whitby, along with the host Wildcats, last year’s champs the Ajax-Pickering Raiders, the Richmond Hill Coyotes and the Brampton 45s from the SCTA.
Members of the team are goalies Mario Cavaliere and Lucas Ricci, defencemen Brayden Sampson, Louie Del Sordo, Devyn Mayea, Justin Richard, Kyle Kolwich and Steve Jang, and forwards Blake LeVarno, Connor Droog, Will MacQueen, Kyle Potts, Dom Evangelista, Nick Leshuk, Zack Ribau, Craig McCormick, Colt Jaime, Dayton Saunders and Cole Buchan.
Mike Bentivegna is head coach, with assistants Rob Bentivegna, Chris Wardlaw and Brad Putnam. Shelby Stableford is the team’s trainer.
Photo below - Players pile on Kyle Potts after scoring the overtime winner!
Photo below - Team photo after 3-2 overtime win.
