Oakridge Aeros Bantam B Team defeated the Brampton Rockets Bantam Team  3-1 in the final game of round robin play to gain entry to the finals as first place team. In the championship

On the weekend of Dec. 4-6, our eleven year-old boys and their families travelled to Toronto to play in the Toronto Royals Challenge Cup. With twelve teams in the A Division, we knew we had a hard road to get to the semi-finals. Two victories on Friday over the Caledon Hawks and Whitby Wildcats put Oakridge closer to their goal. A tie on Saturday against the North Toronto Wild put them in top spot in their division and set them up for a semi-final game on Sunday morning against the Port Credit Storm.

The Storm jumped out to an early two-goal lead but Oakridge battled back to take a 6-3 win and a berth in the finals.

The other finalists were the Caledon Hawks who were keen on avenging their loss to us earlier in the round-robin. An early goal by Caledon set us briefly back on our heels but we dug deep and poured on the offence for a 5-1 victory.

Following the game, Head Coach Shaun Pow summed up the weekend: "I'm proud of the boys for two reasons - first, we had a lot of fun and second, the boys played their most consistent hockey of the season. This will really boost their confidence for our upcoming games in the Constellation AA loop."

 On November 13-15, 2009 the Oakridge Aeros Bantam Tier 1 team participated in the Strathroy Olympics.  The format consisted of a round robin leading to a gold and bronze medal game on the Sunday.  Strathroy, Tillsonburg, Essex and North were the other teams in our division.  We played well enough to win game one 4-2 over Essex.  Game two against North resulted in a 1-0 victory.  The team then faced a solid Strathroy team whose hard work and discipline earned them a 3-0 victory over us.

Game four was crucial.  We faced Tillsonburg who had soundly beaten us in a previous tournament. The game was an opportunity to step up and redeem ourselves.  The team played hard in the first period but fell behind 2-0.  Undaunted the guys came out flying in the second.  Perry opened up the scoring on a goal assisted by Nick and Mike.  Mike then added the tying goal on a pass from Tyler.  Thomas then gave us the go ahead goal with Garret assisting.  The team pulled together defensively and held off Tillsonburg in the third to win the game and secure a spot in the Gold Medal Final against Strathroy.

Solid performances by our goalies, Mat and Austin, kept us in the competition.
Strathroy saw a different Oakridge Team in the final.  Everyone contributed in a solid team effort.  Perry opened the scoring in the first period with Matt assisting.  Strathroy responded with a power play goal in the second.  The third period resolved nothing and into overtime we went.  Mat Staikos was solid in goal to give us the opportunity to win. On the first shift of the extra period defenseman Jordan took control of the puck and rushed deep into the offensive zone.  His drive to get the puck to the front of the net resulted in a bounce off a defender's leg with the puck ending up behind the goalie securing the gold medal for Oakridge.

Congratulations to: Goalies:  Austin, Mat, Players:  Jordan, Jason, Mitchell, Jake, Dylan, Tyler, Keifer, Mike, Ryan, Thomas, Garret, Nick, Matt, Daniel and Perry.

The Oakridge Minor Novice team entered the annual Bob Stark tournament on November 14/15.  Our team started the tournament game facing the Kitchener Rangers.  It was a fast paced game and the Aeros demonstrated their strong offensive and defensive game, ending in a tight game and big win for Oakridge.  With some strong momentum in place, the Aeros finished day one of the tournament with their second decisive win against the Kitchener Mighty Ducks.   

Day two started with the Minor Novice team facing Credit Valley and maintaining their winning streak. Excitement and expectations were high as the Minor Novice team advanced to the championship game.  With over 12 years in the making, this could be the big win the Oakridge Aeros Novice have been working toward and waiting for.  The puck dropped and the Aeros sprung into action!  Our opponents, the Cambridge Hawks, were on their defensive game; however it wasn’t enough to keep the Oakridge Minor Novice team from capturing another win with a shut-out showing, and the Bob Stark tournament Championship title!   Congratulations players, coaches, and parents.  Victory is sweet!