The U15 Oakville Rangers have made history with their win over the Niagara North Stars on Saturday night. They became the first team in nearly a decade to go undefeated in the regular season.
The team finished their regular season with 32 wins and no losses or ties and is the top team in their league.
The record-clinching game was something that I had never seen for a AAA hockey game.
The parking lot at Trafalgar Park Community Center was completely packed. I needed to park next door at Lions Pool.
It seemed like everyone in the entire town showed up to support these players on their road to this perfect season.
The Rangers also turned the game into a Teddy Bear toss game for charity. After the first Rangers goal, fans threw their newly bought teddy bears onto the ice.
Fans could throw their Teddy Bears early on in the game as Oakville scored just 52 seconds into the game to grab an early 1-0 lead.
Near the end of the period, Niagara tied the game at 1-1.
In the second period, Oakville took the lead back to make the game 2-1.
Then for the rest of the game, Oakville tried and tried to get another goal, but Niagara’s goaltender stood firm and denied Oakville a chance at extending their lead.
But luckily for the Rangers, the team kept the pressure on the North Stars in the third period, playing most of the third frame in the Niagara zone.
Oakville drained out the clock to capture a perfect season.
Rangers coach Micheal Derenzis spoke on his team's success, saying, “It’s a great accomplishment. The guys worked really hard this season. It’s very well deserved.” He continued, “That’s part one, and part two is that they have to continue through the playoffs.”
Derenzis also spoke about the importance of the community's support throughout the season.
“The support has been outstanding. We thank the fans big time. We thank our organization. It’s been incredible…I couldn’t be more thankful for the town.”
The Rangers now look to the playoffs and hope to bring home a league championship.