The Oaks, making their debut in the Kitchener and District Soccer League while bringing back the storied Oaks handle, had the lion’s share of possession and of chances in the season opening KDSL game for both local teams.

But with a couple of minutes to go before the final whistle and the game still tied 0-0, the Rangers’ Richard Grzesik scored to give his team a 1-0 victory and the full three points.

The Oaks won’t have much time to lick their wounds. They’re back at it tonight (Tuesday) when they host Hrvat at 7 p.m. at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.

Hrvat, from Kitchener, opened with a 5-0 win over Fergus-based FEDS on Friday.

The Rangers are in Kitchener on Wednesday night to take on the Polish Eagles, who opened their season with a 2-0 win over Stratford City.

Lourdes won the District 10 senior girls soccer game 4-2.

For high school scores, see the print edition of the Tribune.

Guelph Storm fans were caught off guard last week when it was announced that Scott Walker had become a full partner with the local Ontario Hockey League team.

He joins Rick Gaetz and Rick Hoyle as majority owners while John Heeley retains his minority share.

It certainly creates an interesting dynamic between Walker, who will remain as head coach, and general manager Mike Kelly.

Until last week, Kelly was Walker’s boss, now it’s Walker who has the last word along with his co-owners. But both Walker and Kelly are confident things will work out just fine.

“I’m happy that Mike is doing (the GM job), I don’t want to be that busy,” said Walker who has an eight-year-old and 10-year-old at home.

“Mike is extremely busy with a ton of work. People who know me know that if I was GM I’d give 110 per cent, and to do that I’d almost have to give up watching my kids grow up because that is how much work there is to do. I’m thrilled Mike is going to remain. I think it would be unfair to the team, the fans, the other owners and myself (if I did both jobs). I told my fellow owners that right now it’s the way it has to be.”

Kelly gave Walker his big break back into hockey. After being retired just a few months, Kelly rolled the dice on the novice coach and gave him a chance that few others would have. Kelly even fought the league to allow veteran head coach Bill Stewart to be behind the bench so he could lend his coaching experience when it came to practice and game situations.

It turns out that Kelly’s instincts were right as Walker did a nice job last year helping a very young team learn how to compete on every shift, something that will pay huge dividends down the road.

“Everything in this world is about relationships,” said Kelly. “I’m secure enough in what I do and what I have to do and I trust Scott is smart enough to know that he’ll have the coaching hat on at one time and the ownership hat at another time. We will keep the players, the team and the community first because that is what we’re all here for.”

“To be honest, I never even thought about this (new arrangement) being an awkward position,” said Walker. “Mike and I have always had conversations about things. I’m sure even last year he wouldn’t make the biggest trade of his life without coming to me to discuss it. Whether we agree on everything isn’t important, it’s that we both speak our minds and talk things out that makes our relationship work.”

There will no doubt be times where the line blurs but I honestly believe Walker and Kelly when they say they’re going into this with mutual respect and their eyes wide open. They really do like and respect each other. As for Walker, becoming an owner of the Storm isn’t about getting rich.

“No one likes to lose money, but if we can do O.K. and get some enjoyment out of it and develop some great kids along the way, I’ll be happy,” said coach/owner Scott Walker.

From the Land of Oz . . . This writer would love to see a New York Rangers versus Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup final. Watching former Storm players Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi of the Rangers go head to head against Dustin Brown and Drew Doughty of the Kings would be a real treat for local fans. Phoenix captain Shane Doan and a recent article on nhl.com both said they felt that after goaltenders Jonathon Quick (L.A.: 1.55 goals against average, .959 save percentage) and Mike Smith (Phoenix:1.77 GA, .950 SP entering the series), Brown was the early favourite for the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoffs MVP.

After getting just five hits in their season-opening loss, the Royals’ offence erupted for 28 hits in their next two games as they chalked up a pair of victories in Intercounty Baseball League play on the weekend.

The Royals beat Hamilton 9-2 on the road Sunday, a day after topping London 10-3 at home.

Sunday, Kevin Treichel and Sean Reilly each had two RBIs for Guelph while Jeremy Ware had three hits. Mike Goemans got the win. He pitched five innings and allowed two runs on five hits.

In Saturday’s win, played in front of about 350 fans at Hastings Stadium in Guelph, Ware had a home run and four RBIs.

Reilly and Josh Garton also went long. Bryan Boudreau got the win, pitching five innings and giving up three runs on three hits.

Andrew Van’t Wout followed him up by pitching three scoreless innings.

The Royals (2-1) visit the Brantford Red Sox (1-0) Wednesday at 8 p.m. in their first of six straight road games. Guelph’s next home game is on May 29.

Matt Pelkey scored twice for Guelph. On Friday, Jordan Godin had a whopping six goals and seven assists for Guelph in a 15-11 win over Sarnia. Thursday, Tim
Redwood had four goals while Lewis White had three goals and two assists in an 11-8 win over Owen Sound. Guelph was outshot 53-34 in the win as Craig Charteris played in net for the locals.

Guelph (5-5-0) hosts Elora (5-2-0) Thursday at 8 p.m. at Victoria Road Arena

Fraser was first place in the girls’ 200m and 400m races. Her Royals teammate Emily Bowerman also netted a pair of top-three finishes. She was second in the 200m sprint and third in the 100m hurdles.

Thirteen female student-athletes from Ross represented Ontario at the event, said to be the first ever cross-Canada invitational track and field event for high school athletes.

Local track and field athletes are currently preparing for the District 4/10 championships.

They take place Wednesday and Thursday (May 16 and 17) at St. James high school. The CWOSSA championships are May 23 to 24 in Brantford.