ODSS FORWARD Candice Styles leads another rush down ice in CWOSSA playdown action against Bluevale at the Tony Rose Arena on Wednesday afternoon. Photo/MIKE MALONEY A day later than originally planned and without having settled their District 10 title against CCVI, the ODSS Bears Girls hockey team kicked off a drive for a CWOSSA title with a win over Waterloo Collegiate on Wednesday morning.

Having been forced to sit out the last week due to inclement weather, the Bears didn't take long to shake off the rust.

With Kayleigh Tahk backstopping for ODSS, Orangeville held off a late Waterloo rally and notched an empty net goal in the final seconds of regulation time to win their opener 6-4.

Later in the day, they were back on the ice again, this time up against the Bluevale Knights.

A powerplay late in the first allowed Bluevale to jump out to an early one goal lead but ODSS responded in kind less than a minute later, when Candice Styles raced down the sideline to send the squads into the second tied at 1-1.

ODSS continued to press the attack but a stubborn Knights cager refused to give any ground to the Orangeville snipers.

Through the balance of two and three, ODSS con- trolled much of the play but at the end of regulation time, the score remained deadlocked at 1-1 forcing the teams, each tired and running on adrenaline, into suddendeath overtime.

Midway through the extra frame, ODSS looked poised to steal the game away when Jen Ward was hauled down on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot.

Driving straight in on Knights Katie Jamieson, Ward tried to stuff the puck beneath Jamieson to no avail.

With no scoring in OT, it came down to a shootout to decide the winner.

Both Styles and Ward managed to score for Orangeville while Tahk held her ground in the ODSS goal, allowing only one goal to lift ODSS to the 3-2 win.

Action resumes Thursday morning when the Bears will play in the semi-final at 10:30 then either advance to the CWOSSA gold medal game on the Tony Rose A rink or bronze medal game in the B rink, both starting at 1:30 p.m.