Mar 06, 2016 | Dave Duncan | 1093 views
EXCITING TIMES!!!!!!!! (part 1)
I was asked the other night where my articles had gone.......the pace and excitement of playoff hockey had left me delinquent in updates. With a couple days off, and excitement building, it is time to catch up.
Way back in September, the coaching staff told these guys they had something special here, if the could grasp two concepts, they could go a long way......the concepts were effort and discipline. Six months later, the boys are realizing that potential.
After an incredible regular season that saw the Sailors go 12-1-1 and finish first in the WOAA Division 3, the Sailors earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Their first opponent would be against South Bruce in the WOAA Midget AE4 Finals. Game 1 was at the Maitland Rec Centre, and the Sailors came out flying, taking an 8-1 lead half way through the game. South Bruce wouldn't roll over, and started mounting a comeback, but the Sailors held on for a 9-5 win. Game 2 was in Teeswater, and proved to be more of a defensive battle. South Bruce held a 1-0 lead after two periods, but the Sailors scored three unanswered goals in the third, for a 3-1 win. Game 3 was back in Teeswater, and saw the Sailors see their first set back a 5-3 loss. Game 4 was a night to forget, the Sailors didn't have their trademark jump, and suffered a humbling loss on home ice, 7-1. This set up a deciding game 5, in Mildmay. Determination and effort were key, and the Sailors prevailed 5-3, claiming the WOAA AE4 title, and earning a berth in the OMHA Quarter-finals.
The quarter-final opponent would prove to be Shelburne. Game 1 was on the road, and started to look like a repeat of game one of the previous series. The Sailors held a 6-1 lead late in the second, before Shelburne started taking some cheap shots. The game ended in a 7-2 Sailor win. Game 2 was at Memorial arena, and was a spiritted affair to say the least. Shelburne won 5-4, in overtime, in a penalty-filled game that included 32 minutes in penalties to one Shelburne player in just over two periods. Game 3 saw another trip to Shelburne, for a 3-1 Sailor win, while this win allowed the Sailors to go home up 2 games to 1, it cost them Ryan Lynch, a heart and soul kid that often set the pace for the Sailors. Ryan was taken down from behind, and suffered a broken leg. Game 4 was played in front of a big crowd at the MRC. The Sailors played a hard-working disciplined game, using Ryan's injury as incentive, and closed the door on Shelburne with a 6-1 win, advancing them to the OMHA semi-finals.