HERE WE GO AGAIN

Well what a playoff series that was hey! The six games that was the Addison Division semi-final between the Winkler Flyers and Waywayseecappo Wolverines was probably everything you could have asked for as a hockey fan, no matter who you were cheering for. Six very exciting and hard fought games. Five of the six were decided by a single goal (game 6 had an empty netter so let’s count that one too). Four of the first five games went to overtime, one of them to double overtime and one more to triple overtime. You weren’t sure who was going to win the game until the final goal was scored or the buzzer went at the end of the third period. Now that is playoff hockey and it was only the first round!!!!

I remember when the Flyers clinched the regular season division title in their final game of the season, and a date with the Wolverines was on the agenda I was a little scared and very happy all at the same time. Scared, because the Wolverines were a team down the stretch that were beating everybody and that success could very well keep going in the playoffs. On the other side of the coin, I was happy because I knew that the Flyers would have to battle extremely hard and work as a complete team in order to get past them.

Now for my sake and for the sake of all you Flyer fans out there I am very glad that the second part came true. The Flyers playoff theme of “Fight for the Inch” was exactly how that series went. How many funny goals were scored that turned the tide in the game. How many posts were hit with the game on the line. How many big saves were made at exactly the right time. All of those things go in very different directions if the puck or the player are an inch or two in a different spot.

I think the series the Flyers had to go through will be very good for them when you look at what they have in store next. The Wolverines had such a tenacious and hard working style that it makes you realize how much you need to be on the ball all the time. You need to make every shot and pass count. You need to always pay attention around your own net because chances are there is a Wolverine or two right there. All six games were so tight that each and every goal had huge implications. In my opinion, the Wolverines were the perfect team to play in the first round (providing you get the win haha).

The term “Battle Tested” has been used by a few people around the dressing room and I think that is what the Flyers are now. Now I know the Steelers are a very tough team to beat. The Flyers were only able to do it three times in nine tries this season. But, the Flyers two wins in Selkirk in the final month of the regular season weren’t necessarily the most intense games ever. By all accounts the series between the Steelers and Saints wasn’t nearly as vigorous as the Flyers/Wolverines series was, so can Selkirk turn it on just like that and get to the level where the Flyers have been since game one of the playoffs. My answer to that is probably yes.

The Flyers/Steelers rivalry is where its at in the Addison Division. This series will be the fifth year in a row that these two teams have met in the playoffs. However, the previous four years it was the Addison Division semi-final with both teams winning twice. These two clubs like each other as much as Saskatchewan Roughrider fans like Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans (*note to my American readers, just switch the teams to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers), as much as the Hatfield’s like the McCoys, as much as cats like water, as much as....ok you get my point.

What I am trying to say is, I don’t think the Steelers or the Flyers will have any trouble getting up to play a series in the playoffs. Not only that but this time the series has a division championship banner with your name on it at the end and a trip into the MJHL final being awarded to the winner. So this isn’t the regular Flyers vs Steelers “here we go again” playoff match-up.

Now let’s just take a little look and what some keys will be to this series. Number one is stay out of the flippin penalty box. The Steelers had by far the best power-play in the league all season long and was their bread and butter against the Flyers and every other team. The Flyers penalty-kill against the Steelers this year wasn’t really that good. Although that part of the Flyers game improved by leaps and bounds after Christmas, it was only 67.57% successful against Selkirk during the nine games they played this season.

Number two is the Flyers big guns have to be their big guns. The self titled “Platinum Line” of Jordan Neduzak, Jake Rombach and Michael Wilgosh are 1-2-3 in team scoring in the playoffs so far (they have accounted for 22 points in six games). They were involved in nearly every big goal that was scored in round one. If you needed something to happen, it was usually one of those three who was getting it done.

During the regular season it was the usual suspects of Seth Ronsberg (11 pts in 8 gp), Michael Wilgosh (10 pts in 9 gp), Chapen Leblond (9 pts in 9 gp), Jordan Neduzak (8 pts in 9 gp), and Matt Loopkey (8 pts in 9 gp) who were producing the bulk of the Flyers offensive production against Selkirk. When you throw in Brad Haber and Justin Minoletti at the trading deadline, you have five Flyers averaging over a point per game against Selkirk (*note* the Steelers only had one player average a point per game against Winkler). The struggle for Winkler this season wasn’t scoring goals per say, it was keeping them out of their own net.

That is where number three comes in. The Flyers d-corps has been the foundation on which their late season run to first place was built upon. The improvement shown from the beginning until now has been quite amazing. The additions of Haber and Minoletti added to an already good set of defenseman in the middle of January. Led by Captain Troy Kliever, the Flyers have taken a lot of pride in the play in their own end the season half of the season and especially in round one against the Wolverines.

However, the blue-line is not entirely healthy at the moment which does worry me slightly. Steve Sorensen and Justin Minoletti didn’t play a whole lot in round one and their status for round two is still up in the air. Having a healthy back end would make me a lot more at ease but what are you gonna do right? But they always say that misery for some is an opportunity for others and the injuries to the previously mentions duo has allowed players like Mick Bruce, Nate Jose, and Brett Cote to shine. Those three rookies are playing like anything but. It crucial moments, double or even triple overtime, there they are getting a regular shift and making the play when it needs to be made. But they are going to be pressed a little bit more this time around as the Steelers have a lot more fire power than the Wolverines did and you will need to be on your toes when a Steeler has the puck in your zone.

And finally, number four....goaltending. It has been a lot of fun this season to watch the tandem of Peter Alexander and Reed Peters. Despite a little blip on the screen during some parts of this past season by both guys, the duo of Pete and Peters has been rock steady. No matter who John Marks decides to put in the goal that day, the Flyers know they are going to get a good performance from their netminder. In the four games that Alexander played against Wayway he had a 3-1 record, a 1.62 GAA and a .955 save percentage. Now how nuts are those numbers. And the two games that Reed played he was 1-1 with a 2.40 GAA and a .928 save percentage. So that isn’t shabby either.

However, during the regular season Reed had the better numbers against Selkrik, by quite a bit actually. Reed went 3-3 against Selirk with a 2.93 GAA and a .929 save percentage. Alexander was 0-3 with a 5.51 GAA and a .860 save percentage. But, to Alexander’s defense he had all the starts at the beginning of the year when the Steelers were on fire and the Flyers weren’t playing very well. But that was then and this is now. Both Pete and Peters are hot so I am sure that whoever Coach Marks decides to tap on the shoulder on Friday night when do just fine.

So to sum up. The key to beating Selkirk is stay out of the penalty box, score lots of goals, take care of your own zone, and don’t let them score. Simple enough eh? Well I wish it was. But this series i figure will be another beauty.

Winkler vs Selkirk in the Addison Division Final...you couldn’t ask for much more.