One down. One to go. That is the status of the Terriers opening weekend as they beat the Nanaimo Clippers 4-3 in a game that very well could have went the other way if not for the heroic efforts of Jeremy Johnson and Devon McMullen. Next up: A battle with the Steinbach Pistons to see if the Terriers can go 2-0 in the round robin of the Western Canada Cup in a quick turnaround playing the matinee game after a hard fought win last night that ended just around nine thirty in the pacific time zone. Despite the disadvantage of the quick turnaround the Terriers as well as Brooks could come out of the weekend in a commanding lead of the round robin table with both teams having a chance to go 2-0 today in their second games of the weekend.
In Steinbach the Terriers will find a red hot opponent that are currently enjoying the run of their lives after a miraculous run in the MJHL Playoffs, beating two 90+ point teams in the regular season en route to their MJHL Title. The Pistons recently moved to Steinbach after the franchise jumped around the province looking for a stable home and have seemed to have found one bringing home the franchise's first ever title to the city of Steinbach in dramatic fashion. After loading up at the trade deadline the Pistons took out the Portage Terriers with an 8-2 Game Seven win to advance to the Division Finals before defeating the heavy favorite Winnipeg Blues in six games in the Addison Division Finals. In the finals the Pistons completed the miracle run, bouncing back from a 2-1 series deficit with OT wins in Games Four/Five before finishing off the Dauphin Kings at home in Game Six to earn the title, beating two teams with nearly 30 more points than the Pistons in the regular season in the process.
Much of the Pistons run has been the work of adding veteran players at the deadline. Seven of the Pistons ten leading scorers are 92 or 93 born players giving Steinbach veteran leadership all over the ice. In goal Corey Koop was added from Neepawa at the deadline and went from being on one of the worst teams in the MJHL to backstopping the Pistons to their Cinderella run. His 12-7 playoff record and 2.46 GAA in the postseason further indicates the difference between the beginning of the season and their run now. On the blueline the Pistons best player may be Kyle Rous who scored 47 points as a defensemen this year, supplementing the Pistons three headed attack of Richard Olson, Myles Nykoluk and Justin Augert who all posted 60 plus point seasons for Steinbach this year. Beyond Koop and their three regular season leaders, Justin Dalebozik is a player to watch for the Pistons after a red hot playoffs where he finished with 10 goals and 16 assists in just 19 games to give him 26 points during their title run.
With so many red hot players who are nearing the end of their Junior careers the Pistons will be an extremely tough team to face on Sunday afternoon, especially with the Terriers playing on Saturday night against the Clippers, something that the Terriers might have to gameplan for roster wise to ensure they have the freshest legs possible to deal with a team that is now used to being favorite killers throughout the spring. Steinbach won't be the favorite in this tournament, but a team that loaded up at the deadline is trying to go as far as possible with their gamble to win now after years of trying. For now, it seems like it is paying off for the Pistons who may just benefit from peaking at the right time in a tournament where anything can happen and whoever gets hot may just have the best advantage.
Head coach Trent Cassan was happy with his team's effort last night, but did address the blown leads in a postgame interview with GX94's Benny Walchuk. "In the second we kind of sagged with the energy level a bit and we gave up a couple leads but they were one goal leads so I liked the compete level we had" said Cassan. Dawson MacAuley's performance in net last night will need to be carried over against Steinbach, the SJHL Playoff Co-MVP stopped 39 of the Clippers 42 shots including a huge toe save on Kyle Kramer in the third period to preserve the Terriers lead. The big yet athletic MacAuley showed no signs of needing to get back into his zone from his playoff performance and he will continue to be looked upon to keep the Terriers in games for the duration of this tournament.
Cassan expects a tight game against the Pistons this afternoon, mentioning that after watching them in the MJHL Playoffs that they have similar characteristics to the Terriers saying, "They have a high compete level just like us and they are a team that is just continuing to improve and believe in themselves." With wins over the Winnipeg Blues and the Dauphin Kings on their road to the WCC Cassan said that the Pistons are "very deserving" of their spot in their tournament and credited the work Paul Dyck has done in taking these Pistons from division basement dwellers last year to Turnbull Trophy winners this season. Cassan also mentioned that their tired legs from back to back games while being perceived as a disadvantage, might just work in the Terriers favor from a focus perspective, "This quick turnaround might just be a good thing for our guys to get right into things and focus on the tournament before we can get comfortable with our surroundings and get too focused on the scenery and what is around us with two quick games" mentioned Cassan.
Steinbach will have the added advantage of scouting the Terriers last night as the only team not in action in the five team tournament last night. With the tournament going forwards the aspect of scouting will become more and more crucial, but these two teams from neighboring provinces should be very familiar with each other as the old Anavet Cup rivalry between the SJHL and the MJHL will be rehashed in Nanaimo this afternoon in a crucial game. A Terriers win will separate them from the pack at 2-0 going into the final half of the round robin against Brooks and Surrey. What has been the big question mark heading into the weekend will be answered this afternoon, can the Terriers come out of their busy opening weekend unscathed? We will have to find out.
....Other WCC News and Notes. Brooks will play hosts Nanaimo tonight in the second game of Sunday's round robin action. The hosts lost 4-3 to the Terriers last night, but outshot Yorkton 42-35 and held a 3-2 lead for much of the second and third period. They will be in tough tonight against the tournament favorites in Brooks who won 4-2 over the Surrey Eagles yesterday afternoon with four different goal scorers and some incredible saves from Michael Fredrick. Fredrick was 42-2-2 in the regular season in goal for the Bandits, who have lost just seven games all season on the road to the WCC.
