Thunder win playoff opener
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One down, 15 to go.
“Go all the way, 16 wins, that’s our ultimate goal,” said Tillsonburg Thunder veteran Terry Lammens following a 10-1 WOAA Senior Hockey playoff-opening victory over the visiting Goderich Pirates Saturday evening at the Kinsmen/Memorial Arena. “We’ve got the team for it, everyone is back, healthy and ready to go. It’s a new season, the season that counts.
“Hopefully we can go quite a ways and bring some good hockey to Tillsonburg and some fans into the building.”
The Thunder’s high expectations are based on a WOAA league-leading 21-3 record, their 42 regular season points three ahead of the North Division champion Elora Rocks, and eight up on the South loop’s second-place Tavistock Thunder.
None of those points carry over into the playoffs, but that’s not to say the regular season was for naught. Apart from the inherent confidence built on an .875 winning percentage, there is home ice advantage as long as Tillsonburg keeps playing, as well as the right to play against statistically-weaker teams, including an opening-round series with the eighth-place Pirates, 1-23 this regular season.
“I’d rather be where we are, knowing we have home ice no matter what,” said Thunder coach Jim Baxter.
“(But) you’ve still got to play them (the games). Anybody can beat anybody on a given night in sports,” he continued, referencing Edmonton Oilers’ goalie Ben Scrivens’ recent 59-save shutout victory over the San Jose Sharks.
The closest statistical similarity between that game and Saturday’s at the Kinsmen/Memorial Arena was the fact Pirates goalies Keith Columba and Tyler Koot faced a combined 54 shots, 10 of which found the back of the net as pre-game ‘on-paper’ predictions played out on the ice.
“We’ve got to stay on track, stay focussed and keep playing as a team in order to keep this rolling,” said Tillsonburg’s Adam Wallace, who opened scoring at the game’s 1:32 mark.
The Thunder led just 2-0 after a period however, and without timely saves from Tillsonburg goalie Cody Vinnai, Goderich could have finished with five or six goals, said Wallace.
“You can’t take a team lightly,” he said. “We’ve got to work and stay focussed and keep trying to win these games.”
Wallace finished with a hat trick to pace a balanced ‘roll all four lines’ Thunder attack, Adam Vandepoele, Travis Horvath, Kevin Galerno, Lammens and Cody Chute added a goal and an assist apiece, Pat Ouellet a goal, Nathan Peacock, Jordan Skinner and Shane Balcomb a pair of helpers apiece and Devin Homick, Brad Streib, Tyler Lamb and Curtis Maracle one assist each.
Baxter looks to continue to work on things as the series progresses, avoiding bad habits, injuries and suspensions, through staying away from any extra-curriculars.
“We don’t need it,” he said.
Games two and three are scheduled to be played in Goderich this Friday and Saturday, both with 8:30 p.m. opening faceoffs. The best-of-seven series returns to Tillsonburg Friday, February 14 for an 8:30 p.m. start, with game five, if necessary, Saturday, February 15 at the Kinsmen/Memorial Arena beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Tavistock has a 1-0 lead over the Milverton 4WheelDrives in the second vs. seventh bracket; the Komoka Classics lead Monkton Wildcats 2-0 in the third vs. sixth matchup; and potentially of particular interest to Tillsonburg, the Clinton Radars lead the Petrolia Squires 2-0 in their fourth vs. fifth opening-found set.
Baxter is primarily focussed on just one team however.
“We’ll worry about next series, next series.”
In the meantime, Baxter would greatly prefer an opening-round sweep in order to rest up and prepare, rather than an extended battle.
“If it comes to it, it comes to it, but we’d rather win four straight and be out of here.”