The great philosopher Frederick Mills once said, “Coyotes never say die.”
And true to these wise words the 23-24 version of the Valley Varmints have done just that.
Sports has all kinds of “measuring sticks” to rate an athlete’s performance. Hockey has a radar gun to estimate the speed of a slapshot, the same for baseball and the 100 mph fastball that some pitchers can throw. The 4.4-second 40 yard dash for wide receivers in football and lastly the 28 inch vertical leap for basketball players. But one thing a radar gun or a stopwatch can’t measure is the size of a player’s heart.
On top of being down 2-0 in the series they were down 4-0 15 minutes into the first period in Game 3. In that situation most teams would have thrown in the towel, but not this team. They battled back to win that game plus the next two.
A Game 6 loss didn’t seem to faze them leading to a Game 7 tilt at home in front of a capacity crowd where they pulled off a 6-2 win to take the series.
“They played at a higher level than I have seen them play all year,” said general manager Tom Macham. “They were blocking shots, being first to the puck. They were a very focused group in the room prior to the game. The next series will be a grind but the boys are up to it.”
If a Game 7 is required in the semi- final it will be held in Shelburne at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19.
Macham has been frustrated at not being able to secure home ice for the final games in the series causing the team to take a loss at the gate.
Game 6 in Port Elgin
Saugeen 6 vs Creemore 2
Scoring for Creemore were Jordan Taylor and JD Falconer
Game 7 in Creemore
Creemore 6 vs Saugeen 2
Goal scorers for Creemore were Kris Dobinson, Dan Atkinson, Jacob Vanderzaag with a pair, including the game winning goal, Ben Hughes with one (for a total of six in the series), and Trevor Franklin with his first ever Senior AA goal.
Mason Kameka with his fourth win in the playoffs
The semi final series with Minto starts on March 2 in Creemore.
Shoot the puck winner: Jude Zwygers, $20 gift card to Creemore Home hardware
50/50 winner: Blair Angus $840. Attendance: 435
Semi-final playoff schedule
- Game 1
Saturday, March 2, 7:30 p.m. @Creemore - Game 2
Saturday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. @Creemore - Game 3
Sunday, March 10, 2:30 p.m. @Minto - Game 4
Friday, March 15, 8:30 p.m. @Minto - Game 5
Saturday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. @Creemore - Game 6
Sunday, March 17, 3:30 p.m. @Minto - Game 7
Tuesday, March 19, 8 p.m. @Shelburne