What went wrong?
That question will stick with the Klippers all summer after the Yorkton Terriers held on for a 3-2 win tonight to sweep the Sherwood Conference final.
The Klippers played their best game of the series and made the Terriers work for the win, right to the wire, but that won't be any consolation to the nine players who played their last game in junior hockey.
Andrew Dommett, Johnny Calkins, Braeden Adamyk, Sanfred King, Spencer Braaten, Kurt Leedahl, John Sonntag, Cody Lund and Sean Cahill saw their junior careers end tonight.
It's a bitter pill to swallow for a group that had RBC Cup aspirations this season but couldn't get things figured out when it mattered most.
Full credit to the Terriers, who brought their A game from puck drop on Friday to the final buzzer tonight. They were the better team and now advance to their second straight SJHL final, against either La Ronge or Melfort.
As scary as La Ronge is, I like the Terriers' odds against anyone if they continue to play like they did in this series.
As for tonight's game, the Klippers were the better team off the hop but Yorkton again took a 2-0 lead to the first intermission. Riley Paterson scored the first goal at 9:50 on a rebound that Cahill bobbled, and Justin Buzzeo scored glove side off a cross-ice feed from Clarke Breitkreuz with 4:05 to play in the period.
It was looking like the same old story from the first three games.
About five minutes into the second period, with the Klippers' goalless streak sitting at 162 minutes, 22 seconds, they finally beat Devin Peters.
John Sonntag obliterated Buzzeo at one end, and that led to a quick rush the other way for Taylor Wasden, a guy who rarely gets on the scoresheet but the kind you need at playoff time. Wasden lit the lamp to get the WCEC crowd on their feet and the Klippers back in the game.
Three minutes after that, Sonntag rocked Robbie Ciolfi behind the Klipper net. Shortly after, Andrew Dommett scored his first goal of the series to tie it up.
The momentum was all on the Klippers' side at that point and they spent the next few minutes peppering Peters and the Terriers.
Just when they were getting close - stop me if you've heard this before - the Terriers struck back, with Blaine Tendler springing Buzzeo on a breakaway at 15:19. Buzzeo deked Cahill blocker side and the netminder got most of it, but it trickled in.
Yorkton carried most of the play in the third period, and Sean Cahill stood on his head to give his team a chance to draw even again. He made some massive stops, and he can be proud of the final game of his junior career.
The Klippers also had a few excellent chances, but they couldn't get one past Peters. The closest they came was with about 15 seconds left, when Sanfred King lobbed a Hail Mary toward the net from the right half-wall. The puck got through traffic and dinged the left post before bouncing off to the side.
Here's a post-game interview with Terriers coach Trent Cassan. I'll wait a day or two before getting Rockie Zinger's thoughts.
Over the next few days, I'll have a post-mortem on the blog as well as some personal news.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Better effort, same result for Klippers in Game 3
Chalk up another touchdown for the Yorkton Terriers.
Despite getting off to a much better start and carrying the play for the first 25 minutes of the game, the Klippers once again surrendered seven goals tonight in a 7-0 loss in Game 3 of the Sherwood Conference final.
The Klippers have not scored in 137 minutes, 16 seconds - dating back to Jesse Mysiorek's goal in the third period of Game 1 - and they are one loss away from elimination.
The complexion of this game changed dramatically 4:47 into the second period when a Casey Rogers giveaway in the Klipper zone went right onto the tape of Justin Buzzeo in the high slot. Buzzeo, who recorded a hat trick tonight, was untouched and ripped a shot over Justin McDonald's left shoulder to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead.
Up to that point, the Klippers had been the better team and were pressing hard to get on the board. You could almost see their game unravel after the goal as the Terriers began to pull away, leading 6-0 after 40 minutes.
In the first period, Kindersley carried the shots 13-9 and were clearly the better side, especially in the last 10 minutes, but Buzzeo and Robbie Ciolfi scored in the first seven minutes, both on skilled plays that left little chance for McDonald, to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
Devin Peters was again very good tonight, but let's be real: the Klippers had several chances that they would have scored on in the regular season. Part of the scoring problem is Peters playing well; the other is the Klippers are making him look even better by failing to finish off plays.
Part of that, without a doubt, comes from the psychological effect of being drubbed three straight times by a team that only finished three points ahead in the standings. The Klippers beat this team in their last three meetings of the regular season, all coming after the deadline pickup of Buzzeo and Boyer.
McDonald was pulled midway through the second period after Boyer scored a breakaway goal off a neutral zone turnover to make it 4-0. Perhaps Mac could have been a little better, but he should in no way be blamed for the loss. He didn't have much of a chance on the two early goals and was hung out to dry on the other two.
The total damage for Yorkton was a hatty for Buzzeo, two goals for Breitkreuz and singles for Ciolfi and Boyer.
Speaking of which, the Terriers' sixth goal bothered me. They were leading 5-0 late in the second period and had a two-man advantage for almost two full minutes after the Klippers began to lose their composure. So they throw out Boyer, Buzzeo, Breitkreuz, Ciolfi and Tendler? You be the judge.
For the Klippers, I thought the Mysiorek-Hoffman-Duzan line was their best, especially in the first period. Despite all three players being injured recently, and Hoffman clearly being less than 100% - he couldn't take face-offs or shoot the puck - the line hustled all night and created many of the team's best scoring chances. Kudos to them for continuing to battle even when the game was out of reach.
Johnny Calkins also deserves some kudos for his game tonight. He, too, was playing at far from 100% and it was obvious, as he couldn't take draws, had trouble distributing the puck and lacked speed. Yet you could see he was giving it his all throughout the game, throwing a few hits, blocking shots and hustling on the forecheck.
The challenge for the Klippers now becomes sending the series back to Yorkton for Game 5 on Friday.
Despite getting off to a much better start and carrying the play for the first 25 minutes of the game, the Klippers once again surrendered seven goals tonight in a 7-0 loss in Game 3 of the Sherwood Conference final.
The Klippers have not scored in 137 minutes, 16 seconds - dating back to Jesse Mysiorek's goal in the third period of Game 1 - and they are one loss away from elimination.
The complexion of this game changed dramatically 4:47 into the second period when a Casey Rogers giveaway in the Klipper zone went right onto the tape of Justin Buzzeo in the high slot. Buzzeo, who recorded a hat trick tonight, was untouched and ripped a shot over Justin McDonald's left shoulder to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead.
Up to that point, the Klippers had been the better team and were pressing hard to get on the board. You could almost see their game unravel after the goal as the Terriers began to pull away, leading 6-0 after 40 minutes.
In the first period, Kindersley carried the shots 13-9 and were clearly the better side, especially in the last 10 minutes, but Buzzeo and Robbie Ciolfi scored in the first seven minutes, both on skilled plays that left little chance for McDonald, to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
Devin Peters was again very good tonight, but let's be real: the Klippers had several chances that they would have scored on in the regular season. Part of the scoring problem is Peters playing well; the other is the Klippers are making him look even better by failing to finish off plays.
Part of that, without a doubt, comes from the psychological effect of being drubbed three straight times by a team that only finished three points ahead in the standings. The Klippers beat this team in their last three meetings of the regular season, all coming after the deadline pickup of Buzzeo and Boyer.
McDonald was pulled midway through the second period after Boyer scored a breakaway goal off a neutral zone turnover to make it 4-0. Perhaps Mac could have been a little better, but he should in no way be blamed for the loss. He didn't have much of a chance on the two early goals and was hung out to dry on the other two.
The total damage for Yorkton was a hatty for Buzzeo, two goals for Breitkreuz and singles for Ciolfi and Boyer.
Speaking of which, the Terriers' sixth goal bothered me. They were leading 5-0 late in the second period and had a two-man advantage for almost two full minutes after the Klippers began to lose their composure. So they throw out Boyer, Buzzeo, Breitkreuz, Ciolfi and Tendler? You be the judge.
For the Klippers, I thought the Mysiorek-Hoffman-Duzan line was their best, especially in the first period. Despite all three players being injured recently, and Hoffman clearly being less than 100% - he couldn't take face-offs or shoot the puck - the line hustled all night and created many of the team's best scoring chances. Kudos to them for continuing to battle even when the game was out of reach.
Johnny Calkins also deserves some kudos for his game tonight. He, too, was playing at far from 100% and it was obvious, as he couldn't take draws, had trouble distributing the puck and lacked speed. Yet you could see he was giving it his all throughout the game, throwing a few hits, blocking shots and hustling on the forecheck.
The challenge for the Klippers now becomes sending the series back to Yorkton for Game 5 on Friday.
Game 3 quick hits
Not much time but here are a few tidbits as we get ready for Game 3 between the Klippers and Terriers tonight at the WCEC.
- Judging by this tweet from Jordon Hoffman, the hard-working centre will be back in the line-up tonight after missing three games with an upper-body injury. That's huge for the Klippers both at even strength and on the penalty kill, which has sorely missed the Hoffman-Duzan duo of late.
- No definitive word on Johnny Calkins' status for tonight - Rockie Zinger said yesterday he would be a game time decision - but with his last junior season on the line, my guess is he'll be in if he's at all close to 100%.
- Rockie told me yesterday he had yet to decide whether Sean Cahill or Justin McDonald will get the start tonight. Cahill was shaky in both of the weekend games, and Mac has been solid in his last few appearances, including in Game 2. There's an argument to be made for either tender, and I wouldn't want to be the one making the call.
- The SJHL handed David Haaf a one-game suspension on Sunday for taking his third instigator penalty of the season. It happened in Game 2 when Haaf went after Kyle McLeod to defend a teammate after a questionable hit. Losing Haaf is a blow to the Klippers, as he's been very solid over the last couple of months. Zane Morin will move back to the blueline, but it's not clear if he will take Haaf's spot across from John Sonntag.
- Riley Down will serve the second game of his suspension for a head hit on McLeod in Game 1. If the Klippers don't get Calkins or Hoffman back, they will only have 11 forwards barring an AP being called up.
- Game time is 7:30 at the WCEC. Be there!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Klippers get trounced again in Game 2
I haven't found the words yet to explain what happened in Yorkton this weekend, so I'll keep this one quick (that and I'm phone-blogging).
The Terriers looked even more dominant tonight than they did in Game 1 in a 7-0 pasting of the Klippers.
Yorkton outscored Kindersley 14-2 in two nights and the series everyone thought would go deep is looking more lopsided than a senior game between Rosetown and Biggar (sorry Nationals).
The Klippers again came out flat and while Sean Cahill weathered the early storm, the Dogs quickly took a 3-0 lead. That was enough for Cahill to get the hook. While he didn't get much help from the guys in front of him, Cahill also wasn't at the top of his game.
Justin McDonald came in and played very well. Yeah, he allowed four more over the rest of the game, but as I said on the broadcast, the gap between these two teams was like the freaking Grand Canyon tonight. Maybe that's being generous to the visitors.
To me, the backbreaker was a bullet shot from the point by Jeremy Boyer with one second left in the first period. Everyone yelled at him to shoot, he made no mistake and put the Klippers down 4-0 after one.
Kindersley played a better game in the second, but they weren't dominant by any stretch and when they generated a rare scoring chance, they couldn't solve an outstanding Devin Peters.
The Klipper power play was again ineffective (0-for-9), with a 5-on-3 wasted in the first period. A goal there could have changed the course of the game.
The problems for the Klippers going home are all over the place. Getting Calkins and/or Hoffman back for game 3 would be a massive boost. But they can't just rely on that, or home cooking.
They need to raise their compete level, battle harder for pucks and lay the body more. They need a lot more out of their top forwards, whether Calkins is back or not. They need timely saves, and in my mind McDonald should be in the mix for game 3.
Most of all this is a club that needs an injection of confidence. The good news is they'll be at home as they try to claw back in the series.
On the plus side, I thought Taylor Duzan was tremendous tonight in his first game back from injury. The Klippers didn't get much going offensively, but more often than not he was the one to spark it. On the back end, aside from one gaffe I can think of, Cody Lund was extremely solid.
To wrap things up, the Yorkton Terriers were all-world this weekend. This was a first place club at the very top of their game and they were SCARY good. The skill on display was phenomenal, and not just from the top guns.
Remember that January game at the WCEC when Kindersley led 6-0 after one? Yorkton played like that for the entire weekend and Trent Cassan has to be very happy with his hockey club.
Game 2 lineup
Calkins out, Duzan in. Riley Down is also out after being suspended two games for a head hit last night.
Yorkton draws first blood in Sherwood final
Both teams spent long stretches dominating the play, but in the end the Terriers were the more opportunistic team and they defeated the Klippers 7-2 last night to open the Sherwood Conference final here in Yorkton.
It was all Yorkton in the first period, all Kindersley for most of the second but the home side was able to score at crucial moments in the game and added a couple more goals when the game was out of reach.
The Klippers got a scare in the third period when Johnny Calkins got mixed up with Keon Vick and left the game in some pain. It didn't look good for him last night, but he seems to be in better shape today. No word on his status for tonight.
Riley Paterson scored twice for the Dogs to go with singles from Robbie Ciolfi, Brant Remenda, Clarke Breitkreuz, Zak Majkowski and Craig Eisenhut. Jesse Mysiorek and Spencer Braaten had the Klipper goals.
The Terriers led 2-0 after the first after throwing everything they had at the Klippers. Kindersley came out in the second and returned the favour, except Devin Peters for the most part held them at bay. A few minutes after Braaten scored on a one-timer from Sanfred King, the Terriers got a pair less than two minutes apart from Remenda and Breitkreuz and that snuffed out the Klipper momentum.
Mysiorek lit the lamp early in the third to draw his club within two, but Yorkton responded again and was able to put the game away.
Game 2 goes tonight at Farrell Agencies Arena.
It was all Yorkton in the first period, all Kindersley for most of the second but the home side was able to score at crucial moments in the game and added a couple more goals when the game was out of reach.
The Klippers got a scare in the third period when Johnny Calkins got mixed up with Keon Vick and left the game in some pain. It didn't look good for him last night, but he seems to be in better shape today. No word on his status for tonight.
Riley Paterson scored twice for the Dogs to go with singles from Robbie Ciolfi, Brant Remenda, Clarke Breitkreuz, Zak Majkowski and Craig Eisenhut. Jesse Mysiorek and Spencer Braaten had the Klipper goals.
The Terriers led 2-0 after the first after throwing everything they had at the Klippers. Kindersley came out in the second and returned the favour, except Devin Peters for the most part held them at bay. A few minutes after Braaten scored on a one-timer from Sanfred King, the Terriers got a pair less than two minutes apart from Remenda and Breitkreuz and that snuffed out the Klipper momentum.
Mysiorek lit the lamp early in the third to draw his club within two, but Yorkton responded again and was able to put the game away.
Game 2 goes tonight at Farrell Agencies Arena.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Sonntag named D of the week; KK-YKTN preview
Klippers defenceman John Sonntag was named the SJHL defenceman of the week on Tuesday. The Goodsoil native leads all defencemen in playoff scoring with two goals and six points through five games. He had a whale of a series against Weyburn and the honour shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
As promised, here's the Kindersley-Yorkton series preview that ran in today's Clarion.
The Kindersley Klippers had all summer to think about their devastating loss to the Yorkton Terriers in Game 7 of last year's Sherwood Conference final, and now they have a shot at redemption.
Kevin Stringfellow's Game 7 overtime goal last March will no doubt be in the back of players' minds as they begin a rematch with the first-place Terriers this weekend in Yorkton.
The series kicks off Friday and Saturday in Yorkton, followed by the third and fourth games in Kindersley on Tuesday and Wednesday, both starting at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, Game 5 is March 25 in Yorkton, Game 6 is March 27 in Kindersley at 6 p.m. and Game 7 is March 29 in Yorkton.
Kindersley (35-20-3) knocked off Weyburn in five games in the Sherwood semifinal, while Yorkton (34-16-3-5) swept fourth-place Estevan.
"I think there’s a lot of players in there that have the image of losing in Game 7 and they definitely want to rewrite a different ending this year, but it's not something we’re dwelling on," said Klippers coach Rockie Zinger. "It's definitely something we might be able to use and grab some motivation from."
Andrew Dommett, who scored six goals in last year's series, including two in Game 7, said his club is eager to inflict some payback.
"We’re looking for revenge and the boys are hungry. Yorkton’s a very offensive team and I think if we can take away (space) from their top guys, a lot of them don’t like that physical play and we love it."
Indeed, the Terriers are a different club than the group that often pounded the Klippers physically during last year's series. This year's group is built primarily on skill, led by deadline pickups Jeremy Boyer (42-45-87) and Justin Buzzeo (31-51-82), as well as Clarke Breitkreuz (31-37-68), Robbie Ciolfi (22-30-52) and Brent Struble (19-33-52).
Terriers head coach Trent Cassan said that the addition of Boyer and Buzzeo from Humboldt is just as valuable in terms of added depth as their top flight scoring.
"They’ve fit in very well right from the start. They're very good kids and teammates. The guys were excited to get them. It also seemed like some guys were watching them too much at the start," said Cassan.
"It’s given us some more scoring, but also depth. We try to spread our scoring out. We realize they’re top-end guys, but at the same time, there are going to be nights when they get shut down."
"They’re a skilled group of forwards for sure," said Zinger of the Terriers. "They’ve got some very skilled six to eight forwards that can really skate well and move the puck and distribute it well. These two teams match up really well. Both have high-end guys, grinders, a committee-type defence that's unheralded and they go about their business."
The Klippers' high-octane attack has been well-documented and got a boost at the trade deadline with the pick-ups of Spencer Braaten and Wheaton King. Braaten scored at a point-per-game pace this year despite missing 22 games with an ankle injury, while King posted 15 points in 16 games.
Other key components are Johnny Calkins (25-68-93), Braeden Adamyk (42-40-82), Dommett (22-24-46), who missed 24 games with a broken jaw, and Sanfred King (19-45-64).
Linemates Taylor Duzan and Jordon Hoffman are both injured. Duzan was expected to resume skating Tuesday, with no word on his return, while Hoffman could play at some point in the series, according to Zinger.
Despite pitting two dangerous attacking corps against one another, fans likely won't see a boatload of goals, such as the Klippers' 9-6 win over Yorkton on Jan. 25.
"I don’t think it’ll be wide open pond hockey," said Zinger. "What you see come playoff time is every player buckles down a little more, makes smarter decisions and manages the puck better. I think what you’ll see is good end-to-end action, good hockey, but it’ll be well-managed by the players."
Stars aside, the post-season has a tendency to bring heroes out of the shadows.
"In a long playoff series, which I’m sure this one will be, it’s probably going be the guys who don’t get as much attention offensively that step in and score big goals," said Cassan. "Those guys are just as important for your team success as anyone."
Both coaches said their teams are similar on the blueline. Yorkton is led by SJHL defenceman of the year Blaine Tendler and deadline pick-up Brant Remenda, while Klippers rearguard Kurt Leedahl is widely considered one of the league's best and he shoulders the load along with Sean Flanagan and John Sonntag.
"They’re maybe a little bit bigger than our back end, but I think we’re a little more mobile," said Zinger.
"They’re a workmanlike group that goes about doing their business. That’s kind of what we are. All the spotlight shines on our top forwards. The attention seems to get focused mostly on that and that’s fine by us."
Added Cassan: "Remenda’s been a really good pickup for us. He was really good in the Estevan series.
"Some of our other older guys are like Kindersley; maybe they don’t get as much attention as Leedahl and Flanagan, but we have guys like (Kurtis) Decker and (Keon) Vick who are kind of like (Casey) Rogers and (David) Haaf. The way they play, you don’t really notice them and I think that’s a good thing."
Most would expect established veteran Devin Peters to take on Klippers tender Sean Cahill in the crease, but Cassan had yet to decide on his Game 1 starter as of Monday.
Peters was injured for the final month of the season and 18-year-old back-up Warren Shymko filled in admirably, to the point where he played three of the four games against Estevan despite Peters being healthy.
"It was good to get both guys involved. There’s always going to be a point in a series where you may see both goaltenders," said Cassan.
Zinger said the game plan for his club is to give the Terriers' top guns no room to operate and set the physical tone early in the series.
"We’re going to have to take the time and space away from them and be physical. We’ve gotta make sure we send the message early that for any inch of space out there, they’re going to have to earn it," the coach explained. "What I think it’s going to come down to is which group gets worn down the quickest, and goaltending."
Last year's Sherwood final was a seven-game barnburner worth every penny of the admission price, and Cassan expects the same the second time around.
"I think it’ll be a real exciting series for fans in both communities. The teams are so evenly matched; they’re built the same way, so when you have two teams so even, it should be a long series and it should have a lot of ups and downs."
As promised, here's the Kindersley-Yorkton series preview that ran in today's Clarion.
*******************************************
Kevin Stringfellow's Game 7 overtime goal last March will no doubt be in the back of players' minds as they begin a rematch with the first-place Terriers this weekend in Yorkton.
The series kicks off Friday and Saturday in Yorkton, followed by the third and fourth games in Kindersley on Tuesday and Wednesday, both starting at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, Game 5 is March 25 in Yorkton, Game 6 is March 27 in Kindersley at 6 p.m. and Game 7 is March 29 in Yorkton.
Kindersley (35-20-3) knocked off Weyburn in five games in the Sherwood semifinal, while Yorkton (34-16-3-5) swept fourth-place Estevan.
"I think there’s a lot of players in there that have the image of losing in Game 7 and they definitely want to rewrite a different ending this year, but it's not something we’re dwelling on," said Klippers coach Rockie Zinger. "It's definitely something we might be able to use and grab some motivation from."
Andrew Dommett, who scored six goals in last year's series, including two in Game 7, said his club is eager to inflict some payback.
"We’re looking for revenge and the boys are hungry. Yorkton’s a very offensive team and I think if we can take away (space) from their top guys, a lot of them don’t like that physical play and we love it."
Indeed, the Terriers are a different club than the group that often pounded the Klippers physically during last year's series. This year's group is built primarily on skill, led by deadline pickups Jeremy Boyer (42-45-87) and Justin Buzzeo (31-51-82), as well as Clarke Breitkreuz (31-37-68), Robbie Ciolfi (22-30-52) and Brent Struble (19-33-52).
Terriers head coach Trent Cassan said that the addition of Boyer and Buzzeo from Humboldt is just as valuable in terms of added depth as their top flight scoring.
"They’ve fit in very well right from the start. They're very good kids and teammates. The guys were excited to get them. It also seemed like some guys were watching them too much at the start," said Cassan.
"It’s given us some more scoring, but also depth. We try to spread our scoring out. We realize they’re top-end guys, but at the same time, there are going to be nights when they get shut down."
"They’re a skilled group of forwards for sure," said Zinger of the Terriers. "They’ve got some very skilled six to eight forwards that can really skate well and move the puck and distribute it well. These two teams match up really well. Both have high-end guys, grinders, a committee-type defence that's unheralded and they go about their business."
The Klippers' high-octane attack has been well-documented and got a boost at the trade deadline with the pick-ups of Spencer Braaten and Wheaton King. Braaten scored at a point-per-game pace this year despite missing 22 games with an ankle injury, while King posted 15 points in 16 games.
Other key components are Johnny Calkins (25-68-93), Braeden Adamyk (42-40-82), Dommett (22-24-46), who missed 24 games with a broken jaw, and Sanfred King (19-45-64).
Linemates Taylor Duzan and Jordon Hoffman are both injured. Duzan was expected to resume skating Tuesday, with no word on his return, while Hoffman could play at some point in the series, according to Zinger.
Despite pitting two dangerous attacking corps against one another, fans likely won't see a boatload of goals, such as the Klippers' 9-6 win over Yorkton on Jan. 25.
"I don’t think it’ll be wide open pond hockey," said Zinger. "What you see come playoff time is every player buckles down a little more, makes smarter decisions and manages the puck better. I think what you’ll see is good end-to-end action, good hockey, but it’ll be well-managed by the players."
Stars aside, the post-season has a tendency to bring heroes out of the shadows.
"In a long playoff series, which I’m sure this one will be, it’s probably going be the guys who don’t get as much attention offensively that step in and score big goals," said Cassan. "Those guys are just as important for your team success as anyone."
Both coaches said their teams are similar on the blueline. Yorkton is led by SJHL defenceman of the year Blaine Tendler and deadline pick-up Brant Remenda, while Klippers rearguard Kurt Leedahl is widely considered one of the league's best and he shoulders the load along with Sean Flanagan and John Sonntag.
"They’re maybe a little bit bigger than our back end, but I think we’re a little more mobile," said Zinger.
"They’re a workmanlike group that goes about doing their business. That’s kind of what we are. All the spotlight shines on our top forwards. The attention seems to get focused mostly on that and that’s fine by us."
Added Cassan: "Remenda’s been a really good pickup for us. He was really good in the Estevan series.
"Some of our other older guys are like Kindersley; maybe they don’t get as much attention as Leedahl and Flanagan, but we have guys like (Kurtis) Decker and (Keon) Vick who are kind of like (Casey) Rogers and (David) Haaf. The way they play, you don’t really notice them and I think that’s a good thing."
Most would expect established veteran Devin Peters to take on Klippers tender Sean Cahill in the crease, but Cassan had yet to decide on his Game 1 starter as of Monday.
Peters was injured for the final month of the season and 18-year-old back-up Warren Shymko filled in admirably, to the point where he played three of the four games against Estevan despite Peters being healthy.
"It was good to get both guys involved. There’s always going to be a point in a series where you may see both goaltenders," said Cassan.
Zinger said the game plan for his club is to give the Terriers' top guns no room to operate and set the physical tone early in the series.
"We’re going to have to take the time and space away from them and be physical. We’ve gotta make sure we send the message early that for any inch of space out there, they’re going to have to earn it," the coach explained. "What I think it’s going to come down to is which group gets worn down the quickest, and goaltending."
Last year's Sherwood final was a seven-game barnburner worth every penny of the admission price, and Cassan expects the same the second time around.
"I think it’ll be a real exciting series for fans in both communities. The teams are so evenly matched; they’re built the same way, so when you have two teams so even, it should be a long series and it should have a lot of ups and downs."
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