The McLean and Dickey Orillia Terriers will start their quest for the Schmalz Cup on the road.
The North Carruthers Division's fifth-seeded Terriers are on the road to take on the Innisfil Spartans in game one of the best-of-seven Provincial Junior Hockey League round one series that gets underway tonight at 9 p.m.
Despite winning the regular season series with a 3-2-0 record against the fourth-seeded Spartans, Terriers’ leading goal scorer Josh Brown says it’s going to be a tough series.
“We’ve struggled with them recently,” he said. “They are kind of on a heater, winning five games in a row, but I’m confident in our group.”
The Terriers won the first three games of their regular season series against Innisfil, but the Spartans have won the last two contests between the two Jr. C squads.
“They play differently in their home barn,” Brown said. “They also got a lot more physical in the last half of the season. We are going to have to match that physicality.”
Brown says he is excited about the opportunity to play meaningful games at Rotary Place, especially after the team was forced to play nine of their 20 home games at Brian Orser Arena this season.
“We barely had any fans because it’s a much smaller rink,” he said. “Playoffs is a completely different game that is all about momentum. If we go on a little run, I think the barn will be packed which would get the boys fired up.”
At the end of this playoff run, Brown will take the Terriers jersey off for the last time after spending the entirety of his five-year junior hockey career with the team.
“I want to go out with a good bang here,” he said. “I’ve played so many games here under the same coaching staff, it’s going to be emotional when it comes to an end.”
Brown’s goal for the team is to get past where the season ended last year: the second round.
“I think we are capable of doing that if we are all in as a team,” he said. “That would be the furthest I’ve gone in my junior career, and it would mean everything to me.”
Terriers’ head coach Dalyn Telford says his team is “battle-tested.”
“There have been obstacles all season and the guys have seemingly bounced back almost every time to overcome them,” he said. “This team doesn’t seem to get rattled which is a huge plus going into the playoffs where there are so many momentum swings.”
Telford is giving goaltender Reed Spinola the nod to start the series in Innisfil tonight. The third-year veteran went 12-9-0-1 with two shutouts this season.
“I really hope Reed starts well tonight,” he said. “Hopefully he can put a good string together here.”
Game 2 will be played at Rotary Place on Saturday with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. The series will go back to Innisfil on Sunday, before moving back to Orillia for game 3 on Tuesday.
“It could be a long series,” Telford said. “I think we match up fairly evenly. It’s going to come down to who can capitalize on special teams and who is stronger in net.”
A full schedule with game times for the first round will be made available once it’s released here.
