The Orillia Terriers don’t have a lot of time to celebrate.
The local Jr. C hockey club dominated Schomberg Saturday night, earning a 6-0 triumph in the do-or-die seventh game of the teams’ first-round Provincial Junior Hockey League quarter-final series.
It was an impressive win for a team that had to claw its way back from a shocking 2-0 series deficit against a team that finished 25 points behind them in the regular season.
But now, the squad faces an even tougher challenge.
Orillia finished the regular season in third place in the Carruthers Division after compiling a 25-14-0-3 regular-season record. The Stayner Siskins finished in second place, thanks to a 28-14-0 record, which will give them home-ice advantage in the semi-final series.
The Terriers start the series on the road, in Stayner, Thursday night. The two rivals return to Orillia for a Saturday night contest at Rotary Place.
The Terriers are hoping to have a full lineup in what will be a tough series.
Against Schomberg, the Terriers were missing players who were away for school, family vacations and suspensions.
In the end, however, they were able to overcome those issues.
“Our boys dug deep, fought back from 2-0 down in the series to take a 3-2 lead, lost Game 6 and with our shortest bench of the playoffs played the best game of the seven in Game 7,” said Terriers general manager Andrew McDonald.
McDonald applauded the fans who filled Rotary Place for the pivotal game.
“I can’t say enough about our fans,” said the GM. “They came out in droves, packed Rotary Place and definitely helped us cross the finish line.”
“When you’re missing players, in a tough series and dealing with adversity, your fan base can be the difference maker,” he said.
McDonald concedes the team has “had an up-and-down season on and off the ice, but it’s all part of trying to achieve something special. If it was easy, and it hasn’t been, it wouldn’t be as rewarding,” he told OrilliaMatters
Beating Stayner won’t be easy.
“Stayner has gotten the better of us this season, but we got out of the first round relatively injury-free,” said McDonald. “This will be one tough series.”
He believes his team is up for the challenge.
“When I took this position, (owner) Jamie (Clarke) and myself made it our mission to bring back good hockey for the fans in Orillia,” said the GM. “We wanted something for them to be proud of, bring their family to and be a part of the community’s weekly calendar. What I saw at Rotary in Game 7 on Saturday night was affirmation that if we play well and compete every night, the people of Orillia and surrounding area will support us.”
Details of all the games in the best-of-seven second-round series have not been finalized but will be posted on the team’s website when they are available.
