Mets not underdogs
Fort Erie coach says all games in season series with Ancaster ‘could have gone either way’
Head coach Todd Clayton doesn’t regard his Fort Erie Meteors as underdogs heading into the opening round of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs just because they trailed the Ancaster Avalanche by 18 points in the regular season standings.
On paper the Avalanche, 30-15-05; finished fourth in the nine-team Golden Horseshoe Conference and the Meteors, 24-26; fifth, but there wasn’t too much separating the junior B rivals when they faced each on the ice. Ancaster took the season series four games to two, only outscoring Fort Erie by an 18-12 margin, and the Meteors won the last two meetings.
“Five of the six games we have played Ancaster this year have been separated by one goal,” Clayton said. “All the games could have gone either way. There is good goaltending on both sides, so it should be a good series.”
Clayton doesn’t believe his players will allow being labelled as the underdog throw them off their game.
“We will come to work everyday and compete,” he said. “If Ancaster is going to beat us, they will have to outwork us, but I’m hoping our goaltending can be the difference in the series.”
Preparation heading into postseason play has been tough on the Meteors as they knew they could finish no higher than fifth. They also didn’t know who they would meeting in the first round of the junior B playoffs.
“Mentally, it was tough,” Clayton said. “Playing and coaching in games that don’t mean anything is difficult but we wanted to get through the remainder of the season without injuries or suspensions and be ready at full force for the playoffs.”
At the start of the season, the Meteors had a plethora of young talent waiting to explode onto the junior B scene, but the hopes we short-lived as Fort Erie lost some players to Ontario Hockey League teams halfway through the season.
Daylon Groulx, a 16-year-old forward and Fort Erie native, is currently playing for the Owen Sound Attack, and defenceman Andrew Sommerville played in a handful of games for the Niagara IceDogs.
Fort Erie’s go-to player throughout the season was Danny Katlc, the team’s leading scorer with 18 goals and 31 assists for 49 points in 44 games. “Danny’s had some OHL experience this year suiting up with the Saginaw Spirit. He’s a good hockey player and, if we come out on top, he’s going to be a big part of it.”
All signs point toward Meteors netminder Shayne Battler receiving the start in last night’s series opener in Fort Erie. Battler has played in 38 of the Meteors 50 games this season, registering a .905 save percentage and 3.40 goals-against average. Backup Tyler Hawk allowed an average of 4.33 goals in 18 games.
The Avalanche have yet to announce a starter, but both Justin Vertesi and four-year Avalanche veteran Matt Calas have played exceptionally well this season. Vertesi has appeared in 30 games and sports a 2.57 GAA with a moderate .908 save percentage. Calas has played in 19 fewer games than Vertesi and owns a sparkling .937 save percentage to go with a 1.98 GAA.
The Meteors know goaltending is one of Ancaster’s strengths and that it will take a full 60 minutes of hard work to win games during best-ofseven series.
“We have to score on our opportunities,” Clayton said. “There are too many times where we don’t bear down and it comes back to bite us later on.”
Ancaster, one of the toughest teams to play on the road, finished well above .500 despite losing several veterans.
“We had a young team this year and 15 new players in the starting lineup our first game,” Avalanche head coach Ryan Kubawara said. “We had an older crew last year so starting over with all these new guys, they all have to learn how to play with each other and a new system.”
“We focused on developing each individual player throughout the season in order to be competitive near the end of this season and heading into the next.”
“If you’re not playing well in the playoffs, then you just don’t deserve to win.”
The Avalanche enters the series with young firepower up front. Forward Zach Bramwell was a corunnerup for the rookie of the year award and the team’s leading scorer, netting 29 goals and amassing 62 total points, both team bests.
Three-year veteran Owen Burnell was second in scoring with 48 points.
“Zach’s been a consistent player all year long,” Kubawara said. “He’s worked on his game, an undrafted player in the OHL with something to prove here in junior B.”
“He works on his game each day and obviously has terrific hockey sense. He can put the puck in the net and has been great his first year.”
Bramwell and Burnell have been the catalysts for Kubawara and he will continue to rely on his top two point producers and veteran players throughout the upcoming series.
“We’ve been a part of some really close games with Fort Erie, it has been battles back and forth,” Kubawara said. “I think we’re similar in many ways. I don’t really view us as favourites.”
“Any team can beat anybody in our league as you’ve seen it happen many times this year.”
The second game in the series is Saturday in Ancaster, starting at 7:30 p.m.; Game 3 back in Fort Erie on Monday, beginning at 7:15 p.m.; and the fourth game an 8 p.m. faceoff Wednesday in Ancaster.