Underdog Royals continue to surprise
Jeff Peters can’t help but resort to cliches when he starts talking about the Calgary Midget AAA Royals team he coaches.
If he wants to compare the Royals to the movie Rudy or any other famous underdog story, it’s hard to blame him.
Before the start of the AMHL season, there were plenty of people around the league who assumed the Royals’ season wouldn’t include a trip to the playoffs. And yet, here they are, one of the last four teams standing as they prepare for Game 2 of their best-offive series against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday night at the Stu Peppard Arena (7:30 p.m.).
“It’s unreal. It follows every cliche,” Peters said Monday. “We weren’t thought about as making the playoffs. We lost four guys who legitimately would have been guaranteed to play triple-A midget to schools or academes, but these guys just pulled together.
“It was tough. They definitely had some questions on whether they wanted to play triple-A hockey at the start, but the returnees from last year really bought into what we were preaching and wanted to bring in as far as changes in cultures and making sure you showed up at hockey every day ready to compete.”
The hard work paid off, as the Royals strolled into the playoffs in fifth place in the Chrysler division with a 22-9-4 record.
They did it with a team that spread out the scoring and rolled four lines, and only Nathanial Bierd finished the regular season in the top-20 in AMHL scoring.
They got contributions from everybody on the ice, though, and by the time they hit the playoffs the Royals were firing on all cylinders.
“I started believing that we could do some damage in December,” Peters said.
“I really started talking to the guys about championships and league finals and success in the playoffs, just to keep it in their minds that they were having success and I’d even say overachieving, based on what everyone else in the league, and parents and other players, thought they could do.”
The Royals stayed red hot in the post-season, knocking off the Calgary Buffaloes and the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs en route to the divisional final, where they ’re taking on the mighty Hurricanes.
The Lethbridge crew was the toast of the AMHL this year, finishing the regular season with a league-best 54 points and a 24-56 record.
In Game 1 of the division final, though, the Royals showed they could compete, coming close to tying the game after they pulled within one goal at 3-2 with less than two minutes left.
Ultimately, the Hurricanes managed to score another and the game ended 4-2, but the Royals certainly showed they were up for the fight.
“(The Hurricanes) are definitely a skilled squad, but they’re beatable, for sure,” Peters said.