FLYERS SOARING HIGH IN OJHL PLAYOFFS
Expansion Leamington squad reaches conference final in first season in league
The expansion Leamington Flyers sure aren't playing like your typical first-year club.
The Flyers are headed to the Western Conference final after upsetting the Milton Menace in the Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs.
“I think we're doing a lot better than people thought,” Flyers captain Cayden Faust said. “I don't think we thought of ourselves as underdogs, but I'm sure others have and it's nice to prove people wrong.”
The third-seeded Flyers beat the second-seeded Menace 3-1 on Saturday in Milton to take the best-of-seven series 4-1.
“They were 10th ranked in the country,” Flyers head coach Dale Mitchell said of the Menace.
“We had some tight games with them throughout the season. We knew we had the confidence to beat them, but in five games? I wouldn't have thought it, but they were all very tight.”
The Flyers, who swept sixth-seeded Georgetown in the first round, took the series opener in double overtime in Milton and needed extra time again to take Game 3 of the series in Milton before wrapping up the series with their third road win of the series.
“Being the road team going in, if you can steal the first one, it puts their backs against wall,” Mitchell said. “Even though they responded (by winning Game 2 in Leamington), there's a belief in knowing you can win on the road.”
It was another tight affair on Saturday with the two teams scoreless midway through the game before Matthew Thomas got his first of the playoffs on a Leamington power play midway through the period to put the Flyers up 1-0 after 40 minutes.
Of course, the Flyers once again got another standout performance from Sebastien Gatto, who made 29 saves with Leamington outshot 30-24.
“I think he's probably been a big reason why we're having the success we're having,” Faust said of the six-foot-three Gatto, who is now 8-1 in the playoffs with a 1.59 goals-against average and .947 save percentage. “He's been bailing us out every shift it seems and we're just thankful to have him.”
Milton tied the game early in the third period, but Faust would get the game-winning goal just over five minutes later as he broke in alone and fought off a hook.
Faust then notched his third point of the game by setting up Nick Mahy for an empty-net goal. It was Faust's third game with three points in the series and he leads the Flyers in playoff scoring with 17 points in nine games.
“I've just been doing my best to play the right way and lead by example,” said the 20-year-old Faust, a Windsor Jr. Spitfires product.
Next up for the Flyers is the defending league champion Collingwood Blues, who posted the OJHL'S best record this season.
“We can't take any games off,” Mitchell said of facing the Blues. “They're the defending champs and the No. 1 (Canadian Junior Hockey League) team in the country.”
Dates for that series, which will start in Collingwood, have yet to be announced.
I don't think we thought of ourselves as underdogs, but I'm sure others have and it's nice to prove people wrong.