Trojans complete SOJHL sweep of Braves
Pat Payton, Sports editor TAVISTOCK - It was a fitting way for Dick Howard to end a long and distinguished coaching career . . . with 10 straight playoff victories and a Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League championship.
Here last Thursday night, Howard’s Thamesford Trojans completed a four-game sweep of Tavistock Braves with a rather lopsided 8-2 victory in front of about 500 fans.
It’s Trojans’ sixth OHA Cup, and Howard’s fourth as the team’s head coach. He also won a provincial championship in Jr. C with the Paris Mounties. Following Thursday’s game, Howard said he was stepping down so he could spend his winters in Florida. “It’s special; it’s a great way to go out,” he added with a smile.
Clearly dominant team
The first three games were much closer, but the older and bigger Trojans were clearly the dominant team in Game 4 against Braves, who had several players ailing with the flu.
The visitors built a 4-0 lead early in the second period, and extended it to 6-1 by the end of 40 minutes.
Thamesford led 8-1 in the third when Kyle Gunn was awarded a penalty shot with 2:04 remaining. Gunn beat Trojans’ goalie Chris Gagliardi to completethe scoring.
It was one of the few pucks to get past Gagliardi, who finished the finalwith a 1.75 goals-against average. People around the Trojans said the 20-year-old goalie was the team’s playoff MVP.
Josh Van Eck, the scoring leader in the playoffs, paced the Thamesford offence with a hat trick. Trojans’ veteran Justin Harburn assisted on all three goals.
“I think we wanted it more than them,” Harburn said as he and his teammates celebrated on the ice following the game.
Harburn finished second overall in the SOJHL regular-season scoring race with 34 goals, 72 points and 131 penalty minutes in 34 games. The 20-year-old right winger added 20 points (7-13) in 18 playoff games.
Better team 5-on-5
When asked what gave Thamesford the edge in the series, Dick Howard said
Trojans were the better team when the two sides were at full strength.
“I think Tavistock only scored two goals against us, 5-on-5, in the four
games,” he pointed out. “So we knew we had to stay out of the penalty box.
Five-on-five, we could roll four lines who are pretty good.
“We were just a little bit hungrier this year, and we had a lot of guys
back. And we also picked up a couple of key players.”
Howard said another key was containing Braves’ leading scorer and captain
Jeff Roes.
“We kind of shut down Roes. He scored on the powerplay, but he didn’t score
five-on-five. Tonight, our checking line dominated his line.”
Braves’ coach Dan Murrell was gracious in defeat following Thursday’s game.
“Hats off to Thamesford; they’re a great team and they deserved to win,” the
St. Marys resident said. “If you wanted to break down the series, they were
better in every facet of the game.
“I think Thamesford was half-a-step quicker in everything. It’s not an
excuse, but it’s such a tough series to play after an emotional (conference)
final against Delhi (that went seven games). It’s just an emotional
let-down, and we just didn’t have the jump.”
Despite the loss, Murrell has enjoyed some success in his first two years at
the Braves’ helm. They reached the conference final last season, and the
provincial final this year.
“We had such a turnover this year,” he said. “If somebody had said two
months ago that we’d be playing in the Ontario final, I would have taken it
in a heart-beat. Hats off to our guys; they never once quit. I’m very proud
of my guys.”
Thamesford 5 Tavistock 2
In Game 3 the previous night in Thamesford, Braves scored first, but the
Trojans bounced back for a 5-2 victory and a 3-0 stranglehold on the series.
On the small Thamesford ice, Trojans scored twice in the last seven minutes
of the second period to take the lead for good.
With its fourth straight goal, Thamesford went up 4-1 early in the third.
With 5:48 left, Braves’ centre Jeff Roes closed the gap to two goals with
his second powerplay tally of the night, but Trojans clinched it with a goal
with 2:37 remaining.
Tavistock’s best period was the final 20 minutes, but they could only get
one puck past Thamesford netminder Gagliardi, who finished with 38 saves.
“I really believe their hot goaltender has been the difference in the
series,” coach Murrell said. “It seems that every time we get a chance, he’s
stopped the puck. He’s playing phenomenal, and hats off to him. I think he’s
stole a couple of games here (in Thamesford).
“But it’s the first team to (win) four games, not three. I told our guys, we
have two options. Do we hang our heads and feel defeated, or do we wake up
tomorrow morning and say we’re going to give these guys all we got? When the
chips are down, that’s when you see somebody’s true character.
“I’ve played and coached on teams that have been down 3-0, and we came back,
so it can be done.”
Timely goals help
Following Game 3, Dick Howard said timely goals were giving Trojans the edge
in the series.
“We’re just getting key goals at the right time. When we’ve been down,
somebody has got a quick goal, and that’s been a good thing for us,” the
veteran coach said. “When we get the momentum going, it just seems to carry
on through the bench.
“And our defence and goaltender have been playing really well. If we stay
out of the penalty box, and play 5-on-5, we’ll be okay,” he added.
Howard said Trojans have been playing well in the SOJHL final because
they’ve finally had a full, healthy line-up.
“Tonight was the first time we’ve had to sit two healthy guys. Through the
whole playoffs, we haven’t had a full team,” he noted.
“In the Lucan series, we went with 15 guys. When we played Mt. Brydges (in
the conference final), we may have caught them cold, but it was the first
time we played them with a full team.
“We knew we had a half-decent team, but we didn’t know how good until we
could dress a full team. And the guys are hungry, too.”
Series notebook:
•Thamesford Trojans’ last OHA Cup title was in 2002-03. They also won the
provincial crown in 1989-90, ‘90-91, ‘91-92 and ‘94-95.
•Justin Harburn is the son of former St. Marys area residents Hugh and
Annette, and the grandson of Ted Bradley. It was Harburn’s second full
season with Thamesford.
A long-time assistant coach with the Trojans is Bob Henderson.
•Dick Howard said Trojans should have a good nucleus returning as they only
lose three players to age. Howard also once coached the London Jr. B team in
the Western League.
•The SOJHL final features the winners from the Yeck and McConnell
Conferences. Hagersville is the only McConnell Conference team to win a
provincial title in this decade.
•Thamesford defeated Lucan, Parkhill’s North Middlesex Stars and powerhouse
Mt. Brydges to win the Yeck Conference. In the conference final, Trojans
swept Mt. Brydges, which had lost only four games all season to that point.
Tavistock defeated Hagersville, St. George and Delhi to win the McConnell
grouping.
•It’s the first time Thamesford and Tavistock had ever met in the
best-of-seven provincial Jr. D final.
•Four St. Marys minor hockey products were members of the Braves this
season: forwards Adam Renkema, Kellen Fifield and Nate Dundas, and
defenceman Braeden Marcaccio.
Another St. Marys resident, Mike Johnson, coached the team’s defence.
Renkema tied for sixth in SOJHL playoff scoring with nine goals—including
five on powerplays—and 19 points in 20 games.