PR - Saints

Saints Fall in Seven to Walkerton Aces

After narrowly edging out their archrival Hurricanes in a seven game first round series; the Saints fall to the underdog Aces in seven in round two. After taking a 1-0 series lead, then a 2-1 lead after game 3; the Saints allowed two straight wins by the Aces putting the Saints’ backs to the wall. At home in Walkerton the Aces, however, couldn’t finish off the Saints who took Game 6 forcing a game 7 back in Saskatoon.

Game 7 – ‘Shootout at the SK Coral’ It was not so surprisingly that this series would be decided in an explosive offensive finish. After opening the scoring with two Saints goals, the fans were electric. However, the Aces over the twenty minutes would score five unanswered goals, two on the power play to take a 5-2 lead near the middle of the second period. Trading back and forth goals and fitting tooth-and-nail for a chance to play for the Eastern Title, the battle ended with the gritting Aces taking Game 7 and the series with a 7-5 epic victory. Perhaps fittingly, all four goalies played in this game; since goaltending was a clear question for both teams going into this series.

The Aces showed themselves to have stronger depth despite the Saints’ superior top-end scoring. Saints captain Chris Higgins, who has dominated the playoff scoring thus far, is eliminated from the Saints’ best playoff performance in franchise history. Higgins recorded 8 goals, 15 assists, a +5 in 14 games. Higgins: “I think this was an important step for our club. Our core players are quite young. As well, our young goalies have gained some invaluable experience. We all realize that this is just part of the ongoing process of developing the Saints into the elite club in the East.”

The Aces have brilliantly knocked off now perhaps the top two Eastern teams: the Brantford Bobcats and Saskatoon Saints. They set their sights on the Young Guns: a very similar gritty and well-rounded club. GM Young: “I believe the Aces will win the Eastern Championship this year and probably the TFHL Cup. Much of the playoffs has to do with streaks and the Aces have momentum on their side. I offer my congratulations to Dave Walter, a former TFHL Champion and respected GM of the league, on his success thus far. Good luck in the finals!”

Season Retrospective and Off-season Prognosis

GM Young, in his post-series press conference, made it clear that he is reasonably pleased with the Saints overall performance this entire season. For this reason, Young stated that he is “not likely to make any Geoffrey Young-like moves this offseason…but who knows, it’s a longer offseason!” Young stated that his core will not be moved, however, he has not ruled out a trade which would see a secondary scorer or d-man for some draft picks. “I need to reclaim my past emphasis on drafting and developing. I’ve had success with this in the past and that’s the cheapest way to improve for the long-term. We will also be turning our available finances toward landing a top-notch UFA this off-season to add some veteran stability.