Lakefield Herald Special Report

Playoff opponents still to be decided for the Lakefield Chiefs

by Jim Carson

The Lakefield Chiefs of the Central Ontario Jr. “C” Hockey League received a bye for the first round of playoffs after finishing second, three points behind the first place Uxbridge Bruins.

Both the Bruins and Chiefs await the winners of the three out of five series between the Clarington Eagles and Georgina Ice and Port Perry MoJacks against the Little Britain Merchants.

The Ice presently lead their series 1-0 over the Eagles while Port Perry has a 2-0 stranglehold over the Merchants. If Clarington defeats Georgina, the Chiefs would play Clarington however, if the Ice upsets Clarington, Lakefield would play the winner of the Port Perry series.

The Chiefs expect to have a healthy lineup but will be missing Travis Brault for the first two games due to a suspension.

Lakefield had six players in the top 10 scoring including Travis Brault and Derek Manley, both tied for second with 54 points just four behind Scott Sandercock of the Georgina Ice.

Jordan Walsh, Nathan Larson, Eric Oosting and Eric Shewell were the other Chiefs in the top 10.

Zac Wainman came in second with a goaltending average of 2.28 while Ben Francey led the league with a 1.71 average. Dustin Cook was fourth with 2.72.

The Chiefs had the longest winning streak of the season with nine.

Georgina led the league in penalty minutes with 996 and the Chiefs were the second most penalized at 897. The Uxbridge Bruins were the least penalized team with 712 minutes.

Coach Tim McCormick in his first year as head coach is busy trying to keep his team sharp while awaiting the semi final series.

“Having six guys in the top 10 scoring is quite a feat in itself but we have some guys that you don’t hear about much who when on their game are the backbone of the team. Our defencemen don’t get the credit they deserve.”

Chiefs have Ryan Anderson, Hayden Lambe, Brody Henderson, Keenan Runnalls, Riley Campbell, Curtis Bolton on defence with Eric Shewell and Connor Blair seeing time on both forward and defence.

McCormick feels that the team that is the most disciplined and focused will prevail.

“Finishing second in penalty minutes is not something we are proud of, this is something that will be discussed during this time off. Our practices have been tough and the players are responding by working very hard.”

The Chiefs are hoping for large fan support both home and away during their playoff run.

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