KINCARDINE – After a tough regular season with very few wins, the Listowel Bantam Reps were not expected to make much noise in the playoffs.
Three series and eight-straight wins later, Listowel was crowned WOAA champions at the Davidson Centre Arena in Kincardine with a 2-1 win over the Kinucks in Game 3 of the finals.
They will be looking to carry this momentum into their OMHA semifinal series against the Strathroy Rockets.
To get to the finals, the Cyclones eliminated the Mitchell Meteors and Goderich Sailors. Listowel and Mitchell had swapped wins and losses throughout the season and that’s how the series started.
The Cyclones struck first with a win in Game 1, but suffered an overtime loss in Game 2. They clinched the series with two more victories, moving on to face the Sailors. Goderich lost just once all year and had defeated the Cyclones in four straight games. Refusing to be intimidated, the fast skating, hard-hitting Cyclones took the Sailors by storm in the opener with a 7-1 triumph.
In Listowel for Game 2, the Sailors could not contain the aggressive forechecking of the home team and the winning streak continued after a 4–2 final. Returning home for Game 3, Goderich was fighting to keep their season alive, but struggled to penetrate offensively.
Listowel took a 3–1 win and earned a berth in the WOAA championship in the process. Once again, the team was matched up against an opponent that they failed to beat in the regular season.
The Kinucks, coming off a series victory over Walkerton, hosted Game 1. The Cyclones managed to hold off the strong offensive attack of the Kinucks and left with a 5–1 win. Trailing 4-3 late in Game 2, Kincardine battled hard but could not convert the tying goal.
The Cyclones, Kinucks and the trophy all headed back to Kincardine for Game 3. Now riding a seven-game winning streak, the visitors wanted to make it eight in a row and clinch the championship. The hosts opened the scoring, but the Cyclones answered back with nine minutes on the clock in the third, then took the lead with just two minutes left in the game. The Kinucks’ net was empty for the remainder of the game, but time ran out.