Feb 13, 2013 | Shawn Dietrich | 1103 views
"WE" The Key for Minor Midget Wolves
WATERLOO CHRONICLE ARTICLE (FEBRUARY 13, 2013)
By Jordan Ercit Chronicle Staff
The OHL Cup can be a gift and a curse. For local players like Kyle Platzer and Chadd Bauman, members of the OHL’s London Knights and Guelph Storm respectively, it can boost their stock ahead of the major junior draft. For teams like this year’s minor midget-AAA Waterloo Wolves, the anticipation of making it to the annual showcase for OHL draft-eligible players aged 15 and under can sometimes be too exciting a prospect or too pressure-packed an environment to take.
Which seemed to be the case Sunday as the Wolves, who welcomed the Huron-Perth Lakers to RIM Park for Game 2 of their Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario semifinal, were off their game in a 3-0 defeat. “It crept in on Sunday,” head coach Shawn Dietrich said. “We were really good in Game 1 because guys were just fired up. Now you sit there up 1-0 and thinking, ‘Yeah, if you win this game, you’ve really got them on the ropes and that it (a berth in the OHL Cup) is one game away instead of two.’ “We were nervous and guys played nervous and tried to do it themselves . . . and that’s natural. But part of getting to the next level is being able to block that sort of stuff out.” Regardless, the Wolves are still in a respectable position after splitting the first two games of their first-to-six-points series with the Lakers, the top seed in the East Division. Second-place Waterloo won Game 1 Saturday in Stratford when Jamie Collins’s struck in overtime for a 4-3 victory. The Wolves find themselves in this position with a team-first attitude and strong defensive mindset. Waterloo finished the regular season with the fewest goals allowed in the East, which sparked a second-half run up the standings — Sunday’s defeat was just their fifth in the last 35 league, tournament and playoff games since Nov. 14. The Wolves are back in action Friday at the Stratford Rotary Complex at 8:30 p.m. Game 4 is Saturday at RIM Park Piller’s at 4:30 p.m. Games 5 and 6, if necessary, are Sunday in Stratford and Monday at RIM Park Piller’s at 7:30 p.m. So far, Waterloo’s top minor midget players have had a tidy Alliance playoff run, which included sweeping the Brantford 99ers and the Sun County Panthers, a team that finished third in the West Division with the same regular season record as the Wolves (18-9-3). It is a somewhat familiar position to be in for Dietrich. Although two years ago, his team, which included Platzer, Bauman and Kitchener Rangers forward Brent Pedersen, lost its first playoff game before rolling on to the Alliance championship and a berth in the OHL Cup. This year’s team is more of an underdog compared to the 2011 squad, but Dietrich is still hoping their first loss of the playoffs has the same effect. “It’s good for our guys because we need to refocus on what we need to do instead of looking into the future,” Dietrich said. “Our saying, written in our dressing room all year, is two things: One is surrender me for we . . . and the other is don’t let the outcome get in the way of the process. “Getting back to that is going to be key.”