The Wolves had a hard time against Kitchener Jr. Rangers Red during the regular season. And so facing
them in the Alliance’s Peewee Bristol Playdowns may have seemed a little daunting,
especially given the absence of some regular players due to illness early in
the series. But although the Wolves lost the series in three games, they played
some of their most exciting hockey of the season, never falling far behind, and
indeed became increasingly competitive as the series wore on.
The first game, in Kitchener, saw the Wolves and Red tied after one, with both teams’ defense able to stave off threats despite being bottled up at times in their respective zones. The second period saw lots of end-to end rushes but the Wolves were unable to convert some of their good chances, while Kitchener eventually took the lead 1-0 midway through the second. Again, both teams traded chances in a fast-paced third period, but with six minutes left in the game, Kitchener scored on a breakaway. With the Wolves’ goalie pulled, Kitchener scored in an empty net only twelve seconds from the end, making the final score 3-0.
The Jr. Rangers, shooting and shoving from close to the crease, got off to a 2-0 start in the first period of the second game in Waterloo. However, the Wolves took a leaf from the Red’s game plan, creating some traffic in front of their goalie and stepping up their shooting from up close on Kitchener’s net, to make it 2-1 by the end of the second. Reds then retaliated in kind, scoring two goals in relatively quick succession in the third period. However, with the score 4-1 for Kitchener, and five minutes left in the game, the never-say-die Wolves took advantage of turnovers by the Red team to make it 4-2, and then, with the Wolves’ goalie pulled with two and a half minutes left, scored through traffic to close the gap to a single goal, 4-3. At that point, however, Kitchener regained some energy and managed to cross the central zone into Wolves territory, scoring into the still-empty net and making the final 5-3.
Back in Kitchener for the third game, the Wolves had gotten the message that the way to counter Kitchener Red was to put them on the defensive and prevent them from organizing in their zone, and they did that well. While a couple of costly forays by Kitchener in the Waterloo zone meant that the score was 2-1 Kitchener after two periods, the Wolves continued to be more aggressive than usual in Kitchener territory, leading Kitchener to take three costly penalties in a row, including a four-minute one. The Wolves took ample opportunity of the power plays, scoring three times in under five minutes, to take the lead for the first time in the series, 4-2. But there was plenty of time for the Jr. Rangers Red to rebound. They started pressing hard in Wolves’ territory, gradually clawing their way back to 4-4, and then, themselves now on the power play, make it 5-4 to eliminate the Wolves.
Though the Wolves fell in three straight games, they were a lot closer than the regular season matchups against the same team. The Wolves showed that they can up their game in the post-season against a tough team, with some exciting and gritty play in the offensive zone and along the boards, and poise on defense and in goal. The Wolves can take this past series very positively as they begin their three-way playoff series against Burlington and Kitchener Blue. Go Wolves!