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By Jake Dobson "Voice of the Saints"
The Saints Complete Regular Season with 14th Win
The Saints have finished their first regular season in Newmarket and there will be post season play. Newmarket’s dominant 6 - 2 victory over Barrie on Saturday night was the perfect way to cap a very strong regular season. At the beginning of the season Saints GM Stew Beatty said, “we’re going to surprise some people, I think we’ll make the playoffs”, well Stew you were right. As of right now Newmarket is seeded fifth in the Eastern Conference and will face either Halton Hills or Nepean in round one, but more on the playoffs later.
In the first period the Saints jumped out to a quick 4 - 0 lead on goals from Shawn Beer (2), TJ Cook, and Logan Hurst. New Saint Mike “Machine Gun” Vertolli wanted to get on the game sheet but an illegal equipment penalty probably wasn’t what he had in mind. Nonetheless the former Markham captain is a key addition for depth and offense in the playoffs. Adam Miles could not be beaten in the first period as he was tremendous for the Saints. The difference in this period and this game was the goaltending as Miles was strong all night and the starting Barrie goalie was not up the task.
In the second the Saints scored two more times to take a 6 - 0 lead. TJ “Time Bomb” Cook completed his hat trick in the second period and the six goals were more than enough for a confident Adam Miles. The Saints D deserves a lot of the credit as they teamed up to put up a wall that Barrie could not penetrate and they were not caught in transition even once tonight. Nick Trach used his blazing speed to get a couple of breakaways but was not able to finish. Barrie managed one past Miles in the second period but Newmarket refocused and stopped the attack.
In the third there were only two dead balls in the entire period and Newmarket was more than happy to let the time run out. The first stoppage was the second Barrie goal and the second was Kyle O’Donnell filling Jordan Mitts first with his glove and then when the mask came off O’Donnell hit him with the bare knuks on the uppercuts.
This game changed the standings again but some teams still have games remaining. Starting at the top of the conference Oakville can still tie the Green Gaels with 34 points and hold the tie breaker so they can win the conference - these two teams will be the top two seeds. Nepean has clinched the 3 seed as a result of winning the Far East division and Halton Hills has clinched the 4 seed. Newmarket is currently 5, Mimico 6, and Barrie 7, but if Barrie wins its final game against Oakville they will jump to five and Newmarket will fall to six. The Saints hold the tie break over Mimico thanks to a 7 - 6 win earlier in the season. Awkwasasne has clinched the final playoff spot and has the task of playing the top seed.
All of this and there are still two possible playoff opponents for the Saints. A Barrie loss will mean the Saints finish in 5th and will play Halton Hills, a team that beat the Saints 9 - 7 very early in the season and boasts the top scorer in the OLA in Patty Saunders. A Barrie victory will move Newmarket to 6th and they will play Nepean a team they dropped 15 - 8 at the Complex on May 25. In either scenario the Saints will have to win despite giving up home floor advantage. Barrie and Oakville play on June 25 and the Saints opponent will be determined as soon as it is over.
What a great regular season! GO SAINTS GO
The Saints have finished their first regular season in Newmarket and there will be post season play. Newmarket’s dominant 6 - 2 victory over Barrie on Saturday night was the perfect way to cap a very strong regular season. At the beginning of the season Saints GM Stew Beatty said, “we’re going to surprise some people, I think we’ll make the playoffs”, well Stew you were right. As of right now Newmarket is seeded fifth in the Eastern Conference and will face either Halton Hills or Nepean in round one, but more on the playoffs later.
In the first period the Saints jumped out to a quick 4 - 0 lead on goals from Shawn Beer (2), TJ Cook, and Logan Hurst. New Saint Mike “Machine Gun” Vertolli wanted to get on the game sheet but an illegal equipment penalty probably wasn’t what he had in mind. Nonetheless the former Markham captain is a key addition for depth and offense in the playoffs. Adam Miles could not be beaten in the first period as he was tremendous for the Saints. The difference in this period and this game was the goaltending as Miles was strong all night and the starting Barrie goalie was not up the task.
In the second the Saints scored two more times to take a 6 - 0 lead. TJ “Time Bomb” Cook completed his hat trick in the second period and the six goals were more than enough for a confident Adam Miles. The Saints D deserves a lot of the credit as they teamed up to put up a wall that Barrie could not penetrate and they were not caught in transition even once tonight. Nick Trach used his blazing speed to get a couple of breakaways but was not able to finish. Barrie managed one past Miles in the second period but Newmarket refocused and stopped the attack.
In the third there were only two dead balls in the entire period and Newmarket was more than happy to let the time run out. The first stoppage was the second Barrie goal and the second was Kyle O’Donnell filling Jordan Mitts first with his glove and then when the mask came off O’Donnell hit him with the bare knuks on the uppercuts.
This game changed the standings again but some teams still have games remaining. Starting at the top of the conference Oakville can still tie the Green Gaels with 34 points and hold the tie breaker so they can win the conference - these two teams will be the top two seeds. Nepean has clinched the 3 seed as a result of winning the Far East division and Halton Hills has clinched the 4 seed. Newmarket is currently 5, Mimico 6, and Barrie 7, but if Barrie wins its final game against Oakville they will jump to five and Newmarket will fall to six. The Saints hold the tie break over Mimico thanks to a 7 - 6 win earlier in the season. Awkwasasne has clinched the final playoff spot and has the task of playing the top seed.
All of this and there are still two possible playoff opponents for the Saints. A Barrie loss will mean the Saints finish in 5th and will play Halton Hills, a team that beat the Saints 9 - 7 very early in the season and boasts the top scorer in the OLA in Patty Saunders. A Barrie victory will move Newmarket to 6th and they will play Nepean a team they dropped 15 - 8 at the Complex on May 25. In either scenario the Saints will have to win despite giving up home floor advantage. Barrie and Oakville play on June 25 and the Saints opponent will be determined as soon as it is over.
What a great regular season! GO SAINTS GO
