O’LEARY – The Prince County Warriors are hoping their magical run continues.
The Central Attack is looking to bounce back.
The two teams will meet in Game 2 of the best-of-five championship series in the P.E.I. Major Bantam AAA Hockey League at the O’Leary Community Sports Centre on Sunday at 5:45 p.m.
The Warriors lead 1-0 after a 5-1 road win in Charlottetown on Wednesday. That game was the Warriors’ third in as many days and fifth in six days, which included a 4-2 road win over the Eastern Express in the fifth and deciding game of the semifinals on Tuesday.
“It’s been pretty special,” said Warriors head coach Cleve McNeill in describing the Warriors’ playoff run. “Our kids really pulled through, especially in Game 1.
“I know some got home up in West Prince past midnight (Tuesday), and to see they answered the bell for Game 1 was pretty special.”
The Warriors won the deciding game against Eastern and opener versus Central without team captain Zach Biggar, who was named the league’s top defenceman for the regular season. “Everybody stepped it up. It was incredible to see how simple they played. I can’t say enough about our how our D all stepped up after having our captain and leader go down.”
The Attack, meanwhile, is looking to get back on the ice.
“We are happy with the way we played for almost the first two periods (of Game 1), and had a little breakdown in the last minute of the second period that we couldn’t recover from,” assessed Attack head coach Jeff MacDonald. “Hopefully, we will learn from that and get back to the rink Sunday ready to play.”
MacDonald said he is not calling Game 2 “a must-win” situation for the Attack, but understands its importance.
“We definitely want to get that game back, and we have an opportunity to do that Sunday afternoon,” said MacDonald. “We are going to have to pick up the pace. They are just coming off a five-game run where they went the limit against a strong Eastern Express team, and for us Mid-Isle gave us everything we could handle (in a three-game sweep).
“The tempo has definitely picked up in the championship final, and we are going to have to start playing like it is a final.”
Simple game
McNeill acknowledged playing “a simple game” has been a key to the Warriors’ success.
“It’s really 200 feet, take care of your own end and trust that your hard work is going to get you results in the offensive end,” explained McNeill. “We are a hard-nosed, gritty, blue-collar hockey team, and we are playing that way. It’s nice to see the kids putting the effort in and getting results.”
And that is not going unnoticed. A big crowd cheered on the Warriors in Game 4 against Eastern, and another large gathering is expected on Sunday.
“The boys have received a lot of support from West Prince and Prince County,” said McNeill. “There have a lot of hockey figures reaching out giving their support.
“We had a fan bus come down all the way to Montague for Game 5 at eight o’clock at night, and it was over half full. It really gives the guys a boost, and that support system is one of the reasons we are doing so well. It’s pushing the kids along and giving them an incentive to work harder.”
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