CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The Island Storm has proven people wrong all season, so what’s one more time?
That is the approach the squad is taking into Game 1 of the playoffs tonight in Halifax against the three-time defending Atlantic Division champion Hurricanes.
“It’s a great feeling,” forward Du’Vaughn Maxwell said on the eve of the playoffs. “A feeling that many, I guess, doubted we’d even see. We get an opportunity to live again, so just press the reset button. Whatever happened in the season, good or bad, it never happened. We get the chance to play a whole new season.”
Not much was expected from the Storm entering the season with a massive turnover on the roster and on the bench. The only holdovers were forward Brad States and assistant coach Jeff Morrison.
“We were picked to literally finish 10th in a 10-team league and we were picked to be out of the playoffs, so to be a game under .500 at the end of the regular season, I think, is a pretty good showing with all the injuries,” head coach Tim Kendrick said before Wednesday’s practice.
He credits the players for plowing through a ton of adversity this season that saw them play much of the year with a short bench.
That scene could continue tonight as Chris Anderson (hand), Tyler Scott (ankle) and Trenity Burdine (eye) were all questionable before Wednesday’s practice. If all three can’t play, it would leave the Storm with eight active players, but Kendrick remained confident his guys could win, despite a short bench if needed, by executing its game plan.
“They’re a great team, they’re very well coached, but I think we’re an awful good team, too, when we have our guys here and ready to go,” he said.
Halifax (28-12) is the league’s top-ranked team while the Storm (19-21) finished fourth in the division after losing four straight games to wrap up the regular season. Former Storm assistant coach Mike Leslie is the Hurricanes bench boss.
The Storm will be on the road for the first two games of the best-of-five series before action swings back to Charlottetown for Game 3. Kendrick said the team is looking at the positives of the matchup and are excited to get the series underway.
“It appears to me like the championship series is going to go through Halifax one way or the other, so, it’s always easier to beat a team three times than four times,” he said.
The Storm’s biggest hit during the season was losing captain and point guard Andre Stringer, but it has received great seasons from Franklin Session, Maxwell and Chris Johnson. Rookies Scott and Kemy Osse have made key contributions while the late-season acquisition of forward Carl Hall has given the team a needed low-post presence.
Hall only played once with the Storm against the Hurricanes in late March when the Storm dressed eight players and lost.
The Hurricanes also have dealt with the loss of a key player during this season as C.J. Washington (knee) is done for the year.
Kendrick said Rhamel Brown has stepped in and played well in Washington’s absence.
The Hurricanes are 7-1 against the Storm this season.
“I think it’s hard to beat a pretty good team several times, so we’re thinking the pressure is all on Halifax,” Kendrick said. “We’re thinking it’s our time. We’re going to turn this thing around in the playoffs and get it going in the right direction.”
The Storm is battle-tested, Maxwell said, given the adversity it has been through.
“I can’t imagine a team that has taken as many blows than us during the season,” he said. “We took a lot of bumps and bruises, and I think that it made us better moving forward. I guess in the playoffs we can see how much better.”
Leaders
A look at the Island Storm and Halifax Hurricanes regular season leaders:
Scoring
Hurricanes
Antoine Mason 19.4
Billy White 18.2
C.J. Washington 14.4
Ta’Quan Zimmerman 12.7
Mike Poole 12
Tyrone Watson 11.3
Storm
Franklin Session 20
Du’Vaughn Maxwell 18.4
Carl Hall 18.3
Chris Johnson 17.8
Chris Anderson 10.3
Rebounding
Hurricanes
Billy White 8.9
Rhamel Brown 7.3
C.J. Washington 7.2
Storm
Franklin Session 9.7
Carl Hall 8.7
Du’Vaughn Maxwell 7.3
Assists
Hurricanes
Cliff Clinkscales 7.4
Ta’Quan Zimmerman 3.1
Billy White 2.7
Storm
Franklin Session 5.8
Du’Vaughn Maxwell 3.7
Chris Johnson 3.3
Free-throw percentage
Hurricanes
Ta’Quan Zimmerman 87.7
Renaldo Dixon 85.5
Mike Poole 79.5
Storm
Chris Johnson 86.1
Tyler Scott 76.5
Franklin Session 76.1
Head-to-head
A look at the outcome of the regular season meetings between the Island Storm and Halifax Hurricanes.
Dec. 10 in Halifax
Hurricanes 99 Storm 88
Dec. 17 in Halifax
Hurricanes 106 Storm 96
Dec. 31 in Charlottetown
Hurricanes 123 Storm 116
Jan. 13 in Halifax
Hurricanes 114 Storm 94
Jan. 28 in Charlottetown
Hurricanes 103 Storm 100
Feb. 3 in Charlottetown
Hurricanes 117 Storm 94
March 1 in Charlottetown
Storm 96 Hurricanes 93
March 29 in Halifax
Hurricanes 118 Storm 92
