Waxers Win South-East Championship

From www.markhamwaxers.ca

Kyle Rank Shuts the Doors  in Leading the Waxers to the South-East Conference Championship.

Once again, team work paid off for a confident Waxers Junior Hockey team. In the post-season balance, depth, hard work and great goaltending has led the Waxers to a first-ever South-East Championship.

In game one, suffering from the emotional high of beating the Buzzers, the Waxers  went down to an opportunistic Wellington Dukes team. The Waxers were also awed by the “Fabled Dukes” and their supporters. Most of the pundits picked the Dukes to either “sweep the Waxers” or beat them handily in five games. The so-called experts pointed to the great “Duke” tradition, better coaching staff and overall better players. The Dukes had just swept Kingston and their playoff march was to continue. The Waxers were merely a “pebble” that was in the way; forgetting that the Waxers had beaten the Buzzers and the Vipers; two good hockey teams from the South Division. In losing the first game, the Waxers learned that the “Dukes” were human after all. It was a valuable “shot of reality”. Sure the Dukes won the first battle, but the war was far from over. The Waxers and their coaching staff observed and adjustments were made. In short mistakes and turnovers had to be eliminated or minimized.

.Game two posed a new challenge to the Waxers, the “Dukedome”. What the hockey sages forgot that the Waxers had five players in their lineup who had played in the “Dukedome” before with other teams. Murray Free and Stephen Harding with Lindsay, Corey Tamblyn with Port Hope, Breton McKinnon with Peterborough and Cody Hamilton with Cobourg. The Waxers also knew that the road to the championship had to go through the “Dome”. Led by Murray Free, the Waxers dominated the Dukes in their “house” and silenced the home town crowd with a convincing 5-2 win. Kyle Rank shut the door whenever the Dukes came calling.

Game three was the Kostuch show. Four goals and two assists. The Kostuch-Cornacchia and Scheu combination of speed and finesse was too much for the Dukes to handle. Cornacchia had one goal and four helpers and Scheu with four assists.Matty Meszaros and his body checks had the Dukes wondering when he was going to strike next. The Waxers prevailed 7-4.

Game four was back in the “Duke Dome” with the local Wellington fans convinced that their heroes would prevail and start the end of Markham’s Cinderalla ride. With their cans ready, their pent-up vitriolics ready to be unleashed, the fans waited for their “knights” to overcome those “pretenders” from Markham. Not to be outdone by the game three combo of Kostuch-Scheu-Cornacchia and combination of Hudes-Free-Tamblyn took over and showed Markham’s balance. Kevin Hudes potted three goals, Claudio Cowdrey one and the Waxers skated off with a 4-2 win. The Waxers proved that they could win in unfriendly confines.

Game five at Markham on Saturday night saw much of the same. Outstanding goaltending and great team play. This combination enabled the Waxers to win the South-East Conference Championship with a convincing 4-1 win.

The Waxers now await the winner of the Aurora/Oakville series.