Stayner Siskins eliminated in first round of playoffs
The Stayner Siskins had a great regular season and a lousy playoff. The local Junior C team finished second in the Georgian Bay Mid Ontario Hockey League with 62 points from a 28-6-3-3 record, just four points behind perennial league champion Alliston Hornets.
Coached by Steve Walker, a former professional hockey player, Stayner appeared destined to challenge for a league title.
But something happened…. and it wasn’t what they had in mind.
In the playoffs’ first round, Stayner got bumped in six games to the number 7 ranked Orillia Terriers, who squeezed into making the playoffs.
Walker and Siskins general manager Richard Gauthier both felt the team was ready to challenge for a league championship. Gauthier called the upset a “train wreck”; Walker said “disappointment.”
From November to the end of January, Stayner always seemed to win or earn a point. The club picked up 45 of a possible 50 points during that stretch.
Walker, who confided that he hates to lose, ironically felt that a few losses during that stretch may have helped the club to handle adversity during the playoffs.
“You hope when your backs are against the wall you dig in,” he said.
That didn’t happen despite out-shooting the Terriers and controlling the play by a wide margin in the game 5 and game 6 losses, both by 5-2.
“I wanted to see guys go through the wall,” he stated.
The only wall that stood was Orillia’s netminder Gordie Weiss, a one-time Siskin, who stonewalled Siskins shooters time after time.
Weiss played amazing for the Terriers and not only did he block the shots he put doubt in Stayner shooters mind.
Walker, a winner of five German Hockey League championships and an IHL title, is a winner but like he says, “no matter how good you are, you are graded on whether you win.”
Gauthier says the club will conduct a full evaluation of the team.
“We just didn’t pull through,” he said.
Currently, Alliston leads their semi-final series against the Terriers 3-0. Schomberg also is up 3-0 over Penetang Kings in the other series.
Schomberg advanced by defeating Huntsville in six games, while Alliston knocked off Fergus in four straight, as did Penetang over Caledon.
