The championship banners have been hung at the Harry Lumley-Bayshore Community Centre, destined be a terrific reminder of a terrific hockey season in which the Owen Sound Attack won their first ever Ontario Hockey League Championship.
But now that the banners have been raised, signifying a major accomplishment from the recent past, it’s time to move on to the immediate future.
The Attack have dropped their last two games and sit with a record of 3 & 3 heading to Thanksgiving Weekend.
That mark isn’t great, but it’s far from a disaster.
The Attack coaches have areas of concern, no question, but they’ve got all kinds of time to rectify them and move forward.
Looking forward, the Attack are presented with a significant opportunity this weekend with their annual doubleheader at Erie against the Otters, followed by the traditional Thanksgiving Monday afternoon home game, this year against Saginaw.
The Otters are winless in 4 starts on the year, while Saginaw has just one win in 4 starts heading to a weekend road swing through the MidWest Division.
The potential exists that if everything goes Owen Sound’s way and Saginaw stumbles through their games at Kitchener and Guelph, Owen Sound could find themselves 12 points up on Erie and 10 up on Saginaw by Monday night.
The Owen Sound Attack won the 2011 OHL Championship. But that’s the past.
Three games against American based opponents this weekend suddenly have taken on far more significance.
I’m Fred Wallace