The Owen Sound Attack face elimination tonight in the Ontario Hockey League Playoffs when they host the Kitchener Rangers at the Harry Lumley-Bayshore Community Centre.
The Rangers have a 3 games to none lead in the best of 7 and can advance to the Western Conference Semifinal with a win tonight, a verdict that would not only end the Attack season, but end it on what could be an 8 game losing streak.
Am I disappointed by the fact the Attack are on the brink of elimination ? Certainly.
Am I more disappointed about the potential of being swept by the opponent at hand ? You bet !
Am I disappointed in the Attack players, or the organization ? Not at all. Not one bit !
The Attack have been felled by a sequence of events that range from puzzling to maddening.
That sequence has left Owen Sound with a significantly depleted lineup in terms of numbers, skill level and experience, and to the Rangers credit they are exploiting it.
But to Owen Sound’s credit, I can’t imagine this group, at this time, playing any harder or any better.
The lineups that hit the ice tonight in Owen Sound will favor Kitchener by almost 70 goals over the course of the regular season. Effectively mark Daniel Catenacci, as the Rangers have done, and that margin is even wider.
Still, the key moments in victory for the Rangers have come down either two man power plays or in the case of Saturday’s game, a very late goal.
So, no, I’m not disappointed in the team or organization, not one iota, and I’m not about to rip them apart.
I’ll leave that to city of Kitchener, the Rangers and their media entourage who have carved the Attack, and the city of Owen Sound for that matter, throughout this series.
I’m Fred Wallace