Once upon a time, the Owen Sound Platers advanced to the Western Conference Championship Series.
They advanced by eliminating Guelph in 6 games, clinching the series at home on a warm Sunday afternoon.
Understandably, the Platers celebrated that night.
And word was, they celebrated the next day too.
And the good times continued the day after that, as the Platers awaited to see whether they would meet Plymouth or London who had extended their semifinal series to 7 games.
London managed to stun Plymouth, winning game 7 by a huge margin on the road, gaining great momentum, as they hit the final with Owen Sound.
The Platers, who had relished their victory indoors and outdoors, caught colds, lost weight, and in the 7 days following the Guelph clincher, totally lost their edge by the time Game 1 was played at London to accommodate the annual Home Show at the Bayshore.
A veteran player bailed on a neutral zone hit, made a careless behind the back pass that was picked off by the the Knights who went up ice to score the winner in an eventual 3-0 win in the opener.
Try as they might, Owen Sound never really caught up to the Knights, never played as well as they had against Guelph, and dropped the series to the Knights in a lightning quick 5 game set.
Poof……. It was gone.
Twelve looooooong years later, here we are again, waiting on Saginaw or Windsor to advance.
I’m not so old, nor so square that I don’t get the desire to celebrate accomplishment.
But hockey more and more is about preparation, and with changing weather and school age distractions almost everywhere, I hope the Owen Sound Attack keep their focus, maintain their discipline, hold their edge and continue to achieve, leading them to a place where no other Owen Sound OHL club has ever been before.
Circle May 30th on the calendar, and THEN, let the partying begin.
I’m Fred Wallace