..FROM THE DESK OF MIKE HAYAKAWA..
OCTOBER 11, 2001
The Markham Waxers have acquired a habit of late that has head coach Russ
Herrington a little disturbed.
And that's in allowing the opposition to get back into a game when trying to
defend a lead late in the third period.
The Waxers did just that in Sunday's Provincial Junior A Hockey League road
contest against the Aurora Tigers.
Nursing a 4-2 lead entering the final period, the Waxers saw their advantage
evaporate with just 58 seconds left when the Tigers scored to force
overtime.
If there's any consolation for the Waxers, they managed to end the extra
session in a 4-4 tie, their first point on the road this season.
"I was up quite late last night (Sunday) thinking about (the letdown). We're
6-4-1-1 (league record) and of our four losses and our overtime loss, we
could have had three wins in which we gave the game away," Herrington cited.
"It's kind of a live and learn situation. But the guys have to start
grasping what's going on. It's mental mistakes more than physical and we've
got to keep working on it."
After a scoreless first period, the Waxers scored all of their goals in the
second period. Beb Cottreau, on a shorthanded effort; Michael Fish, Steve
Nobili, on a power play effort; and Pat Porretta, each scored once to give
Markham a 4-2 lead.
While not wishing to give any excuses for the letdown, Herrington was quick
to point out a shortage of manpower due to a series of injuries and
suspensions did not help. Herrington said some of the absentees which
included forwards Kevin Cribari, Jesse Boucher, Travis O'Rourke and Jason
Young due to injuries and to Mark Mitchell and Paul Robinson, who were
serving suspensions, would have been utilized in crunch time.
"As a coach it's frustrating because we didn't have the guys we wanted to
use to protect the lead. But the guys who played knew what to expect."
The tie came on the heels of an inspiring effort the Waxers gave last Friday
in which they defeated the north conference leading Newmarket Hurricanes 4-2
at Centennial Arena.
The victory came 24 hours after they absorbed a 5-1 loss to the same
Hurricanes club in Newmarket.
Herrington was pleased with the emotion his charges displayed in that
outing.
"We played really well. We capitalized on our chances and minimized theirs,"
he said of Friday's triumph.
Unanswered goals by Ryan Steane and Jason Duffy, on a power play, staked the
Waxers to a 2-0 first-period lead.
After the Hurricanes got one back in the second, back-to-back goals by
Cottreau and Pat Diotte, on a power play, staked the Waxers to a 4-1
advantage through 40 minutes.
David Digironimo made his second start in goal for the Waxers since being
acquired last week from Bramalea and handled 29 of 31 shots directed his
way.
"I think we frustrated Newmarket as to how well we played without the puck,"
cited Herrington. "Even though Newmarket had 31 shots they didnąt have a lot
of good scoring chances. It was a good building block for us," he added of
the victory.
Hosting the Stouffville Spirit tomorrow at 8 p.m., the Waxers are expected
to have all of their sidelined players back in the lineup with the exception
of Cribari.

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