..FROM THE DESK OF MIKE HAYAKAWA..
NEVER QUIT WAXERS HAVE THEIR SEASON SNATCHED AWAY
The Markham Waxers lived by the power play in Monday's sixth game of its second-round South Conference Provincial Junior A Hockey League playoff series against the Wexford Raiders at Centennial Arena.

But in Tuesday's seventh and deciding game at the Scarborough Arena Gardens, the Waxers died by the shorthanded situation they were faced with in a 6-4 loss that sent them packing for another season.

"Wexford's a good team," conceded an irate Waxers head coach Russ Herrington upon conclusion of Tuesday's game. "But I don't believe they're better than us."

What upset Herrington and the rest of the Waxers' staff though wasn't so much the final score in as much as the officiating, which played a hand in the outcomes of Monday and Tuesday's games.

A power-play goal by Jesse Boucher at the 2:09-Mark of the second overtime of Monday's sixth game, which ended at 11:58 p.m., enabled the Waxers to skate off with a 7-6 win to force a seventh and deciding game.

Less then 24 hours later, the Raiders nursed a slim 5-4 lead with just under six minutes in regulation time when referee Mike Pearce prevented the players from deciding the final outcome after sending Jason Young off for holding and 40 seconds later, Mark Mitchell for slashing.

The two-man disadvantage proved too deep a hole for the Waxers to dig out of in a series that see-sawed back and fourth as the Raiders deposited a power-play goal by Matt Foy, his second extra strength marker and third of the game, to ice the contest and series.

"The refereeing was despicable," said Herrington, who felt the two consecutive infractions called against his club in the third period was the game's turning point. "Tonight the players are supposed to decide the game. I'm disappointed on behalf of our players. They played their guts out all year and all season. The game was taken out of their hands."

"We wish Wexford all the best in the next round. They played a good game and I'm proud of our guys. I don't think we gave up," added Waxers owner Don Bremner, who was equally upset and not at a loss for words in questioning Pearce's work. "He's a disgrace to the league. He made some poor calls and he was out of his element. Games at this level have to be decided by the players."

The Ontario Hockey Association defended its decision to employ Terry Hober in Monday's game and Pearce on Tuesday by noting they both fit the criteria used to select referees for postseason play. As well, they noted the pair handle Ontario Hockey League contests.

In Tuesday's finale, the Raiders nursed a 1-0 lead after one period before the Waxers got goals from Adam Doucette and Jason Duffy to take a 2-1 advantage midway through the second period.

But the Raiders scored two unanswered goals before the period concluded to regain the upper hand at 3-2.

The Waxers were dealt a setback on its blueline at the midway point when defenceman Derek Doucette received a game misconduct for a five-minute cross checking from behind call.

Early in the third, the Raiders padded its margin with a power-play goal that drew some funny stares from the gathering on hand when a possible offside call was missed.

Refusing to wilt, the Waxers responded with unanswered goals near the midway point on a shorthanded effort by Kevin Tompkins and Boucher. But a defensive lapse by the Waxers enabled Johnathan Durno to walk in unmolested on goalie Rick Marnon and drill a puck past him to put Wexford ahead for good.

That set the stage for the chain of events that went against the Waxers in the waning moments of the game.

Herrington acknowledged that some untimely defensive lapses did not help his club. "You can't afford to give them those chances," he said. In Monday's game, the Waxers also incurred the wrath of the officiating as Hober issued game misconducts to defenceman Alex Stoyan and forward Adam Doucette for head checking infractions.

And similar to Tuesday, the Waxers were forced to play catch up as they trailed 2-0 through 20 minutes before taking a 3-2 lead in the second on goals from Steve Nobili, a shorthanded effort, Tompkins and Boucher.

But the Raiders took advantage of a five-minute major given to the Waxers by collecting three power-play goals to take a 5-3 lead.

Just before the period concluded, Paul Robinson delivered a power-play goal to cut the Raiders' lead to 5-4. After Tompkins scored his second of the game to tie the game early in the third, the Raiders took a 6-5 lead before Derek Doucette tied the game to force overtime.

Reflecting on the series, Herrington felt the fourth game, one which the Waxers lost on home ice that allowed the Raiders to even the series, might have been the turning point. "We probably should have had that game. We wish we had that one back. It was a game we had a chance to win. It would have been different being up three games to one instead of being tied at two."

Ending the season on a bitter note to what was a fairly even series, Herrington still praised the character of his club. "It's such a shame," he said of the series ending the way it did. "But I'm so proud of the way we battled and we did that all year. Every time we got counted out we proved people wrong."

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