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2002-03
SEASON IN REVIEW When the Waxers made it known last spring that this was the approach they were going to take, they was much skepticism in the Junior circles as to the level of success that the Waxers would have. Well, they answered their critics in a major way, winning 30 games, finishing with 67 points, and winning the South Division Conference Championship, storming back from a 3-2 deficit in the best of seven series to defeat Wexford. These accomplishments would be terrific in any year but to put it all in perspective, this is the first time in over 20 years that the Waxers won 30 games and marks the first time in 30 years that the Waxers won their Division title. The season started off in a slow fashion, as the Waxers were only 3-3-1 after their first 7 games and finished September with a 4-3-2 record. Telling signs of what to come however, as the Waxers rallied from a 4-1 third period deficit in their opening game to tie St Michael's 4-4 on opening night and followed that up in game 3 by scoring twice in the final 42 seconds against Aurora to claim a 6-5 victory! Twenty year old veteran Ryan Steane scored the first goal of the year for the Waxers, on the power play which was a Waxer strength all year finishing with a success rate of 27.6% and accounting for 105 goals through the 70 games (regular season and playoffs) played by the Waxers this season. October saw the Waxers show the form that kept them in a tight battle for first place in the South Division all year as they streaked to a 6-1-1-1 record, securing points in 8 of the 9 games that month. Perhaps the turning point of the season came in a 2-2 tie against Couchiching in which the Waxers played very understaffed, dressing only 13 players for the game. November and December saw even more success for the Waxers as they soared to a 14-4-2-0 record and finished 2002 in first place in the standings. The team was riding high and setting the community on notice that something special was happening at Markham Centennial Centre this season. Tony Rossi was rewarded for his strong play by being selected as the South Division Player-of-the-Month for December. Perhaps the best example of the community support and involvement came on December 13 when the Waxers hosted their first annual Toy and Toonie Night. In the end, Mark Menonte scored the opening goal of the game and this unleashed an onslaught of 250 stuffed animals from the crowd in the Teddy Bear Toss, all of which were collected and donated by the team to the Markham-Stouffville Hospital. January saw the team continue to battle for first place and prepare for the playoffs. The Waxers struggled through the final 11 games amassing a record of 6-4-1-0 down the stretch and missing the chance to lock up first place in the division as they finished 2 points behind Wexford in the final standings. Albert Ferrante and Pat Porretta were selected to play in the All-Star Game and Head Coach Russ Herrington and Phil Lamont were selected to the staff on the victorious South-East Conference squad that was held in Georgetown on January 22. A week later, all seven of the Waxers 1986 born players played in the OPJAHL Future Stars Game, a league high total. As the regular season ended, one final award was presented to the Waxers as it was announced that Herrington had been selected as South Division Coach of the Year. The regular season ended as the Waxers hosted their fifth Graduating Players Appreciation Night where they honoured their five seniors (Menonte, Rossi, Bowen, Steane and Cribari) before a packed house. The playoffs began with Markham hosting their old rival, Thornhill Rattlers. In a four game sweep, the Waxers exorcised some old demons (a common thread in this year's playoffs) by eliminating their cross-town rivals for the first time in history. The Waxers then went on to take on St Michael's, the team that ended their season in the second round in the 2001-02 season. Jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Waxers finished the job in game 6 thanks to a 5-2 road victory and were headed to the OPJAHL South Division Finals for the first time ever. There they met the Wexford Raiders and true to form, the series was a classic. Bringing back memories of the 7-gamer the teams battled through in the 2000-01 season (which Wexford won), the teams battled back and forth with each team winning their home games through the first 6 games. This trend was important for the Waxers as they hosted game 6, trailing the series 3-2, and came through with a huge victory, 6-5, to push the series to the limit. In game 7, the Waxers broke the trend, storming in to the SAG (home of the Raiders) and taking the Championship behind a 3-2 victory in the best game of the series. The huge celebration that followed represented for some of the key veterans, 3 and 4 years of waiting for that moment. The Waxers moved on to unknown territory in the OPJAHL Final Four where they were defeated by the talented Wellington Dukes team that had finished the regular season as the top ranked team in Canada (47-1-1 record). The playoffs brought a number of memories for the team including Scott Gray's opening game shutout, Andrew Dias' hat trick in game three of the opening round, Kevin Cribari's hat trick in game 4 of the same series, Ben Cottreau's game winner in game 1 against St Mike's in the final two minutes, Cribari doing the same in game 3, Dias getting the game winner in game 1 against Wexford, Mark Menonte's four goal outburst in a 4-2 game 4 victory, Ryan Steane banging home the winner in game 6 and then Cribari scoring the Championship winner in game 7. The Waxers brought fans to the arena in numbers not seen since the late 70s and early 80s and the support given the team through out the year will not soon be forgotten by the players and staff. The maturation of the team and the players individually throughout the year played a major role in the success this year and bodes well for the future for all involved. The Waxers would like to thank their 5 graduating seniors, Mark Menonte, Tony Rossi, Liam Bowen, Ryan Steane and Kevin Cribari for all they did this year and are certainly ecstatic that they could finish their careers in such a fitting way.
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