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TIGERS PUT AN END TO
WAXERS' SEASON Fuelled by the momentum gained from a dramatic double overtime 3-2 home ice win on Sunday, the Tigers sent the Waxers packing their equipment into storage for another season with a 3-1 win in the fourth game at Centennial Arena on Monday. While disappointed that the Waxers suffered another early, first-round exit, team General Manager Larry Herrington felt his club did the things needed to tame the Tigers. "I thought we did a reasonable job of executing things we wanted to do. We deserved things to go our way." However, he felt emotions suffered in an excruciating loss 24 hours earlier were too much to overcome. "The turning point on Monday came with the overtime goal the night before," Herrington cited. "We expected both teams to come plodding out (on Monday). They weren't bent for leather and neither were we. They didn't do anything surprising. It was just a means of an ability to overcome, to get the momentum back. We took the momentum going into Aurora (after winning on Friday) and we left it there. Trailing 1-0 after one period, the Waxers tied the game with a shorthanded goal by David Colucci. But that would be the final goal of the season for the Waxers. The Tigers added a pair of goals before the period concluded to round out the scoring. Momentum was not the only element the Waxers could have used. With a little bit of luck, Herrington felt his club might have forced a deciding game and possibly be playing in the second round. "Our inability to cash in our chances definitely hurt us," Herrington said. "With a couple of breaks it could have gone differently for us. We had two goals disallowed in the series, we hit goal posts and we missed a wide open net where a shot goes off the goalie's face and he's still looking for the puck. Things like that happened. There's nothing you can't pinpoint more than that." Nonetheless, Herrington gave full marks to the Tigers, who got some big efforts from players not normally called upon to provide any offense. "I thought we shut down their big line of Eric Pacey, Dominic Moore and Ryan Latimer. Up until Monday they had sever of their eight goals. But one of their lesser players (Jeremy Cornish) scored two goals. What we saw as misfortune, they were fortunate to get things going."
While disappointed that some of his own players did not step up their game, Herrington praised the work of goalie Tom Lawson, whom he felt kept the team in contention for the entire series. "He gave us a chance to win every night. To keep a team to three goals you should get going." Reflecting on the season, one which saw the Waxers win a team-high 29 games during the regular season, Herrington insisted the positives outweighed the negatives. "I think it was a great year. On the ice we had some outstanding individual efforts and achievements." "I know there were a lot of other programs around the league looking for us to self-destrucct due to the amalgamation (old Thornhill Rattlers and Waxers) from a staff side of things." "We recognized the importance of doing our job from an administrative side of things and our owners were tremendous with their time and money. They were caring guys."
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