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ODSS Bears win quarter-final in District 4/10 playoffs

February 17, 2016   ·   0 Comments

8-1 win over St. James moves Bears to next round

When it comes to high school hockey – there are no second chances.

In the District 4 / 10 playoffs there are no series to move you to the next round, you either win or you lose.

The Orangeville District Secondary School Bears boys hockey team won their quarter-final game against St. James on Thursday, February 11, in a game that saw two short-handed goals and ended with an 8-1 win for the ODSS team.

The Bears finished the regular season in second place with a 9-1-1 record and 19 points.

They were tied in points with Centre Wellington District High School who ended the regular season with one loss and one overtime loss.

The second place finish set the Bears up to play St. James in the quarter-final.

St. James finished fifth in the District standings with a 2-7-1 record then managed to advance with a 6-1 win over Norwell District Secondary School in the opening round.

Thursday’s quarter-final saw the Bears jump out to an early lead on goals from Kyle Waters, Jake Quinlan and Trevor Nevidomskis.

The Bears were ahead 5-0 when Ryan Boon notched one in the second frame followed up by a short-handed goal from Waters when he got a break-away from the blueline and took the high shot that bounced off the crossbar and into the net.

The game ended with three more Bears goals from Nevidomskis, Quinlan, and Waters.

St. James avoided the shut-out with a single goal with 3:53 left on the clock.

“We wanted the secondary guys to score today,” Said Bears coach Justin Davis. “We wanted some depth today. The first guys always score and always seem to get to or three, but we’re nothing unless our second and third line gets out there and they played well today. I think the fact that you don’t have to play the fist line for two and a-half minute shifts and they come off and go back on – we were rolling three lines. For them to come off and get a bit of rest and go back on full strength is a big deal.”

With an strong scoring offence the squad also played a solid defensive game that kept St. James away from the net and forced into the corners for much of the game.

“We had our top two ‘D’ playing. They’ve been out for a month. Just to have them, pushes everybody back to were they should be. Sometimes when you ask guys to play roles they really shouldn’t be playing makes it difficult. It’s nice to have everybody back and see what they’re capable of,” Davis said.

The Bears will now be up against J.F Ross Vocational Institute in the semi-final.

That game was held on Wednesday, February 17, with results not available at press time.

In other series, Orangeville’s Westside Secondary School Thunder won their quarter-final game over Our Lady of Lourdes at the Alder Street arena on Thursday, February 11.

The final was 4-3.

The Westside team will now face Centre Wellington in the Semi-final game.

By Brian Lockhart

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