No foolin’ — Bruins are division champs
Roger Varley
After one of their best regular seasons in years, the Uxbridge Bruins dispatched all opposition in the playoffs, culminating with a win over the Eagles in Clarington last Sunday to earn the PJHL's Orr Division championship and the Cougar Cup.
In the playoffs, the Bruins won 12 of 15 games and outscored their opponents 100 to 21. Almost every player on the Bruins squad earned points during the run, with defenceman Tyson Lotton leading the way with 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points.
HOLDING HIGH THE COUGAR CUP - The Uxbridge Bruins gave a moment with their hard-earned trophy to super-fan, Knox Adams, after Sunday evening’s division-winning game. For more on the game, and what’s next for the team, see story below. Photo submitted by Peter Ovens
The Cougar Cup came after the Bruins downed the Clarington Eagles 3-0 on Sunday to take their best-of-seven series 4-2.
After the final buzzer, the Bruins erupted in jubilation, with helmets, sticks and gloves flying through the air as the players gathered around goalie Robbie DiMaria, who won 10 of 13 games with a goals-against average of 1.46. Every member of the Bruins received a white Orr Division championship cap, and then came the presentation of the cup to captain Tanner Ryan.
For Trevor Cox, this was his fifth Cougar Cup. He won three times as a player, once as coach and now once as general manager.
The lead-up to the final game started at the arena on Tuesday, March 24, where the Bruins, tied 1-1 in the series, took the lead with a 6-2 victory, including a power-play goal and a short-handed goal.
Two nights later, the Eagles contributed to their own 4-1 defeat with undisciplined play that led to multiple penalties. As a result, the Bruins scored two power-play markers and an empty net goal.
Back at home last Friday, the Bruins did not play well, with defensive lapses that led to two of the Eagles' goals. Clarington's 3-2 win narrowed the series to 3-2.
That led to Sunday's confrontation, where the Bruins won 3-0. Clarington's roster was short three players who were serving suspensions and during the course of the game, two more Eagles were ejected from the game.
Crowds at the arena during the series were large, with last Friday's game drawing a near record 843 fans. The prize for the Bruins' 50-50 draw was an enormous $640.
The Bruins now move on to the hunt for the PJHL's Schmaltz Cup, with the first step being the Eastern Conference final, in which they will face the Frankford Huskies. On paper, the Bruins would seem to have the edge. In the regular season, the Bruins scored 206 goals and allowed 72, for a difference of 134. The Huskies scored 175 and allowed 114, for a difference of 61. |In terms of penalties, while the Bruins
spent 611 minutes in the penalty box, the Huskies were in there for 740 minutes. The first game of the series against the Huskies will be held in Frankford on Saturday at 7 p.m.
At the Bruins practice on Tuesday, head coach Dan West was confident looking ahead to the Eastern Conference final. West said his team had more depth than any other teams in the Orr Division and expected that to carry the team through. Although the defence played a big part in the Bruins' success, West said no one part of the team is more important than another.
He also said he has talked to some people in the Tod Division and has some idea what to expect from the Huskies. He said he plans no changes to his lineup or the team's game plan.