A berth at provincials was not in the cards for 100 Mile Mayvin Midget Milers Reps.
The players gave it their best shot at the Tier 3 zones, forcing a third game in the best-of-three series, but came up just short of a crucial second win.
The Milers played the first two games of a series against Prince George Cougars in Prince George, Feb. 15-16.
The opening game ended in a 4-1 loss, but wasn’t indicative of the team’s potential, according to coach Dustin Price.
He says one of the squad’s key players was out of the lineup for the game due to a one-game suspension he was hit with the previous weekend and the team felt the effect.
Derek Popadinac scored the lone Miler goal, unassisted in the first period.
With a full bench for their second game, however, fortune was reversed and the Milers tied the series with a 5-2 victory. Singles went to Colton Ray, Jacob Remanente and Tyker Purcha, and Keenan Butcher scored twice.
The teams faced off for the rubber match at the South Cariboo Rec. Centre on Feb. 17, and the Milers got a lot of strong fan support.
“They were still pretty focused and ready to go,” says Price. “They were really happy to come home and have a game.”
The visitors opened the scoring in the first period and held a 1-0 lead in the second frame until Ray lit the lamp for the Milers.
Just seconds after the ensuing faceoff, Prince George slid one between the pipes for a 2-1 lead and then widened the gap to 3-1 a few minutes later.
However, Popadinac unleashed a bullet from the blue line with one minute left on the score clock. It blew past the Prince George goaltender who didn’t move on the shot, and the Mayvin Milers only trailed 3-2 at the end of the second stanza.
Despite significant pressure around the visitor’s net in the third period, the Milers couldn’t find the back of the net. Prince George skated away with the victory, while the Milers were down and disappointed, says Price.
“They worked really hard and they wanted to win.”
Despite the loss, he adds, it was a classy way to end the series.
“It was the best hockey we played all year and that’s what we wanted to see.”
