Based on their current form the
Barracudas roller hockey team seems set to nab a second straight Cherry Cup
championship.
The playoffs for the 2010 Logic
Adult roller hockey league start in two weeks and the Barracudas sport a
comfortable 6-2 record. Thanks to arguably the league’s most improved defence,
the Cudas are second in the standings behind the High Rollers (6-1-1) and their
ongoing dynasty.
Last year the side made a storied
run to their first ever championship after finishing last in the standings. A
big part of that success was Reilly Novak, who has since left the island. Yet
the squad has improved under the leadership of captain Brad Galbraith.
According to the 16 year-old
prodigy, the Barracudas are much better side than last season’s winners.
“I think we are doing much better
this year,” Galbraith said. “We have started well and it looks like we will
finish well too. Our goalie Jeremy (Olynik) has kept us in a lot of games with
some big saves and we are also scoring a lot of goals. We have three players in
the top five for points this year.”
Galbraith leads the group with 19
points (second-best in the league) and is tied for first in assists (six) while
placing second in goals (13). Right behind him is veteran play-maker Mark
Thompson with 13 points (courtesy of five assists and eight goals). Last year’s
Cherry Cup hero Eric Lacasse is sixth in scoring with 12 points off six assists
and six goals.
Meanwhile the Barracudas have
allowed a league-low 41 goals. A big reason for that is Olynik, who has
arguably the best numbers of any goal-tender this season (saving a league-best
84 percent of the shots he faces, allowing 38 goals and recording 239 saves).
Yet for all of that success the
side’s path to glory is anything but easy. The side still have to keep an eye
out for the high-scoring Budget Beavers in third place and a resilient Cayman
Destination Management Services Islanders club that made a surprising run to
last year’s finals. Budget goalie Ryan Vanderwal, who has made the most saves
this year with 282, states even though the Beavers are currently looking up at
the Barracudas in the standings his side still have a shot at the championship.
“We have struggled a bit this
season,” Vanderwal said. “But I’m not worried, we’re used to winning so this
could be a wake-up call for all of us to come together as a team and be ready
for the playoffs. When everyone shows up – our strengths are evident. We have
snipers and diggers on forward, a super solid defence and we can move the puck
so well when the boys are in their groove.
“We have some things to work on and
our timing has been off but if we can get our act together, we can win. It
would also help if (Mark) Missal would quit hitting the post.”
Naturally the High Rollers, who won
some five straight titles this decade, are a team to watch as well. High
Rollers captain Tim Courtis states he is satisfied with his side’s position
heading into the playoffs.
“I’m very pleased with how the
re-vamped High Rollers have played so far this season,” Courtis said. “We lost
a couple of our key players from last season but we have been delighted with
the play of the rookies who joined our team. Matt “I haven’t snapped yet”
Lawson has developed into a very dependable defender and Andrew “Rebound”
Finlason has really stepped up the last few games and is now a very dependable
goalie.
“The High Rollers have always been
known for their up-tempo passing game and recently we’ve hit full stride and
are playing well in both ends of the rink. Dan “the Tin Man” Etherington has
really dazzled offensively and is amongst the scoring leaders. The really great
news so far this season has been the balanced offensive attack with all players
contributing.”
The High Rollers have in fact
scored the most goals in the competition (62). Etherington, the league’s
third-highest scorer with 11 goals, accounts for a sizeable portion of that
offence. Though the contributions from Eric Mildenberger (nine points, seven
goals) and Rob Seward (10 points, nine goals) cannot be overlooked.
Courtis has his focus on nabbing
another regular season title and beating the Barracudas to do so.
“We have a very important game against the Barracudas,
the winner of which will likely be the league leader heading into the playoffs.
We’ll have to stop their high-scoring duo of Brad Galbraith and Mark Thompson.
I think we’ll pay special attention to Brad; we’re very fortunate to have
Darryl “hit man” Hather playing defence who always seems to play extra well and
has a good history of being able to contain Brad.”
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