I-Heads look to put space between selves and Kings in tight playoff race
By Drew McMillin
With just three games to play on the season, the fate of the Ironheads’ (8-8-1, 2nd Mid East) playoff hopes is just where they want it: in their own hands.
Thursday Night, West Durham heads to Orillia to take on a Kings (8-9-0, 3rd Mid East) team that sits just one point back in a tight playoff race. The I-Heads would love to put some space between themselves and their division rival to follow up a successful Ottawa road trip last weekend.
“Picking up those four points in Ottawa was huge for this team,” said head coach Ron Reed. “It helped the team gain back some confidence and helped them gel as a team.”
That confidence boost and the points were much-needed after a six-game home streak in which the I-Heads went 1-5, briefly dropping out of a playoff spot. They now sit seventh, just one point up on both the Kings and the Brampton Excelsiors, with games against only the Kings, Green Gaels and Mississauga Tomahawks remaining on the schedule.
“The players are more confident and a little more beat up knowing that we have started to pull ourselves out of the hole we put ourselves in,” Reed said. “They also know we have three very tough games coming up.”
The first of those three is the season’s third meeting with the Kings. The teams split the first two, with the road team winning each one so far.
Along with playoff seeding, the Kings will be looking to get back into the win column after dropping three straight, including a lopsided 17-6 loss to the Gaels on Sunday.
“Tonight’s game will have a playoff atmosphere with both teams knowing where they are in the standings,” said Reed. “The winner of tonight’s game will put themselves ahead in the standings and perhaps give themselves a higher seeding in the playoff race”
With all that on the line, the action gets going at 8 p.m. Thursday night from the West Orillia Sports Complex.
