The Listowel Cyclones wrap up the season this weekend with their playoff match already set. Locked in 7th place, the Cyclones will play 2nd seed Kitchener in the opening round.
February has been a good month for Listowel, they started the month with four straight wins before consecutive 3-2 losses to Stratford and Elmira. Over that stretch the Cyclones have allowed only 9 goals in 6 games, with two shutouts.
Strong play has came off a eye opening loss. Stratford trounced their Perth County rivals to end January 9-1. Rather than let the result get to them, the loss spurred the 4 straight wins to start the month. Coach Jason Brooks called it a wake up call.
"We had to get back to playing good defense." Brooks said. "We have had to be sharp on that end all season and that continues to be our process."
It could have been much easier to fall off the hill after a big loss, rather than start climbing. Brooks credits the team, and the leadership around the locker room with getting back on to task.
"Our captains (Derek Elliot, Ben Shelly, Tim Nauta and Chad Lemire) did a good job stepping up sitting down with the group. He said."They could have packed it in but decided to go the other way and get back to doing what we do well, they really stepped up and got the guys playing again."
There are still some hockey to play before the opening series with the Kitchener Dutchman. Listowel is in Brantford Thursday before hosting Elmira Friday and going in to Waterloo Sunday.
Once those games are out of the way, the Dutchman await. Knowing the first opponent is a side that has battled for the top all season long will be a real test for Listowel. Coach Brooks says if the group sticks to their game, they can make a series of it.
"We have to keep the scores low." He said. "They are a strong team and if we don't play defense it could be a quick series."
One advantage for the Cyclones is the home barn. Memorial Arena is one of the smallest surfaces in Junior Hockey and adds to the shutdown defense played by the hosts. Brooks says it is even more important in playoffs.
"The contrast between ours and Kitchener is huge, we hope to be able to do our job at home."
Listowel hosts the Elmira Sugar Kings for their last home game of the season. You can hear it Friday night on CKNX starting at 7:25