Before anyone goes and ‘googles’ it; this is actually the year of the goat according to the Chinese Zodiac; which if your the superstitious type may have lead you to bet on the Sheep Dogs. I mean they were the closest in terms of a name to a goat – right?
The Kamikaze Canucks and Doc’s Devils likely don’t go out and purchase the Chinese tabloids or media; both teams after all are lifetime subscribers to the St Felix.
And while the Devils each featured some great players and playmakers; both teams arguably had the same concern pointed out by scouts. The area of concern? Goaltending.
Harry in his January 25th article did a bang up job evaluating each teams overall look, and he correctly predicted the final two teams. He also emphasized that ‘goaltending wins games’; a remark only made with the Devils and Kanucks.
Bearcat and Skippy must have ignored the media pressure; particularly Bearcat who last year had one of his most disappointing showings. It was only fitting then that not only did Bearcat lead his team to the finals; but he captures the tournament MVP to boot. Very fitting -the guy sported a 2.3 GAA. Harry predicted the final teams; but my earlier articles have proven true with both mini tournaments and the finals. To win, a team had to score an average of two goals a game; and allow less than two goals to be scored against them. The Devils defense was just .5 over with their GAA.
A really interesting tournament in the 26th year of the club. Two penalties called during the day and a second year in which the finals required overtime. The biggest surprise, and one not likely to have been bet on – Skippy quietly captures back to back cups. Year of the ‘under’ dog indeed. A Tomcat salute to the Bearcat and Skippy whilst I’m Pattyn Megryoin.
Pattyn
Windsor Tomcats 