The Cochrane Chaos may have been the top team in the AJFHL, but they can't take a win for granted in their south division best-of-three semifinal series against the Lethbridge Eagles that kicks off tonight in Cochrane.
The Eagles had a challenging season, finishing in the basement of the south with a mere four wins. They lost all six of their games against the Chaos.
Lethbridge wasn't alone in their struggles against the Chaos, though. Cochrane went 27-3 in the regular season and finished five points ahead of their closest rival, the Edmonton Wolves. Topping the league gives the Chaos home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
Cochrane is striving to return to the AJFHL championship series in the hunt for their second provincial title. Finishing 24 points ahead of their closest rival in the south makes them the favourite, but they need to ignore that.
Former Chaos head coach Derek Loomer, now vice-president of hockey operations, remembers three seasons ago when a motivated Eagles team with solid goaltending upset the Chaos to deny them an appearance in the league final.Â
"We ended up sitting on the outside while they moved on to play Lloydminster in that final round. So you can't take anything for granted. We have to go in prepared to play our best game and hopefully, the girls are excited and ready.
"I do believe that if we bring it and everyone plays to their capability and executes, we can move on to that next round, but again, everyone has to be ready and you have to come and bring your best game and not take anything for granted."
What we are guaranteed tonight is the intensity inspired by playoffs.
The puck drops tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Totem One. The series heads to Lethbridge on Saturday. Should a third game be required, the teams return to the SLS Centre on Sunday for a 5:30 p.m. game.