The Killarney Shamrocks might have fallen in game three but they still lead the Tiger Hills Hockey League Final 2-1 and goaltender Brian Archibald believes his group will be ready come game four.
Looking back over the first two games, Archibald points to a few key areas where his team were able to find success. "I thought we had a great effort in the first two games. We were ready to play right from puck drop in game one and in game two, we were able to get on the board early again. Just a really good effort from the whole team, from top to bottom. Everyone was contributing across the board, which was great. Everyone was playing the right way, which was great to see."
In the first two games, Archibald says the group was led by forward Ty Enns, who put the team on his back and was a massive part of finding the first two wins in the series. "He's obviously a great player, for sure. He's dynamic offensively and he's been able to find that extra gear when we need it. He's been awesome for us all year. He's pretty fast, he's got a great shot and he makes the guys he's playing with better, too. Obviously, we really count on him to carry the mail a lot of the time and the guys he's playing with have done a great job allowing him to be successful. Overall, he's been a great addition for us this year and it's been great having him."
Some of the details that were there in games one and two slipped a bit but Archibald believes his group can and will be better moving forward. "I think there are a few things we can clean up from game three. Not taking anything away from their effort, their backs are against the wall and they came out with a really good effort. We knew they were going to do it but we felt we didn't have our best effort. Our attention to detail maybe wasn't where it was earlier. When two good teams are going at it in the playoffs, that's going to happen. Any mistakes we make, they're ready to take advantage of. End of the day, we're pretty confident in how we've been playing. They got one on us but it doesn't change our mindset, we need to get back to playing our game."
Game four will be in Virden, normally a tough place to play but the Shamrocks have had success there already in the series which provides a boost of confidence heading into Thursday. "We just approach it as another game," Archibald explains. "We've had success on the road this year but our mindset doesn't change. They have good fan support and they make it a tough barn to play in. We had a good effort in that game two and I was really proud how the guys kind of weathered the ups and downs of the game throughout every period. It's more so going in with that mindset that they'll be ready to play and we'll have to be ready as well."
Archibald knows there will be a strong showing of Shamrock fans that will make the trip and it's something the players appreciate. "We're fortunate to have great fan support in Killarney. Awesome community support, which is great. There will be fans making the trip to Virden and we always get comments from people around town, they're cheering for us. Can't say enough about the community. They're so great and it was awesome to see our barn full and hopefully we can see more going forward."
Being a competitive guy and with the top two teams going head-to-head, Archibald says everyone is having a lot of fun. "It's been really great," he says with a smile. "When you start the season, you want to put yourself in this position. Seeing the top two teams going at it in the finals, it's great for everybody. They're fun to play, lots of skill on both sides and great players on both sides. These are the games you want to play and the position you want to be in every year. It's been awesome and hopefully the fans are enjoying it as much as we are."
Game four is in Virden on Thursday night.