More Junior hockey talk: Wildcats make the playoffs.
On Thursday night the Wichita Falls Wildcats played host to the division-leading and two-time defending NAHL champion Texas Tornado. The Wildcats were in third place in the South Division, one point ahead of the fourth place Springfield Jr. Blues and five points ahead of the fifth place Santa Fe Roadrunners. The Tornado and the Texarkana Bandits had already clinched two of the four playoff spots, and the remaining two were very much up for grabs. At that time, the Wildcats could control their own destiny by winning two of their last six games. With one of their best performances of the season, the Wildcats controlled the game and beat the Tornado 3-1. That meant that all they needed to secure a playoff berth was one point in the last five games. That would be far from assured, as the Wildcats had to play the Tornado on its home ice on Friday and Saturday. Friday night the Tornado controlled the action and gained a 6-2 win. Springfield lost, so the Wildcats were still in third place. Saturday, the 'Cats were down 3-2 late in the third period, but tied it up to send the game to overtime. That meant the Wildcats got that crucial one point in the standings to make the playoffs! The bad news was that the Tornado, with one of the best power plays in the league, started OT with the man advantage and scored the game winner early in the extra session. Still, there was joy here in The Falls because of the one point.
There was doubt in the middle of the season. The Wildcats started out the first third of the season on fire, and then won only about a quarter of their games in the next third. The offense was nonexistent for much of that time. The steadiest player continued to be the goalie, Tom Billick. His stats do not show how good he has been this year. For instance, in a game in Fairbanks, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs scored 4 goals, which sounds bad, but they took 56 shots. The worst part was that our boys only managed 18, and almost half of those came in the third period. The offense has steadily improved since then, and that has keyed the successful run to the playoffs. When the Wildcats keep from making bad mistakes, they can beat anybody in this league. I can't wait for the playoffs!
Now the playoff teams in the South Division have been decided, but seeding is still very much up in the air. The Tornado leads the division by three points over Texarkana with each team having two games remaining. The Wildcats and Jr. Blues are tied in points, but Springfield has two games left while Wichita Falls has three, and Wichita Falls is currently in third only by virtue of Springfield having one more loss. Santa Fe plays here on Thursday night, then goes to Frisco for two games against the Tornado. Texarkana plays here on Friday and Saturday. Texarkana and the Tornado could switch positions, and so could Springfield and Wichita Falls. 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3 in the first round. Stay tuned.
On November 27 I basically wrote that the South Division was the toughest, best division in the NAHL, and the season-ending standings prove it. The South Division is the only division in which every team will finish the season with 50 or more points. The last place team in our division, Santa Fe, would have made the playoffs in every other division. Going into the final weekend of the season, the South Division was 64-27-10 in inter-divisional play, and every team had a winning record. And in a 20-team league, the South Division holds the 1, 2, 5, and 7 positions in attendance.
There was doubt in the middle of the season. The Wildcats started out the first third of the season on fire, and then won only about a quarter of their games in the next third. The offense was nonexistent for much of that time. The steadiest player continued to be the goalie, Tom Billick. His stats do not show how good he has been this year. For instance, in a game in Fairbanks, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs scored 4 goals, which sounds bad, but they took 56 shots. The worst part was that our boys only managed 18, and almost half of those came in the third period. The offense has steadily improved since then, and that has keyed the successful run to the playoffs. When the Wildcats keep from making bad mistakes, they can beat anybody in this league. I can't wait for the playoffs!
Now the playoff teams in the South Division have been decided, but seeding is still very much up in the air. The Tornado leads the division by three points over Texarkana with each team having two games remaining. The Wildcats and Jr. Blues are tied in points, but Springfield has two games left while Wichita Falls has three, and Wichita Falls is currently in third only by virtue of Springfield having one more loss. Santa Fe plays here on Thursday night, then goes to Frisco for two games against the Tornado. Texarkana plays here on Friday and Saturday. Texarkana and the Tornado could switch positions, and so could Springfield and Wichita Falls. 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3 in the first round. Stay tuned.
On November 27 I basically wrote that the South Division was the toughest, best division in the NAHL, and the season-ending standings prove it. The South Division is the only division in which every team will finish the season with 50 or more points. The last place team in our division, Santa Fe, would have made the playoffs in every other division. Going into the final weekend of the season, the South Division was 64-27-10 in inter-divisional play, and every team had a winning record. And in a 20-team league, the South Division holds the 1, 2, 5, and 7 positions in attendance.
posted by WCharles @ 3/19/2006 07:24:00 PM
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