Tony Piroski, head coach of the Essex 73's, feels the Stobbs Division championship series is a toss up. "I wouldn't want to be a betting man and bet on the series," Piroski said. "I wouldn't want to tell you how many games. You just don't know. It's gonna come down to a bounce, a save, a call. It's that tight."
After two games, the best-of-seven series is tied 1-1. Essex took game one 4-3 in Lakeshore Sunday. The Canadiens rebounded with a 3-2 win in Essex Tuesday. "The series deserves to be 1-1," Piroski said. "I thought in the first game we got a couple of bounces and we won. In the second game they got a couple of bounces and they won."
After losing serve in the opener, Canadiens head coach Anthony Iaquinta was happy to get back on even terms on the road. "I think we were very fortunate for our power play getting the opportunities they did and for capitalizing on them when we needed it." Iaquinta said. "We worked harder in the second and third but still have to clean up a bunch of things on our end in order to have some success."
Iaquinta and his assistant Mike Dobric played for Piroski in Essex a decade ago. "I've used everything I’ve learned from him." Iaquinta said, and Piroski has noticed. "Ya, that's going on," Piroski said with his trademark chuckle.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and the respect Iaquinta has for Piroski is on full display. "There’s obviously a couple of things we do differently but nothing major. The way he does things I feel is the right way so we have always kept it the same for the most part."
During our interview Piroski spoke glowingly of Iaquinta and Dobric. He appreciates the bond and friendship they have but, "don't get me wrong. I wanna win."
Game 3 is in Lakeshore Friday night at 7pm. Puck drop for game 4 is 2:30pm Sunday in Essex.