The Leamington Flyers were ousted from the OJHL playoffs Thursday night in a 4-2 defeat at home against Collingwood who now advance to the league final. "We wanted to give our fans a good show especially for how much support they've shown us throughout the season." said Flyers head coach Dale Mitchell.
He wanted a win against the defending champs at home for the fans but was still proud of the effort. "It's unfortunate. I know the guys on the team left it all on the ice."
It was an emotional ending for Alexander Cunningham, Jason Daraiche and Cayden Faust who all played their last game of eligibility in the OJHL. "It was a great year," said Faust who fought back the tears following the game. "I think everyone, we did a lot better than everyone expected us to. I think it was an amazing year regardless of the outcome."
After battling for 2nd place in their conference, the expansion team finished third in the West and 4th overall in the league. Leamington swept Georgetown in the first round and broomed aside the conference's second seed Milton Menace in the second round. The carpet ride ran out of magic in the conference final against the regular season champs.
"We met a great team," Mitchell said. "They skate well. They're structured. Well coached and defending champs. You could tell they knew how to win games and they never got shaken. They came back the last two games being down a goal and it's a measuring stuck for us I believe."
