When you glance at a schedule early in the season you can't predict what game will be significantly important and exciting in the late stages. For Chatham and LaSalle, that time has come. Both are tied for 4th in the GOJHL's Western Conference heading into Wednesday's tilt in LA with 44 points.
"You look at Chatham, they kind of loaded up here at the deadline. What we gotta do is we definitely got to clamp down defensively and make sure that we're playing tough on our own," said Vipers head coach Anthony Iaquinta whose team is 22-12. "They can put the puck in the net in bunches so we got to make sure we can prevent it and then just play hard for a full 60 and see where it takes us."
The Maroons are fresh off a loss against division-leading St. Mary's Sunday night.
"St, Mary's is a very strong team," said Maroons head coach Richard Santos. "We had a good game plan going in and as you can see we outplayed them in the first and third but when you play a good team like that you need to put a full 60 min of effort to win."
Chatham had a good stretch starting in December that saw the team go undefeated in eight straight games. That effort helped the team take a big leap in the standings. Having added six players since mid-December, the Maroons are building chemistry during the second half of the schedule.
"The month of December was really good. We were doing the right things on the ice and off and coming together as a team," Santos told Powerplay Sports. "Kids are understanding the systems and their role on the team . Our goalies have been very good and when they are on, they will give us a chance to win any game. We are happy where we are."
Nine points seperates the 9th place Strathroy Rockets and the second place London Nationals. A win Wednesday night would see either team leap into second from 4th.
"If you look at a month ago, we're contending for first place. Then you lose a few in a row and you're in sixth or seventh, right? Iaquinta explalined. "This is why you play, right? You play to compete and this just makes it a little bit more enjoyable."
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