You couldn't have written a better script. Leamington Flyers goaltender Bryce Walcarius is the starter for game 1 of the GOJHL Western Conference final and he's playing his former teammates from St. Mary's.
"It's honestly really exciting. If you had told me in August that I'd be in the finals I would have been ecstatic but if you told me I would be playing against St. Mary's I would have told you that you were crazy."
Walcarius backstopped the Lincolns to the conference semi-finals last season where they were eliminated by the Flyers 4-2.
"I'm sure every game is going to be a battle and hard fought by both sides. St. Mary's is a skilled team but they're a hard working team as well so we're just going to have to show us every night for 60 minutes and play the game we know how to play."
Leamingon won the regular season series against the Lincolns 4-2 including a 4-3 victory at St. Mary's on February 24th.
"I think our two teams play pretty similar in structure." said Flyers head coach Dale Mitchell. "I told the guys it's gonna be a fine line. You're always gonna make mistakes but how and where you make those mistakes is critical."
Earlier this week Walcarius was named a 1st team all-star. He finished with a regular season record of 20-4-3. He is 7-0 in this year's playoffs with a 1.71 GAA.
"No surprise really how well he's done but credit to him. He's a fun guy in the room and the guys love him. He's been great for us." said head coach Dale Mitchell.
Walcarius and Boe Piroski combined to win the Roy Caley Award for the lowest team goals against average in the Western Conference.
Both the Flyers and Lincolns swept through the first two rounds.
"My team and I are just trying to maintain what we have done though the playoffs and bring it into this series." Walcarius said. "I know that playing in the playoffs in St. Mary's is just like playing in Leamington. It's going to be a really fun experience."
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