An eight month journey that started last August came to an end for the Chilliwack Chiefs Tuesday night as they were bounced from the BCHL playoffs.
The Prince George Spruce Kings took them out in a surprising four game sweep.
Chilliwack losing?
Not shocking.
Prince George is a good veteran team and many people picked the Spruce Kings to win.
It’s how the Chiefs went down that raised eyebrows.
If the BCHL’s regular season champs lost it should have been in six or seven hard fought games.
Getting out-scored 21-3 in four one-sided games?
Unexpected.
“We’re disappointed in our effort in a couple of those games and the scores (7-0 in game one, 8-0 in game three) showed that,” said Chiefs head coach Brian Maloney. “I wouldn’t say we were overwhelmed, but we were playing catchup from day one of the playoffs.
“We were able to string four (wins) together against Langley, but we weren’t playing our game at all.
“We weren’t good at all in the playoffs, to be honest with you.”
The list of problems was long.
Chilliwack’s regular season scoring leader, Matt Holmes, produced one point (an assist) in 11 playoff games.
Their top guns — Holmes, Harrison Blaisdell and Kevin Wall — combined for four goals and 10 points.
The defence was shaky and goalie Daniel Chenard had a couple of really bad games.
But even in the darkest night, light can be found.
“The guys who are coming back next season were some of our best players,” Maloney said. “Brett Rylance, Jacques Bouquot and Nathan Kelly were huge. Ethan Bowen didn’t have much success with the puck, but he battled hard and I was proud of the way he didn’t quit.
“He didn’t like losing, which is what you’re looking for when you’re getting your butt kicked.”
The coach also had kind words for 16 year old defenceman Brody Gagno, who was one of the team’s better defenders.
“He had tons of compete in him. He was in every scrum, pushing players out from in front of our net and battling like a 19 year old,” Maloney said. “He’s a kid who plays beyond his years.”
As painful as it was to lose the way they did, the bench boss believes the beating PG gave his Chiefs will be benefical in the long run.
“They’ve experienced success in the regular season, learning how to hold leads and have success competing for a division title,” he explained. “But now they also know what it’s like to get their butt kicked, physically in the first round and on the scoreboard in the second round.”
“Going through these things is where leadership comes from and they can pass the lessons learned from these experiences on to our next group of kids.”