The South Muskoka Shield has made franchise history by succeeding to the north division finals in the Greater Metro Jr. A Hockey League (GMHL).

After sweeping the Nipissing Alouettes in three games over the weekend in the second round of playoffs, the Shield will face the Elliot Lake Bobcats in a best-of-seven series on the road to the Russell Cup.

Head coach Dallyn Telford said South Muskoka is in for a real war against the Bobcats, who finished just behind the Shield in the northern division with a regular season record of 31-8-0-4.

“Elliot Lake is a really good team from top to bottom,” Telford said. “We played them four times and we scored 12 goals versus their 11 goals. I said in late November that we’d like to see Elliot Lake in the division final. Whoever comes out of this series will have earned it.”

The Bobcats have solid goaltending, good defence and three lines that can put the puck in the net, said Telford.

“I like our chances if our guys continue to show up and play hard every night,” he said. “We … are evenly matched, so it’s going to come down to the smallest edge and mental factors of the game that will make a difference in the series.”

While the Shield has sailed through both the division quarter-finals and semifinals, Telford said the final won’t be a sweep, but a long series where the top two teams in the northern division will battle it out for a berth to the Russell Cup.

The series will start in Gravenhurst Friday night, and Games 2 and 3 will be played in Elliot Lake. Games 4 and 5 are tentatively scheduled for Gravenhurst Centennial Centre, while Game 6 would be played in Elliot Lake and Game 7 in Gravenhurst.

“Elliot Lake is the toughest rink for us to play in for a road team. They’re loud,” Telford said. “The only way to end the series in Elliot Lake is if it ends in Game 6. We can eliminate them in Game 4, 5 or 7 at home.”

After the Shield’s three-day sweep of the Alouettes, which ended in Nipissing Saturday night, Telford said just about the whole team is healthy. Forward Rob Childs was forced to sit out from the series with the flu, but is expected to return in time for Game 1 of the division final.

Looking back on the series against the Alouettes, Telford said the Shield played well and matched Nipissing’s top-scoring line with good checking.

“We knew they were a one-line team, so we just shadowed them and tried to take them out of the equation,” he said. “Beforehand I set up a game plan for how many shots on net we needed and they also matched the defensive style of play we needed to a T.”

Telford said the Shield pressed the offence, pinned the Alouettes in their own end and managed to escape the series without suspension or injury.

Dominating the scoring was the powerhouse of Dylan Sontag and Travis Saltz, who tallied five points and four points, respectively, in Game 1 on Thursday night. Also helping out were Chad Meagher with three points and Ricky Greenslade and Dan Soderberg with two points each.

Eric Pye allowed four Nipissing goals, while the Shield tallied seven and outshot the Alouettes 49 to 33.

Friday night’s game again saw Sontag and Saltz as leading scorers with three points each, while Adam MacBeth contributed three assists and Soderberg, Meagher and Chris Vandertas each collected a point.

Between the pipes, Brian Valentine eliminated any opportunities for Nipissing to get back in the game. He made some really good saves and allowed only one Nipissing goal in the third period to help his team secure a 4-1 final score.

Telford praised the Shield’s devoted supporters, noting the fans have acted as a sixth man for the team. With home ice advantage, the fans have helped South Muskoka through the first two rounds.

“It’s so important in the playoffs and we appreciate it,” he said.

Saturday night’s Game 3 in Sturgeon Falls saw the Shield double the Alouettes by a score of 8-4. Valentine took a total of 38 shots on net compared to the Shield’s 54.

Telford said while Nipissing set out to counteract the Shield’s big line, the team didn’t have enough “depth” to stop the South Muskoka powerhouse.

“They don’t have the strength in numbers of quality players,” he said. “They couldn’t stop our three or four lines that can score at any time.”

Just about every line scored and 11 Shield players earned points.

Things did get interesting when Dylan Coté squared off with Antonio Morris, but fortunately neither player was disqualified from the game, so the Shield won’t face losing Coté for a game at this crucial time of year.
In a statement posted on the GMHL’s website, Alouettes coach Lui Ricci said the Shield is by far the best team in the league, as demonstrated by its regular season record. He gave credit to the team’s solid lines and goaltending in accepting the end of his team’s season.