Winners of 15 in a row and 22 of 23 dating back to the regular season, the Atlantic Region champions are coming to Okotoks flying high
No team is coming to the TELUS Cup hotter than the Moncton Flyers.
Since coming back from a COVID-19 shutdown that lasted almost two months
from mid-December to early February, the Flyers have lost just once in a
run of 23 games that has included locking down first place in the New
Brunswick/P.E.I. U18 Major Hockey League (NBPEIU18MHL), and winning
provincial and regional championships.
Moncton has yet to lose in the playoffs – it swept the Northern Moose and
Saint John Vitos to win the New Brunswick title, went perfect in the
preliminary round at the Atlantic Regional in Paradise, N.L., and edged the
Halifax Macs 2-1 to claim the Atlantic crown.
Going 55 days without game action in the middle of the season typically
doesn’t bode well for a team, but it has worked pretty well for the Flyers.
“We just kept saying, ‘We need to continue working hard, we need to stay
focused,’” head coach John DeCourcey says of the mindset during the break.
“Even though we might have been down for a couple of weeks, or couldn’t go
to the rink for a couple of weeks, we tried to keep that focus and we
[wanted] to be ready when [we could play again].”
DeCourcey has leaned heavily on his veteran leaders, including six players
who had their names called at the QMJHL Entry Draft – five of whom
(Philippe Collette, Xavier Farrah, Preston Lounsbury, Jack Martin and Luke
Patterson) saw Major Junior action throughout the season.
Patterson is the straw that stirs the drink for the Flyers. The Cape Breton
Eagles prospect (59th overall) led the NBPEIU18MHL in scoring during the
regular season, two points ahead of Collette, and added 12 goals in 12
playoff games, winning MVP honours at the Atlantic Regional.
He also wears the ‘C’ for the Flyers, something that comes from Patterson’s
impact off the ice just as much as what…