Pirates take on Jets in playoffs – game 1 Feb. 17

The Picton Pirates will face the Amherstview Jets in the first round of the Empire B semi-finals.

The Pirates remain idle until the series gets started Sunday Feb. 17th in Amherstview.  The Jets still need to play their final re-scheduled regular season game versus the Deseronto Storm on Friday Feb. 15th.  The game was cancelled because of a snow storm.

The Pirates and Jets have agreed on a tentative schedule.  The first three games of the series have been confirmed:

GAME 1 – Sunday February 17th @ AMHERSTVIEW at 7:30pm

GAME 2 – Thursday February 21st @ PICTON at 7:30pm

GAME 3 – Saturday February 23rd @ PICTON at 7:30pm

The Pirates were 6-1-1 against the Jets in head-to-head competition during the regular season.

Pirates GM Ryan Woodward said the long layoff will allow the team to get healthy and prepare for their opponent.

“Amherstview is a dangerous hockey club with strong depth at every position,” said Woodward. “The players are anxious to get started and we will work hard this week in practice to make sure we are ready for game 1.”

The Pirates finished the regular season with 34-4-2 record, extending the win streak to 19 games

The Pirates stomped the Port Hope Panthers by a score of 8-0 last Thursday.  The Empire’s top goaltender, Andrew Pearson (20-1-1) made 51 saves to record his fifth shutout of the season.  Forward Ryan Sizer (one goal and one assist) set a new all-time franchise record for points in a season in the Pirates final game.  Sizer’s 81 points breaks former Pirate Shawn Lapalm’s long standing previous record of 80 points during the 1994-95 campaign.

Woodward said the players have worked hard this season to set new team records in almost every statistical category, “Our approach and message this season has been very simple and consistent – one game at a time.  The players have challenged themselves to get better every day.  Now the fun begins.  We will use the extra time off to rest and prepare for game 1 of the second season.”