Railer Express roll through first round

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This article was published 21/03/2018 (2952 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Transcona Railer Express have punched their ticket to the second round of the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League playoffs, where they will meet the Charleswood Hawks.

The Transcona club got the best of the St. Vital Victorians four games to one in the opening best-of-seven post-season round.

“We were able to keep the puck low on St. Vital,” Derek Gagnon, head coach of the Railers, told The Herald. “We could play a bit more physical against them, and that seemed to work.”

“We played some good hockey,” said Kelby Picard, a 20-year-old forward who led the Railers in points during the first round with four goals and two assists.

“They took one game from us but that’s to be expected. It’s hard to win all four games in a row.”
The Railers won Game 1 of the series 2-1 in overtime on March 6. Transcona’s Chase Fincaryk opened the scoring in the second period, only to have St. Vital tie it up shortly thereafter. Following a blank third period, Jordan Weir scored the game winner in OT.

“We did a good job of sticking to our plan,” said Transcona goaltender Connor Shaw.

“Our work ethic was as high as it’s been all year, which is what you want in playoffs. We limited their scoring chances, created possession time in their end.”

Game 2 on March 9 was a high scoring affair, with Transcona coming out on top 7-4 in the end. Railers Ryan Kotchon and Fincaryk each notched a pair of goals, while Kelby Picard, Logan Waskul, and Hyde Rickard also lit the lamp.

In Game 3 on March 11, Transcona’s Picard scored a pair, along with one each from Cody Plett and Noah Skorpad, but it wasn’t enough. St. Vital got the best of the Railer Express in the end, winning 5-4 in OT.

“We had plenty of opportunities to end it in that one, we just got snake bitten,” Gagnon said. “That’s why we play seven games.”

“The bounces didn’t go my way in those two games,” admitted Shaw, 21, who maintained a 2.40 goals against average in 37 regular season appearances this year.

But that was it for the Victorias. With Skorpad, Picard, and Transcona Collegiate Titans team captain Devon Matsumoto scoring for Transcona, the Railers won Game 4 3-0, earning netminder Connor Shaw the shutout.

Shaw notched a second shutout in Game 5 as Transcona dispatched the St. Vital club 2-0 on goals from Eric Krywy and Scott Morrison.

“In the last two games, I found my groove again and felt comfortable in the net,” said Shaw who posted had a 1.81 goals against average and a save percentage of .934 in the series.

“I think that was my first-ever playoff shut out, and then to do it again the next game, that’s something I feel good about. That’s something the team should feel good about, too. We did our job.”

“Connor’s play has been outstanding for us, every game he seems to do something spectacular,” added Picard, who notched 19 goals, 33 assists and 144 penalty minutes in his 43 regular season games in 2017-18. “He’s been the backbone of the team.”

Now the Railers face Charleswood, who finished the regular season in second place, one point ahead of Transcona. In their five regular season matchups, Charleswood won three games to Transcona’s two.

“They work hard, do the right things, and don’t make as many mistakes,” Gagnon said of the Hawks. “It’s always a long grinding game against them. I’m expecting it even more so now that it’s the playoffs.”

“As a goalie, it doesn’t matter who’s shooting the puck, you have to stop it either way,” Shaw said of the semifinal series. ““Our challenge will be to not take a game off.”

“It’s going to be a really good series,” said Picard, who joined the Railers this year after a season with the Virden Oil Kings in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. “It’s going to be tight. We’re going to have to wear them down.”

The first game of the semifinal series takes place on Fri., March 23. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m.