COLUMBUS, GA – At different times during the season, both the Columbus Cottonmouths and Fayetteville FireAntz struggled, giving their fans doubts about whether they were post-season worthy. Against each other, the teams were about as evenly matched as you could get. Later this week, the pair will square off with an opportunity to get to the SPHL championship series on the line. Following a frantic final weekend, Columbus secured the number two seed while Fayetteville squeezed into the number three spot, setting up a match-up of two teams who split ten games during the regular season at five wins apiece. The best-of-five series will also be the first time the two franchises have met in a post-season game since a one game âseriesâ game during the SPHLâs inaugural season. âObviously I think weâve fared well over the season against them but I think they have a totally different team than what we played (against) earlier on,â Columbus head coach Jerome Bechard said about Fayetteville. âEvery game weâve played the last couple of times has been really close.â Close doesnât seem to be the right adjective for the two teams. The largest margin of victory was three goals by Columbus twice. Two of the contests went to overtime (both were Fayetteville wins) and a third finished with a shootout victory for Columbus. The Cottonmouths have outscored Fayetteville 38-33 but the FireAntz have won four of the five games that have been decided by one goal including those two extra session games. Columbus comes in as a team that is peaking at the right time. Mired for much of the season near the bottom of the standings, the Cottonmouths have been surging, going 8-0-2 in their last ten games and 13-2-4 since February 1st. They have scored the fewest goals in the league (194) but have allowed the second fewest (196) which has allowed them to be very successful down the stretch. The offensive struggles have Columbusâ power play near the bottom of the league (17.2 per cent success rate). The Cottonmouths have the best penalty killing unit in the SPHL with an 84.9 per cent kill rate. Columbus is a veteran teams and it shows. Leading the offense for Columbus is forward Tim Green. Green finished fifth in the league scoring race with 75 points on 35 goals and 40 assists, good enough to be named to the SPHL second team all star list. His longtime teammate Lorne Misita (22-34-56, plus-10) quietly snuck into the top 15 scoring list as well. Rookie Sam Bowles (22-31-53, plus-16) impressed everyone with his boundless energy and nose for the puck and the net and making the leagueâs all-rookie team. Another newcomer, Mike George (21-29-50, plus-10) proved to be another offensive threat. Ryan McCarthy (20-13-33) continued to prove that he is a bona fide scoring threat as well as an enforcer (188 penalty minutes). The defense is where the Cottonmouths have been the most consistent. Mat Ponto (11-20-31) returned from a year in Europe to anchor the defensive corps. Tyler Johnson (4-24-28) was solid and rookie Kyle Lundale (7-20-27, plus-18) earned rave reviews for his heart and hustle, joining teammate Bowles on the all-rookie squad. Will Barlow, Jason Slusher and Roman Marakhovski all made major contributions and be asked to do so again. Goaltending has not been an issue for Columbus this season. Second year net minder Ian Vigier (19-9-5, 2.91 goals against average) had another outstanding year, making the league second team all-star lineup and getting ample time with South Carolina in the ECHL. Following a year off, Chad Rycroft (12-13-2, 3.38 goals against) played well, including a 35 save performance against Huntsville in the season finale. Bechard said that for his team to be successful, it needs to keep the puck moving and limit the number of mistakes. âOur key is quick puck movement and eliminate our turnovers. Theyâre a team that really capitalizes on their speed and their speed can put pressure on the defensemen,â he said. âThey live on turnovers. Itâs important for us to handle the puck cleanly, get it out and get the puck deep in their end and go to work down there.â If Columbus was red hot during the stretch run, Fayetteville wasnât far behind. The FireAntz had an almost similar run, going 7-3 in their final ten games. They also were an impressive 9-4-1 in January. Offensively, only Knoxville and Richmond scored more goals than Fayet teville (212) but the Antz allowed the fourth most goals (214) in the SPHL. On the power play, Fayetteville was successful to the tune of 18.2 per cent (66-362). Unfortunately, they were not as good on the penalty kill with a success rate of only 79.3 per cent. Coach Tommy Stewart has one of the most explosive scoring attacks in the league. The center of attention for opposition defenses is Rob Sich. Sich led the league in goals scored (40, also a franchise single season record), added 38 assists, played well in his own zone (plus-10 rating) and finished second in the overall scoring race to Knoxvilleâs Kevin Swider. The second team all star has plenty of help with linemates Matt Moreland (17-26-43, plus-14) and newcomer Chris Leveille (15-25-40, plus-13) benefiting from the extra coverage on Sich. Emery Olauson (24-27-51), Dan Buccella (20-24-44), Marc Norrington (11-27-38), late roster addition Brett McConnachie (4-7-11 in 11 games) and speedster Rob Colangelo (15-16-31) are all dangerous enough to keep defenses on their toes. Defensively, second team all-star Corey Hessler (9-26-35, plus-5) is the hub of the blue line corps. Lawne Snyder (9-32-41) showed his skills at both ends of the ice and joining Sich and Hessler as a second team all star while Craig Geerlinks (3-17-20, plus-12) continued to be one of the most solid defensemen around. Matt Ruberto (0-8-8), Sean Cryer and late season addition Bob Rapoza (0-4-4, plus-12 in nine games) will need to support their teammates by stepping up their games. Like Columbus, Fayetteville looks to be very solid in between the pipes. Chad Collins (18-16-3-1, 3.50 goals against) saw the bulk of the minutes in net. Late in the season, Stewart, in a move meant to challenge Collins, brought in Guy St. Vincent to replace Kyle Knechtel. All St. Vincent did was go 6-2 with two shutouts and a 2.37 goals against average in eight starts and giving the Antz and much needed spark going into the playoffs. âWhen you do make changes, sometimes they inspire your team,â Stewart said about bringing in St. Vincent. âNot to take anything away from Vinny because heâs been huge for our club but my players in front of him have responded. When you get response like that from a change, they make Vinnyâs job a little easier.â Stewart said that as in the past, his focus is on getting his team to focus on what it is doing and not on the opposition. âIâm not worried about any other club in our league. I never have been. Weâve just got to prepare and stick to our system, stick to our game plan,â he said. âThink defense first and if we do that weâll get offensive chances. We always do and weâve just got to make sure we bury the puck (in the net).â Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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