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WAXERS WELCOME MID-WINTER
BREAK But during the 12-day long layoff the club will have, it can do so on a happy note. The Waxers claimed three out a possible four points during the weekend action after routing the Stouffville Spirit 9-4 on Friday and rallying in the third period of Sunday's road contest against the Wexford Raiders to salvage a 4-4 tie. Waxers' Head Coach Russ Herrington was pleased with the accomplishments of his team prior to its mid-winter break. "Any time you can do that (earn three of four points) that's a good weekend in my books." "I thought we played fairly well in our own end even though the goal totals might not suggest that. But I thought we played disciplined and unselfish and we played with a lot of intensity," Herrington said. In Friday's outing, the Waxers held leads of 3-2 and 5-3 after the first and second periods before breaking the game open in the final frame. Bryan Lachapelle, David Colucci and Ian Malcolm each scored twice while Brett Barrer, Daniel Sisca and Joel Kitchen added singles. Mike Clarke and Sisca each collected three assists while Kevin Tompkins, Rob Bumbaco and Barrer and doubles. On Sunday, the Waxers held a 3-2 lead after one period before the host Raiders reversed the tide in the second frame to take a 4-3 lead.
A powerplay goal by Bumbaco, his second of the game, with five minutes left in regulation time enabled the Waxers to settle for a tie. Barrer and Colucci accounted for the other Markham goals. Malcolm had three assists while Sisca added two and Clarke, Alex Stoyan and Bumbaco had one each. Tom Lawson played between the pipes in both games and in Sunday's game, faced 54 shots. While pleased with the tie, Herrington felt the contest was one which they could have won. "If we had a bit of luck I think we could have won. We hit the post about five times and outshot them 10 to 3 in the overtime. But their goalie played well and made some key saves and Tommy (Lawson) made some key saves for us." The win and tie enabled the Waxers to improve their unbeaten streak to three games and improved its Central Conference record to 20-13-3-2. With the regular season winding down, Herrington is optimistic the club might be ready to make a strong run down the stretch run to make its presence felt. The Waxers will utilize the time out to visit a couple of universities in the United States this weekend as they will be at Niagara University on Friday and Union College in Schenectady, New York on Saturday to catch a couple of collegiate hockey games. "I don't know if the time out now will be an advantage or disadvantage. But I think it's the perfect time to get together to do a little bonding as a team," Herrington said.
The Waxers did not stand pat during Sunday's trading deadline as they moved goalie Matt Cifelli to Burlington and forward Jim Stamatopoulos to the Stouffville Spirit and released forward Ben Buxton outright. The Waxers did acquire defenceman/forward Andrew Welch, 19, from the Huntsville Wildcats. Herrington was ecstatic in obtaining Welch and noted the club tried to get him when they acquired Bumbaco. What cemented the deal, he said, was the fact that the Wildcats appear to be conceding the season. "He can play both defence and forward and he's a fierce competitior. He shoots the puck hard and he's tough as nails", Herrington said of Welch. The Waxers next game is on January 22nd when they host the Thornhill Rattlers at 8pm at Centennial Arena.
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