BROOKFIELD – So far it’s been a series for the road teams.
The Brookfield Elks look to keep it that way tonight as they travel to Sackville for a 7:30 p.m. meeting with the Blazers, their Fred Fox Division final knotted 1-1.
“It’s a big game,” Elks goaltender Spencer Scott said. “We weren’t really down at all when we played the Ducks so this is going to be a good test to see how we respond.”
The Elks (19-12-1-2), who finished second by just one point to the Blazers (20-12-2-0) and went winless against their rivals in the regular season, drew first blood in their best-of-seven affair with a 3-1 victory last week in Sackville.
The Blazers responded with a 5-2 win Thursday in front of more than 700 fans in Brookfield, a game which saw them run to a 4-0 lead by the five-minute mark of the second period before the Elks could respond.
The push-back from the Blazers was no surprise to the Elks.
“I think we picked up in the first game they’re not going to go away,” Scott, who made 29 saves Thursday, said. “To the last second, they were still coming at us.”
Game 2 made one thing painfully clear to the Elks; they can’t afford to show up not ready to go from the opening faceoff. Scott said that’s something he and his teammates plan to address tonight.
“We need to jump right into it with guns blazing,” he said. “They’re too good a team to take time to get your feet wet. They’re skilled enough they’re going to take advantage of that time and space.”
The Elks have found ways to get the job done on the road so far this postseason, sitting at 3-0 in contests away from Don Henderson Memorial Sportsplex. Scott was quick to credit the Brookfield fans, who he said have supported the team no matter where they’ve played all season.
“The road games don’t feel like we’re on the road,” he said. “It really says a lot about them.”
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