By Larry Robertson, Special to the News

Fans of the Dundas Real McCoys were left scratching their heads and wondering where are the REAL McCoys after the club, which had shown such promise, finished the week with consecutive losses to the league-leading Brantford Blast and the second-place Whitby Dunlops.

“Last week’s games didn’t mean much, and boy did it show,” said general manager Don Robertson. “I’m sure that will not carry over into the playoffs with Whitby.”

Nate Brooks and Brett McConnachie scored twice each for Whitby last Friday as they defeated Dundas 9-4 in the McCoys final Allan Cup Hockey regular season home game at J.L. Grightmire Arena. Justin Davis scored twice, with Steve Hurst and Cam Watson adding single goals for Dundas.

Dundas fell 6-1 to the Blast last Wednesday at Brantford as TJ Sakaluk scored the lone Dundas goal.

“We’re not exactly screeching into the playoffs this year…it’s more like a wobble,” said Robertson. “We’ve done this in the past, and we have found success. So let’s get at it and see what happens.

“Whitby is always a tough team, however, we’ve seen them in the playoffs a few times recently, so we know what to expect. A series with them is always tough, and provides great hockey. This year will be no exception.”

Brantford finished in first place with 20 wins and four losses, while the Dunlops came second with 15 wins and nine losses. Dundas is third with a 13-11 mark.
The best-of-seven semi-final between Dundas and the Dunlops opened in Whitby on Wednesday, Feb. 20., and returns to Dundas on Friday, Feb. 22 at 7:45 p.m. Game 3 of the series is set for Whitby on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Game 4 will be in Dundas on Friday, March 1 at 7:45 p.m. The final three games have yet to be determined.

In addition to Brooks and McConnachie, Whitby got single goals from Darren Doherty, Chuck MacLennan, Kyle Musselman, Adam Van Dam and Dylan O’Neil.

In other action, Orillia Sunrise Toyota Tundras and Welland Whalers met Tuesday night, Feb.19 in the second game of a two-game total-goal wild card playoff to determine fourth place in the standings and the final playoff spot. Both teams tied 1-1 in Welland in the opening game of the series on Monday.

Under ACH rules, if five or fewer points separated the fourth and fifth place teams, a wild-card series will be held to determine the final playoff spot. The winner of that series would be awarded fourth place and proceed into the semi-finals.