League News - Edit News

News From :

News Title :

News :

OTTAWA — If the Grinders make the playoffs, they may look back on the final week of the season and point to the moment everything could have fallen apart.

Instead, it became the moment that defined them.

With starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood unavailable after collapsing from exhaustion, and still yet to correctly recall his wifes name, (He actually unknowingly reached the league’s maximum games limit) the Grinders were forced to turn to Joey Daccord — a backup who had played sparingly throughout the season — just as their playoff hopes hung in the balance.

What followed may have saved their season.

Daccord has gone 4-0-1 in his last five starts, backstopping Ottawa through its most critical stretch of the year and helping the team claw its way into the final playoff position in the Canadian Conference. With one game remaining, the Grinders sit at 96 points, just one ahead of Copper Cliff.

One point.

One game.

And now, one goaltender.

The timing could not be more dramatic. While Ottawa prepares to face 11th-place Toronto in its regular-season finale, Copper Cliff — sitting just behind them with 95 points — draws last-place Vancouver, a matchup that on paper heavily favors their pursuit.

The Grinders cannot count on help.

They will need to earn it themselves.

And they will do so behind the same goaltender who has grinded away in the shadows all season, waiting for his opportunity to be the difference maker.

It’s a fitting twist for a team that has made a habit of defying expectations all season long.

From the outset, Ottawa was not considered a playoff team. Their roster lacked the high-end star power of the conference’s elite teams, and their underlying numbers never suggested dominance. Even now, their +5 goal differential is the lowest among playoff-positioned teams.

They were never supposed to be here.

Yet here they are.

Much of the credit belongs to rookie sensation Macklin Celebrini, whose 36 goals and 72 points have driven the offense and established him as the clear-cut top rookie in the league. Night after night, Celebrini has provided the spark that Ottawa needed — the kind of production that turns close games into wins.

But this story has never been about just one player.

Bo Horvat, Nick Schmaltz, Thomas Chabot, and Ridly Greig have all played key roles, while the team’s depth has consistently delivered in key moments. And for much of the season, Blackwood provided the stability in net that allowed Ottawa to stay competitive.

Now, in the most important game of the year, that responsibility belongs to Daccord.

It’s a scenario few could have predicted: a team that has scraped and clawed its way through the standings, now entrusting its season to a goaltender who wasn’t expected to carry the load.

But if the last five games are any indication, the Grinders wouldn’t have it any other way.

They have made a season out of proving people wrong.

One final game remains.

Win, and the Grinders complete one of the most unlikely playoff runs in the league.

Lose, and they risk watching it slip away — potentially overtaken by a Copper Cliff team with a far easier path on paper.

Either way, the story is already written.

The Grinders were not supposed to be here.

And yet, with their season on the line, they are still standing.

Password :

Note:
#1 : If you can�t find a Team Name in the � News From � drop box, it�s because the team has no password configured in the STHS.
#2 : The league commissioner can create, edit or delete news on behalf of Team with the League Web Password.

Back to the Top