Chill turn to younger players to knock off WSA Winnipeg in season finale

No team, in any sport, wants to hit the playoffs on a losing note.

But good teams are willing to take a gamble, the big picture clearly in sight.

On Saturday night, the Thunder Bay Chill took that chance, presenting a season-finale starting lineup filled with locally born-and-bred players, the regulars mostly confined to the bench in the opening half of their Fort William Stadium match against visiting WSA Winnipeg.
The move paid off.

Thunder Bay’s Chris Pike scored off a corner kick in the 35th minute on Saturday night, a tally that proved to be the game-winner, the Chill marching to a 4-0, confidence-boosting win, their fourth straight Premier Development League triumph.

Angelo Kelly-Rosales added another in extra time before the half, with Daniel Oliveira and Dominic Roberts adding goals in the final 45, the starters getting a taste of the pitch for the first time all night.

It felt great to contribute, said Pike, a Laurentian University student and Hammarskjold High School graduate. The bench erupted when the ball went in, something the 19-year-old won’t soon forget.

“It was a great feeling. I haven’t had that many opportunities, so I got my chance and put it away,” Pike said.

“It was just a regular corner. It kind of went to the back post. I was looking for the second ball to come. Rafa (Reynolds) headed it back to and it fell to me, I felt a little bit lucky. It was around me, so I picked my spot and put it into the corner.”

Though Pike, Reynolds, Liam Ezzard, Lucas Felice and Marco Colistro likely won’t see much time on the field when the Chill begin their playoff quest, it was important to get the youngsters some valuable minutes, just in case they have to be called upon down the road.
The starters were truly excited for the teammates and their success.

“They’ve been with us all year, they’ve put in the hard yards and they’ve pushed us every day in training,” said defender Mitchell Osmond.
“It’s just reward for the effort, and not just Chris, but all the young boys, have put in.”

It’s all about coming together as a team, said captain Zetroy Robertson.

“We were there cheering them on. If you saw when Christopher Pike scored, it was an unbelievable feeling. Everyone got up and we were just there to support him. We were happy those guys were doing well.”

The game itself was all but meaningless.

The Chill were locked into second place in the Heartland Division, and will face either Michigan or Kitchener-Waterloo on the road next weekend in the conference playoffs.

Mentally, it did have meaning, Robertson said.

“We don’t want to go into the playoffs with a loss. We want to make sure we continued our winning streak and it was good for the guys to build our confidence up going into the playoffs.”