Writing out tickets for speeding motorists is part of life for Brad Lucas as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Speed is something that will be a big concern for him Friday night when he trades in his RCMP uniform for his blue, white and yellow Stephenville Jets jersey.
Lucas and the Stephenville Jets face elimination when they tangle with the Corner Brook Royals in Game 3 of a best-of-five West Coast Senior Hockey League semifinal series tonight at the Corner Brook Civic Centre.
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The Royals thrashed the Jets 8-2 in the series opener after scoring the first two goals of the game and the Jets blew a 3-0 lead in Game 2 for a 4-3 overtime loss at the Stephenville Dome one night later.
Lucas has respect for the skilled opponents they are facing in the first round. He believes his team is in tough against a team that boasts youth and speed against an older club.
“They are a lot younger than our team so their speed will be the biggest obstacle we will have to overcome Friday,” Lucas said Wednesday afternoon.
Facing a do-or-die situation isn’t what the Jets had hoped for when the series got underway, but Lucas is proud of the way his team has played and he believes they had a chance to win both games.
Losing both games after having two-goal leads at some juncture had a lot more to do with the fitness and skating ability of the opponent moreso than the effort given by his players, according to the Jets captain who has been one of the most dangerous players for the Stephenville entry all season.
“They don’t give up and they’re a younger crowd so it makes for an interesting game for sure,” he said. “I feel that we played well enough to win both games but we had no puck luck, and every time the puck went down our way it seemed like it was going in so that’s all you can do.”
He’s hoping the Jets can come up with a determined effort and get a bounce or two go their way to send the series back to Stephenville for Game 4 Saturday night in Stephenville.
No radar guns available for this night so he hopes his team can keep up with the speedsters bent on sending the Jets packing.
The other league semifinal, with the Deer Lake Red Wings leading the Port aux Basques Mariners, resumes tonight with Game 2 scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Hodder Memorial Recreation Complex.
