Hurricanes look for clean sweep in ALF championship playoffs

After finishing in first place in the Atlantic Football League regular season, the undefeated Holland College Hurricanes (6-0) are looking for a win against the UNB Fredericton Red Bombers (2-4) at UPEI Alumni Place this Saturday in a semi-final playoff game that will determine which team advances to the championship game the following weekend.

During the regular season, the Hurricanes defeated the Red Bombers both times the two teams met, by scores of 37-20 and 50-24; but head coach Andrew Hickey said the scores don’t tell the whole story.

“We need to be prepared for a tough battle against the Red Bombers, they’re a strong team that happened to get a couple of bad breaks in the regular season,” he said. “We know they are capable of putting up points, and they certainly don’t quit.”

The Hurricanes have been battling through a number of injuries the last few weeks, but Hickey said that it’s time for other players to step up to fill the void. “At this point in the year, every team is thin, so we just play the games with whomever is able to go.”

One player the ‘Canes will be looking to for a big performance this weekend is running back Jamaal Storr, who has been hampered by an ankle sprain and did not play in the final regular season game against the Dalhousie University Tigers.

“Later in the season, especially when weather and field conditions become more of a factor, the running game can be the difference. Fortunately, we’ve had depth at the running back position, but we need Jamal to establish his presence early in this game,” Hickey said.

With a win on Saturday, the Hurricanes will advance to the title game and the opportunity to defend its Moosehead Cup Championship at home on Saturday, November 1. The other AFL semi-final match-up has the UNB Saint John Seawolves visiting the Dalhousie Tigers.

For a link to the webcast of this weekend’s Hurricanes game, go to http://www.hcfootball.ca. The game starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday.