N.B.’s Cave set for AHL Eastern Conference Final

But the Crunch also played a game seven on Wednesday, when they defeated the Toronto Marlies 6-3 to advance.

“Obviously [we have] a quick turnaround but they also played a game seven too, so there’s no excuses tonight,” Cave said. “They’ve got some good forward depth. They have a lot of guys that have some NHL experience…so we’ve got to be ready and we’ve just got to stick to our game plan. Wear them down, like we did Hershey and Wilkes-Barre, and play physical. Never lay off on finishing a check and things like that.”

Cave said his team got this far because the team knows its identity.

They don’t have an abundance of skill (no player finished in the top-20 in league scoring in the regular season), but they’ve stuck to what they do well: play fast and play physical.

“We’re not that high-flying, flashy, highly-skilled team but sometimes those aren’t the best playoff teams,” Cave said. “We’re a consistent, physical, heavy, fast-skating team that wears teams down. I think we did a really good job of that in the first two rounds and we’ve got to carry that into the third round.”

Providence also showed up when it mattered most.

They got this far by winning multiple elimination games. They won the decisive fifth game in the first round (it was a best-of-5) against Wilkes-Barre and they were down 3-2 in round two to Hershey before pulling off back-to-back wins to advance.

Cave said the preparations for do-or-die games aren’t really different from other games.

“Our coaches came in and they just said ‘You’ve got to treat it like another game. We’ve just got to win today and we’ll move on to tomorrow,’” Cave said. “Talking like that keeps your mind forward.

“We all believe in each other so I think if we keep doing that, who knows, we could be playing until the end of June.”

On Friday Cave, who has five points so far in 12 playoff games, will play with Colton Hargrove and rookie Zach Senyshyn. Senyshyn spent this season in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds before their season ended and he was called up to Providence.

As an assistant captain, Cave is a leader on this team despite being just a second-year pro, but he said he doesn’t expect he’ll need to offer much advice to the 20-year-old Senyshyn.

“I don’t know how much you can really say. At this level it’s all about preparation,” Cave said. “Once it gets on the ice you can help him out here and there systems-wise or even tendencies about guys on the other team but he’s a smart kid. He was a first-round draft pick for a reason so I’m sure he’ll catch wind of it pretty quick. I’m expecting a pretty good game from him tonight.”

Although Cave’s parents haven’t been able to see him in person since the first round, he does have his girlfriend down with him for the weekend.

“With such a quick turnaround in the third round, it didn’t really work out [for my parents] but I’ve got a tremendous support system back home and they watch every game online,” Cave said. “I’ve got support here [with my girlfriend] but I also know I’ve got support back home with everyone in Battleford. So I’d say I’m a pretty lucky guy that way.”

The Bruins will play game two at home on Sunday before the series switches to Syracuse for three straight. If necessary, games six and seven will be back in Providence on May 30 and 31.

“It’s really fun playing hockey when it’s 25 degrees outside and nice,” Cave said. “I’m just kind of soaking it all in. It’s a quick turnaround going into this series so not a whole lot of time to think about it, which isn’t a bad thing. We’re just right back at it. We don’t have time to think about it and get nervous.”

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

@NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

N.B.’s Cave set for AHL Eastern Conference Final

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