However, in this case, you really can’t blame him.

“Every game is going to be important. Obviously the start (of the series) will have a big say in the team’s confidence, but we can’t take them lightly. Momentum is a huge factor at this time of year,” he said.    

The bench boss of the Huntsville Muskoka Otters was speaking just days before his team was to open its 2008 Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League best-of-seven playoff series with the Stouffville Spirit.

The Otters – the regular season champs of the North Division – received a bye along with second-place Newmarket in the opening round of the playoffs. Stouffville and Aurora swept their respective opponents Couchiching and Orangeville in three straight in the first round of the post-season.

On paper, the Otters seem to have this series in the bag. They finished 17 points ahead of the Spirit in the standings during the season and won five of six games head-to-head. The lone exception was an uncharacteristic 6-5 loss on Dec. 21 where starter Jeff Dawson had an off night. Two games were decided by one goal (1-0 and 3-2) and the three other matches were decisive Huntsville wins (6-3, 6-2, 5-2).

But that is on paper, and it is eerily similar to last year when the Newmarket Hurricanes faced the Otters in the opening round of the playoffs. The Canes were not expected to give the resurging Otters a fight. They didn’t. They took Huntsville out in five games rather unspectacularly. That defeat remains in the minds of many of the players who are still with the Otters.

McCarthy for one, is not about to take any opponent lightly, especially a hot team like the Spirit.

“They have some very skilled hockey players. Their goaltender (Trevor O’Neill) can be very exceptional and he had six shutouts this year with another in the playoffs. If you don’t pay attention to their powerplay, then their players will shine. They dominated Couchiching because of the (Terriers’) lack of discipline. They will hurt you if you let them.”   

That being said, McCarthy believes the team that plays with the greatest amount of discipline will win the series. “They had the most penalty minutes in our division, so they play with a very aggressive game. It is important that we play with controlled emotion and within the confines of the game. If you play tit-for-tat with this team, you can come out on the short end of the stick, especially if the penalty comes at the wrong time. It will be physical, but we will have to be in control of our emotions. It has to be a hit-and-release and not a hit and pounding.”

He added that the amount of time the two teams will be off the ice before the start of the series (Stouffville will have four days to prepare, while the Otters haven’t played in nearly two weeks) may have a factor in the first game.  “We have been on the ice since we finished the season, but we don’t have that game timing that is necessary. It may take a period, it might not. It is something we have to be aware of and be prepared for it.”

Game 2 in the series will be back in Stouffville, but the time and date of that game and the rest of the series was not available at press time.