The St. John Barbarians fought it out hard in season 17 to scrape into a playoff posistion, then a tough first round with Shediac set the team up for heart break from Iona.  That was not the case this season!  The "Horde"  as the team is refferred to by their fans cruised to a playoff berth this season.  Fought it out for 7 games to edge out first round opponents the Shediac Smurfs, then went 7 more with the record setting President Trophy winning Iona Moose.  This time the Barbarians came out on top, with a decisive 9-4 win in game 7 of the series.  This latest victory has the Barbarians on a high going into the finals where they will meet the hard hitting South Esk Scotsmen.

     South Esk was fighting for a playoff spot at All-Star time, but went on to finish second in the league behind Iona by seasons end.  They easily handed the Bathurst Titans a series loss allowing 7 goals in 4 games while tripleing that production with 21 of their own. 

     This should be a hard hitting tough series, in which a few players have something they want to prove.  St. Johns Colin White commented " I liked playing for the Scotsmen, but I know when it came down to it they traded me so now I want to show them that I can make a differrence in a playoff situation..."  Also team GM/Coach John Kenny, who has been uncharacteristically quiet this season spoke up "My boys here in St. John have been speaking for themselves by putting up numbers, I am very proud of this team, and they know they made it this far, and has the stuff to go all the way.  I have made a few moves this season, some that may have surprised alot of other teams, but everything I have done has been for the spirit of the team!"

     This will be a barn burner, so keep your eyes on this finals.

--Jim MacKenzie