What a game! Game 5 between the Mississauga Rebels and the Toronto Marlboros brought a close to the 2013/2014 playoffs, capped off by a 5-1 victory, in favor of the Marlboros, who now advance to the Provincial Championships, in Ottawa.

After a very long and evenly matched season between the Mississauga Rebels, the anticipation for this matchup, was filled with anxiety and uncertainty EXCITEMENT!  Although the play was evenly matched between both teams, during the regular season, the Marlboros won the first game against the Rebels, who then proceeded to win the next two games.  The GTHL Playoff Championships was not going to be a "cake-walk" for either team!

The Marlboros played to a common theme all year: "Let's play OUR game"!

"OUR game" was a very simple, effective, seemingly elegant strategy/metaphor that encompassed everything the team worked on since training camp last August at the Nottawasaga Resort Inn and Conference Centre.

Throughout the year, strict adherence to the mandate to "play OUR game" was the guiding principal for each time the team took to the ice.  The discipline involved in maintaining the rigors and expectations of this strategy where nowhere near as easy as they may have seemed.  Fall off the path, step out of line, experience a "temporary lapse", you would be reminded of the fact you were a Toronto Marlboro and to always give your very best, every practice, every shift, every period and every game. Nothing less would be allowed.

The 2013-2014 GTHL Championship between the Mississauga Rebels and the Toronto Marlboros, epitomized the grand essence of all that is good and great about elite-level "AAA" competition: incredible skills were displayed by each player; tremendous strategy was obvious in the bench management of both teams and penalties were kept to a minimum, allowing each player the opportunity to garner as much ice time as possible, to help their team to emerge victorious.

In the end the final results were:
March 7 2014      Toronto Marlboros 2   Mississauga Rebels 2
March 12 2014    Toronto Marlboros 4   Mississauga Rebels 3
March 15 2014    Toronto Marlboros 2   Mississauga Rebels 1
March 18 2014    Toronto Marlboros 3   Mississauga Rebels 1
March 21 2014    Toronto Marlboros 5   Mississauga Rebels 1

Congratulations to the players of the 2001 Toronto Marlboros and their families for believing in "the Program. Also to Coach Gialedakis and his great staff and the management for guiding his team to the 2013-2014 GTHL Playoff Championship!