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Fans here in Creston are in a frenzy over the possibility of the Kokanee getting in to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. With less than two weeks to go in the season only 3 games separate the top team from the third team in the division. All three teams have remaining games against each other with Creston and Victoria going at it currently. Creston will finish the season with a four game stand at Kelowna.
Team owner and manager Mike Roberts, who took over the team half way through the 2011 season, says the team is approaching every remaining game one at a time and treating it like a game seven in the playoffs. "It was around the middle of June when we swept Kelowna on the road and went on to win 12 of our next 14 that you could see the guys buying in to us maybe being able to pull this off" said Roberts. "Now that we are here it's important not to look too far ahead and just focus on the game at hand."
Roberts knows that opportunities like this are tough to come by and is telling his players to savor the moment because you never know if or when you'll be in this position again. "Kelowna and Victoria are going to have amazing teams for a long time to come, and then there are others up and coming that are going to be battling for wildcard spots such as Fort Mac. It's never going to get any easier to get ourselves in this position, that's for sure, so we have to enjoy the moment while it is here."
The players that find themselves in this position for the first time in their careers are taking Roberts' advice and appreciating the position they are in.
"We have been looking up at these teams ever since myself and most of the guys on this team first came to town, and it feels good to be hanging around up there with them now this late in a season" said LF Issac Lambden. "It's a big thing for the group of us here that were all traded for or drafted during this rebuilding phase. It meant a lot to us when management brought in one of the best all time hitters in Passmore and then got us Oberkfell at the trade deadline. Getting those guys gave us a huge confidence boost."
With 12 games to go there is no doubt that this will be one of the most exciting conclusions to a regular season in team history, as well as the history of the Farmer's West division.
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