When it comes down to the last game of the season, there are so many factors that can influence a decision in a match. Nerves, fatigue, weather, and fans are just a few of the factors. They were all in play last night as the Royals battled the Mohawk Mountaineers for a spot in the 2013 OCAA playoffs. Despite all the things that could be working against them, backed by their fans, the Royals found a way to secure the one point they need to advance.

Needing a win or a tie to advance, the Royals scored a crucial goal in the second half with about 15 minutes to play in the match. Redeemer 1st year defensemen Zach Kingma got on the end of a loose ball in the box after a huge scramble in front of the net. Kingma got just enough on it to send it over the line and send the Redeemer crowd into a frenzy.

Mohawk College had initially went up 1-0 in the first half and the match stayed that way until Kingma's goal late in the second. After Kingma scored, the Royals held on to their lead leaving nothing in the tank. Mohawk continued to push, looking for the go-ahead goal but strong play by Redeemer's Matt Koning in net and a number of hardworking stops by just about every Redeemer player, kept the score at 1-1 when the final whistle blew.

Coach Kyle Grootenboer summed up the game saying, "we played a very sloppy first half and got away from our game. The second half we settled down a bit. We started to create a few chances and Kingma was able to sneak one in. From there the guys worked unbelievably hard and we were able to hold tight on defence".

In just his first season as the head coach, Grootenboer has led his team from a winless season last year to a team in the OCAA playoffs in 2013.

Redeemer will now move on to play Sheridan on Saturday in a western conference qualifying game. The game matches up the #6 ranked team in the west, Redeemer, against the #3 ranked team in the west, Sheridan. Sheridan beat the Royals 6-1 in their first game of the season this year at Redeemer. Coach Grootenboer is excited to get another crack at them. "Last time we saw them it was our first game of the season. It was my first game as the head coach of the program and I take responsibility for that first loss. I didn't prepare our guys properly. We are looking forward to see where we stack up this time around and are excited to see how we've developed as a program".