By Robb Fenton

At the end of the day, the Lloydminster Bobcats left it all on the ice.

For the second straight season, the 'Cats were eliminated by the Grande Prairie Storm, as they fell 4-1 Monday night at the Civic Centre.

“We certainly played hard tonight (Monday), there's no question about it. I'm proud of them. We had our chances, but congratulations to the Storm, they worked hard too,” Bobcats head coach Brian Curran said. “The last two games were the best two games in the series, we were right there with them and I wish we would have got some bounces our way.”

Despite facing a team that finished with 36 more points in the regular season standings, the Bobcats didn't look out of place and had they been on the other end of a few bounces Curran talked about, the series could have been a much different story.

Game 1, a late comeback fell short as the 'Cats fell 4-3, Game 2 was a similar story as the Bobcats trailed for much of the game, but it took an empty-net goal to seal it for Grande Prairie who held on for the win.

Game 3 was a thrilling overtime win for the 'Cats who dug deep to extend the series, but they only held on for so long and in Game 4, the Storm were just a little too much.

“A lot of the young guys stepped up and hopefully we're going to build on that. It's hard to say anything right now, it hurts for the players right now. You don't say anything right now, but for the young players, I think they gained some experience,” Curran said. “They learned what it likes to lose and I hope they remember it's a horrible feeling.”