The Wainwright Bisons, coming off their first loss of the season, travelled to Saddle Lake on Nov. 1 for an NEAJBHL matchup, and left town with a 7-0 win.
Preparing to play one of the top teams in the league provided some unique challenges for coach Darcy McGilvery and the rest of the Warriors.
“With their firepower, and their transition game, we had to watch our assignments a little more closely,” he said. “Faceoffs were key, especially in our zone, because they set up pretty quick. They are pretty good at what they do.”
The Bisons found the scoreboard steadily, and after two periods of play they had already amassed a 5-0 lead. Two more third period goals rounded out the 7-0 victory.
The Warriors were working with a short bench on Saturday night, a fact that didn’t help their cause when meeting up with one of the top teams in the league.
“The story of the game was being short staffed. Being short staffed really hurts this club,” McGilvery said. He went on to add that the reason for their lack of players has been, “commitment issues, but along with that we have some injuries”.
“We lost one of our very important veterans, Braedin McGilvery who has a hand injury, so that really sets us back,” McGilvery said. “A couple of the other guys have some family priorities that they have to take care of, so we’re really short staffed.”
Even so, McGilvery is committed to helping his team improve, something that, according to the coach, starts in practice.
“Conditioning is very key. And it’s basics, back to the basics,” he said of their focus at practice. “We can practice NHL-caliber plays and breakout drills, but they’re not going to do us any good if we cannot hammer down the basics. With that I mean receiving a pass, giving a pass, being in the right spot at the right time, reading the play. All these things played a big part in today’s game, because it happens fast at this level.”
On Sunday, the Killam Wheat Kings made the trip to Saddle Lake, and again the visiting team was able to leave town with two more points in the win column. The contest on Nov. 2 ended with a 13-3 score in favour of the Wheat Kings.
Despite their 2-8 record, McGilvery still feels optimistic about his team’s chances down the stretch.
“With our commitment level hopefully picking up, and those key injuries (healing up), we’ll be right back in it at the end of November,” he said. “This team has been known to make a late push. If we can get all our ducks in order, you never know.”
