The Saddle Lake Warriors had two tough losses over the weekend, dropping them to 2-10 on the season.
On Friday night the Warriors welcomed the Cold Lake Ice into their arena. The home team was playing with a short bench on the night, having only seven skaters suited up in red.
“We had a few of them turn back. There are a few boys who are from outside of the city, and they had to turn back because of weather,” said head coach Darcy McGilvery. “Then we have a couple key injuries still. We have three guys who are out with injuries, so we are really short staffed, and we’re doing the best we can.”
Approaching a game with such a short bench posed some specific challenges for the coaching staff.
“Obviously safety is a concern. We can’t be as tenacious as we want to be in terms of forechecks and being physical,” McGilvery said.
The disadvantage showed up on the scoreboard, as the visiting Ice racked up a 20-0 victory on the night.
Still, coach McGilvery was happy with the performance of his players who did suit up for the contest.
“There’s no quit in them,” he said. “They’re all here for each other, and I can’t ask for more than that.”
The team then travelled to Lloydminster on Nov. 8 for a matchup with the Bandits. The Warriors were again kept off the scoreboard in the contest, coming away with a 13-0 loss on the night.
Coach McGilvery is hoping to get some players back from injury soon, and is also exploring the option of calling up at least one affiliate player.
“Things happen. Things can change,” he said. “I think that, come December, this big red machine will be full steam ahead.”
