Prairie Fire blaze their way through early schedule

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This article was published 05/01/2011 (5681 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If a lesson can be taken from the early-season success of the Winnipeg Prairie Fire, it might be this — the team that sticks together wins together.

The Prairie Fire, one of two local teams in the National Ringette League, kept its roster nearly completely intact from last season, and has reaped the rewards with a 12-2-1 record to start the 2010-11 campaign.

The club is leading the NRL’s Western Conference by three points over the Calgary RATH with a huge three-game series in Cowtown looming on Jan. 8 and 9.

Head coach Bob Madziak thinks the biggest reason for the team’s ascension is the experience the players have gained with each other.

“The core of the team is together for another year,” he said. “It’s a huge leap from belle (the highest level of minor ringette) to the NRL, and our players now have some experience at that level.”

The Prairie Fire ended last season on a strong note, capturing bronze at the national championship after a third-place finish in their conference. Only three players from that team didn’t return this winter.

“That was a milestone for us,” said Lindsay Burns, a 25-year-old from Starbuck who plays defence and was a member of the 2010 national ringette team.

Centre Sheena MacDonald, a 23-year-old who lives in Charleswood, said the bronze medal made the team believe it could achieve even greater things this season.

“Our goal was just to get a medal,” said the 2007 national team member who is leading the team with 37 points this season. “When that happened we were super excited. This year we’re definitely in the running for gold.”

Beating the Prairie Fire isn’t an easy task, as the standings would confirm. The team mixes a healthy dose of scoring with a disciplined defensive game, Madziak said.

“I think we’re a quick team, and very smart,” said Ashley Lutz, a 23-year-old forward from Charleswood.

With the team playing as well as it ever has in its five-year history, Madziak has found himself with a new challenge of keeping the players focused on the present.

“We were ranked No. 1 in the last national rankings in November,” he said. “I don’t want that to get too much into their heads.”

As far as MacDonald is concerned, mixing in a few losses with all the wins helps ensure that that won’t happen.

“Losing keeps us focused on what we need to do,” she said.

Lutz, who has 29 points this season, believes the team has heard Madziak’s message loud and clear. The last thing any of the players want is to squander their fast start by exiting the playoffs early.

“Just because we’re No. 1 now doesn’t mean we can get cocky,” Lutz said. “If we do that it’ll backfire.”
Added Burns: “We don’t want to be a team that peaks mid-season.”

The Prairie Fire kept busy over the holidays with some exhibition games against Manitoba’s Canada Winter Games squad. The team’s next home game is against the Manitoba Jets on Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. at Eric Coy Arena.

avi.saper@canstarnews.com