Reivers eager to take on Buckeyes

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This article was published 03/11/2015 (3854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s nothing like a little friendly neighbourhood rivalry to stir up a little excitement on the ice.

Now in their third year back in the Winnipeg High School Hockey League, the Kildonan East Reivers are determined to climb the ranks and establish the school’s hockey program as a perennial contender, especially now that they’re playing in the same division as their East Kildonan rivals Miles Macdonell.

“I’d say this has been our strongest year,” head coach Luke Klassen said. “We can be pretty strong offensively. We have some good puck-moving defencemen, some strong skaters who can score goals and make things happen with the puck.”

Klassen has been coaching the program since it was re-established in 2013. This year, the Reivers made the jump from the Price Division (C) to the Winnipeg Free Press Division (B). Klassen had coached high school hockey at Minnedosa Collegiate and, as a student teacher, at Garden City Collegiate. He said this year’s squad features a large influx of Grade 12s, which has its challenges and rewards.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of Grade 12s who in their last year of school wanted to play high school hockey,” Klassen said. “We have nine or 10 new players this year, so that’s a pretty big turnover from year to year. With so many new guys this year, one of the things is working together as a team.”

Establishing that on-ice identity is Klassen’s top priority.

“Being a family, coming together and caring about your teammates,” Klassen said are key principles he’s working to establish in the Reivers locker room. “Being the hardest-working team on the ice at all times. Never giving up, being relentless.”

Klassen said that three of his senior players, all of whom played AAA last season, have really stepped into leadership roles for the Reivers.

“Jordan Young is the captain, Noah Kryschuk and Nolan Yakimowski the assistants,” he said. “All three of them have different skill sets. Jordan’s the motivator, he’s the guy to get guys excited. Noah’s a defenceman. He’s more show not talk. He’s responsible, confident, he’s looking after pucks and making sure things get done. Nolan would be in between the two. He’s intense, and he likes to keep that intensity level up.”

So far this season, the Reivers have struggled. With only one win in the first five starts, the Reivers did manage to push two games into extra time, losing one in OT and one in a shootout.

“We’re still kind of figuring it out,” Klassen admitted. “You could just tell we were so exhausted in our game against Sanford. We couldn’t pull it out when we should have.”

As line combinations start to click, Klassen said the team is looking forward to a match-up against natural neighbourhood rivals Miles Mac on Nov. 20.

“We haven’t really ever got to explore that rivalry in hockey because they’ve always been in B and we were C,” Klassen said. “The guys seem to know each other, but this will be the first time we’ve played each other in league play.”

To mark the occasion, the two schools have organized a prostate cancer research fundraiser.

“We’re hoping to raise money for something that is pretty important for us,” Klassen said. “We’re promoting it within our schools. All that money will go to CancerCare Manitoba from that game.”

The teams are asking for a $2 donation to attend the game, and will be featuring silent auctions for special CancerCare game-worn jerseys.

The East Kildonan rivalry spills out on the ice on Fri., Nov. 20 at Terry Sawchuk Arena (901 Kimberly Ave.) when the Kildonan East Reivers take on the Miles Mac Buckeyes at 4 p.m.

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