Buckeyes boys steady after slow start

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This article was published 07/12/2018 (2565 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After dropping a handful of games in extra time, the Miles Macdonell Buckeyes boys hockey team is starting to string together some big wins.

Leading up to their Dec. 7 game against Pinawa, the Buckeyes had won two straight Winnipeg High School Hockey League matches, including a 5-3 win over Murdoch MacKay on Dec. 5 and a 4-2 win over J.H. Bruns on Dec. 3.

“I think things are starting to click into place,” said head coach Gordon Fritzsche.

“Every line is going, doing what they’re put out there to do,” said Liam Eori, a Grade 12 defenceman. “That’s what we wanted to do at the start of the season, but now we’re where we want to be.”

With four wins and four losses in regulation, three shoot-out losses and an overtime loss, the Buckeyes had 16 points at press time, placing them ninth in the 12-team Winnipeg Free Press Division.

“Having lost those tight games, we’re starting to realize what we need to do in those situations,” Fritzsche said. “Every game is important. Whichever team comes to play that game will take the points.”

Despite their low position in the standings, the Buckeyes are playing a strong defensive game. 

“It all starts on the back end for us,” Fritzsche said. “They provide a good backbone. We’re a defensively minded team who need to find their flare for offence.”

At press time, they were one of two teams — alongside fourth-placed Glenlawn — in the division with a neutral goal differential, having scored 31 goals for while allowing 31 against.  

Eori said a championship run is the goal for him and the other five Grade 12 players. But for the Buckeyes to string more Ws together in the second half of the regular season and into the playoffs, putting more pucks in the net while maintaining dominant defence game will be key.

“We can compete with the top teams but we have to keep doing what we’re doing,” Eori said. “We have the tools, and now we’re actually using them.”

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“I feel we’re playing pretty well,” said Owen Park, a Grade 10 rookie forward for the Buckeyes. “The reason we couldn’t get wins (early on) is we couldn’t score goals. Once we start putting a few more by, we’ll be looking good.”

“This year we had a lot of fresh faces, but they’re adapting well to the new league,” Eori, who leads the Buckeyes with three goals and eight assists through the first 12 games of the season, added. “Every game, we get better. They learn new ways to play with the guys at this skill level.”

In November, the Buckeyes travelled to Coal Harbour, N.S., to take part in a tournament. Though they only won one of four contests, Fritzsche said the experience was a turning point for the young squad.

“The pace was high and forced us to be better just to compete,” Fritzsche said. “Since we came back, we’re playing at a higher level. I notice a difference in the team, too. They’re having more fun out there, a lot more positive chatter.”

On Dec. 12, the Buckeyes host Churchill at Terry Sawchuk Arena (901 Kimberly Ave.). The puck drops at 4:30 p.m.

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

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