Buckeyes hoping to make a splash in top division
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This article was published 19/11/2021 (1487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Miles Macdonell Buckeyes boys hockey team is off to a hot start this season.
The club had 14 points in its first 10 games of the season at press time, good for fourth place in the Winnipeg High School Hockey League’s top Platinum Promotions Division. But with four regulation wins, a shootout win, and five losses, the Bucks aren’t taking anything for granted.
“In all the years of the programs, this is probably one of the best teams on paper we’ve had,” said Gordon Fritzsche, the team’s longtime head coach who is now acting as assistant coach and manager. “But we can’t be happy with where we’re at. If we’re not getting better, other teams will pass us.”
After missing last season owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone around the team was happy to get back on the ice.
“The boys were so excited to be back,” said Fritzsche, who took a step back this season so that Joel Schreyer could take over head coaching duties for the Buckeyes.
“There was that collective excitement around the rink and the school around the hockey season,” said Schreyer, who had helped coach the Buckeyes as a student teacher three years ago. “In tryouts we had over 45 kids come out.”
After notching only one win in its first four games of the season, Miles Mac racked up four straight Ws starting with a 2-1 victory over Steinbach on Oct. 27, followed by 4-3 and 3-2 results vs. Lord Selkirk on Nov. 1 and 5, and a 5-1 result versus Steinbach again on Nov. 10. The Bucks dropped the next pair of games, and were looking to get back in the win column on Nov. 19 versus Westwood.
“Initially, we were looking to find our confidence in the top tier,” Schreyer said. “But after we were able to get a couple wins, the guys were starting to buy in to the systems a bit more.”
This year’s Buckeyes team is a speedy one.
“When we play with speed, we’re tough to beat,” Fritzsche said. “We put a lot of pressure on other teams. Even our defence is very fast. If we fly around, we’re successful.”
Forward Kyle Chapko’s team leading eight goals and five assists had him in the top five for points in the division, and in second in scoring at press time.
But even the highest flying teams need help on the back end.
To date, the Buckeyes have enjoyed solid play from the netminding tandem of Reece Overby and Lee Malchuk. At press time, Overby, a Grade 12 tender who has been with the team since his Grade 9 year, had gone 2-4 in six starts, with 20 goals against for a 3.73 average. Meanwhile, Malchuk had a 3-1 record with 11 goals against and a 2.40 average.
“For any team with success, goaltending is key,” Fritzsche noted.
Following matches on Nov 19 and 23 (results were not available at press time), the Buckeyes will be at the halfway mark of the 2021-22 season. For the Bucks to go the distance, the boys will need to keep the pedal to the metal.
“We’re still trying to stress defensive play and solid play away from the puck, and letting the skill take over after that,” Schreyer said. “We’ve been more of a third period or second half team, so we’re looking to get that complete 50 minutes out of our guys is the main goal.”
“There are no easy games,” Fritzsche said. “We’ll go through a slide here and there and how we respond to some losses will be important. Everybody’s right there in this division.”
For complete results and schedule, visit www.whshl.com
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
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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