By Colin Budd
The Lloydminster Tanroc Bobcats woke up Wednesday morning in a position they probably wouldn’t have dared dream of.
At the prestigious Mac’s AAA Midget Tournament in Calgary the ‘Cats reeled off four straight wins to open the tournament and had yesterday off to play a little laser tag while the rest of the contenders sorted out what is usually a complicated playoff system on the final day of round robin play.
“(Head coach) Kyle (Tapp) and I talked yesterday and wondered if we had ever imagined we would be in that position after four games,” said assistant coach Dean Moisan on Wednesday morning.
The ‘Cats didn’t surrender a goal in their first two games as both goaltenders, Connor Creech and Tyler Briggs, pitched shutouts in a 2-0 win over Tisdale and a 6-0 win over the Calgary Northstars respectively. Ambrose Firkus and Derek Pfisterer both scored in the win over Tisdale as Creech turned aside 19 shots. Kameren Ballas, Jetlan Houcher, Chris Romanchuk, Kolten Anderson, Ty Carey and Ryan Milne all scored in the win over the Northstars. Briggs made 16 stops in the game.
The Bobcats improved to 3-0 with a 5-2 win over the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Monday afternoon. Houcher, Firkus, Carey, Braden Crone and Brody Pollard scored for the ‘Cats. Creech made 15 saves to get the victory.
The ‘Cats wrapped up their round robin with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver NE Chiefs on Tuesday. Linden Springer, Dylan Sharon and Anderson sniped for the ‘Cats. Briggs made 14 saves to take the victory.
“We’ve shown signs of being a really good team,” said Moisan, adding they have had some rough stretches. “What we’ve determined with these players is that when they buckle down, play our systems and don’t get selfish, we really limit shots on goal. There has been three or four periods where it’s been three or less.”
With goals against being the first tiebreaker statistic, the ‘Cats should be in a decent position when the playoffs begin today, considering they have only surrendered four.
“Tyler Briggs and Connor Creech have both been good for us,” said Moisan. “They haven’t given up a lot of shots, but sometimes that’s more difficult for a goalie to stand there for eight or nine minutes without a shot.”
The ‘Cats were scheduled to play at noon today. As of press time their opposition wasn’t determined.