By Robb Fenton
After a busy Christmas break, the Lloydminster PWM Steelers will return to regular season action, hosting a pair of home games this weekend against the Red Deer Chiefs.
Red Deer is in an identical position as the Steelers, sitting in second place in their division with 27 points and the team in third is only one point back, meaning these games are key for both teams.
“This weekend is going to be huge. With a team like St. Albert winning the Mac’s, I hope the girls realize what hardwork can do. That’s how St. Albert won it and they are a team we have beaten,” Steelers head coach Kim Wright said. “It just goes to prove with hardwork and dedication we can make some noise. I’m hoping to see, not a different team, just a team to take the next step.”
The Chiefs are defensively very strong, so despite being second in the league in goals, the Steelers are going to have to earn every chance they get.
That being said, Wright knows what his team has to do in order to pick up points this weekend.
“First and foremost, there have been a few games this year where our puck pursuit has been unreal and we have to get back to that. Second, our defensive positioning is something that is key,” he said. “Those would be, not our two weaknesses, but two things we have to improve on to be successful.”
Saturday’s game is set for 1:45 p.m. and Sunday’s puck drop is 11 a.m., both at the Civic Centre.
Mac’s Tournament
While the focus for the Steelers is now on the regular season, Wright reflected on his team’s experience and performance at the Mac’s Tournament in Calgary during the Christmas break.
The Steelers went 1-3-0 during the round robin portion of the tournament, winning their first game before dropping the next three.
“As usual, they have a great opening ceremony and during that the emcee calls it the greatest midget tournament on Earth and he’s right. It’s phenomenal, it sent shivers up my spine when he was doing his speech,” Wright said of the feeling he got at the Mac’s Tournament. “I was hoping the girls had the same feeling.”
The Steelers defeated the Melville Prairie Fire 3-1, but then fell to the Swift Current Wildcats 3-1, Medicine Hat Hounds 8-1 and the Calgary Flyers 4-2.
“It was a wonderful experience and I hope for future Steelers teams they can experience it, too. And it was fun watching the (Tanroc) Bobcats, what an incredible job they did.”
All-Star Game
To close out their busy holiday season, this past weekend the Steelers hosted the AMMFHL All-Star weekend, welcoming the best midget hockey players in the province to the Border City for a two-day event.
Though they were busy, all the Steelers who took part and helped make the event a success enjoyed their weekend.
“It actually turned out to be a great event. We got rave reviews and even Sunday night, the emails started coming in from around the league,” Wright said, admitting he wasn’t sure how things would go. “We were a bit nervous. Our organizers did a great job, but at the same time, we only had one and a half days between the Mac’s and the all-star event.”
Along with Wright, Kandace Cook, Danni Brown, Jennifer Moe and Jillian Diachuk all attended and took part in the festivities.
Colby Anderson was scheduled to take part, but had her appendix removed, so she was unable to play and will be out of action for about a month.
“It was a thrill for the girls, I think they had a lot of fun. It was a great experience all around. It was a really good weekend,” he said.