By Robb Fenton
All the talk has been about this year’s version of the Lloydminster Bobcats being bigger and badder, now it’s time to prove it.
The ‘Cats kick off their 2010-2011 season with three games this weekend, beginning with the home opener Friday night against the Bonnyville Pontiacs.
“It’s been a long summer and several people have worked really, really hard to get us where we are right now. Once Friday comes, I’ll be excited,” head coach and general manager Brian Curran said.
While there are expected changes throughout the season, with players coming back from Western Hockey League camps, Curran likes the 20-plus players he has in the dressing room and what they bring to the team.
“This is the team we have right now. We have several players that are at WHL camps, so we may or may not get them. If they don’t make it in the WHL, we’ll be a stronger team, if they stay there, we’ll still be a good team and we’ll see what happens down the road,” he said. “We’re a team I like to watch because I know they’re going to work extremely hard. We have good character, we work hard, we’re much more physical and we’re bigger.”
For veteran forward Kory Chisholm, the excitement is building for puck drop Friday night.
“We’re very excited, I can feel the whole team is anxious to get on the ice basically and get our first win of the season. It’s going to be a huge game and we’re going to have to come out hard,” Chisholm said. “All through the lineup we have lots of depth up front, defensively and goaltending, all aspects of the game we can dominate.”
It’s no secret the Bobcats improved immensely in their own end under Curran last year, but at times, offensively the team had problems.
This year, they are hoping to get off on the right foot in both aspects.
“The key to our game is going to be our zone. We’ve got to get very strong in our zone, that’s why we’re spending so much time on it,” Curran explained. “Power play and penalty kill will be key for us. I don’t see any 50-goal scorers on the team, but you never know, it might surprise the hell out of everyone. We’re going to be a team that wins the 3-2 and 2-1 hockey games. We have to learn to accept that and take our chances when they come.”
Sticking with the gameplan and playing strong, discipline hockey is the key to early success for the Bobcats.
“Systematically we have to be very structured and disciplined. Offensively we have to be great on our forecheck, great on our neutral zone regroups and in all aspects of the game we have to be very strict and stick to our systems,” Chisholm noted.
Like any team, the players who have the experience and who have been through a season before will be counted on and it’s no different for the ‘Cats.
With a number of players back in the mix, they will be looked at to lead by example.
“They’re all going to have to be key - that’s the centre-piece of the whole team right now. This team has never really been taken seriously for the last five years. We have to change the perception of Lloydminster and the hockey team and the way people look at us and think of us,” Curran said.
“The only way we can do that is with our veterans who have been here awhile. They are going to take the burden of responsibility to say things aren’t going to be the same here, they’re going to change.”
Although they don’t need any extra motivation, opening up against Bonnyville can’t hurt.
“Bonnyville is our division rivals so it’s going to bring out lots of fans hopefully and hopefully we can come out really intense and score some goals,” Chisholm stated.
Game time for Friday’s home game is 7:30 p.m., which is then followed up by a road game in Bonnyville Saturday and the week wraps up with a 2:30 p.m. game Sunday against Drayton Valley at the Civic Centre.