December 01, 2011
Posted in BC Edition, Minor, Bantam
By Graham Perkins /
After BWC A2’s big Remembrance weekend tournament win on home ice, there’s no question they came back into the regular season grind a more sluggish version of themselves.
They dropped a 3-2 decision to North Vancouver, a team they beat 6-3 a month earlier in tiering.
“I told them that those are going to be games you come back to at the end of the year and you’re going to wish you didn’t throw those points away,” warned head coach Kevin Batchelor.
They rebounded three days later with a better effort, a 3-3 tie against Coquitlam A1, and proceeded to hit their stride with a three-game winning streak that catapulted them to the top of the Flight 2 standings.
The three wins – over Port Coquitlam A1, Vancouver A1 and North Delta A1 – came after Batchelor shuffled his lines to consolidate some of his team’s strengths.
“We have our speed line with finesse, a line with grit and finesse, and a complete shutdown line that can also contribute offensively with great hands,” he said. “Not a lot of teams in this tier can keep up with our top line.”
The juggling plays off the team’s biggest strength – depth. It puts Batchelor in the enviable position of being able to roll his lines and wear down the top defense pairing of the opposition. It also helps when both goaltenders are strong enough to hold down the fort.
“We’re focused on not taking backwards steps. The last four games have been better and better, and hopefully it stays that way.”
A big rematch against Richmond A1, the team that knocked the Bruins out of tier 1 contention in tiering, is the next mark on the horizon.
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