February 10, 2012
Posted in BC Edition, Minor
BY ALEX JOEHL/
The Cloverdale Bantam A1 Colts are riding a hot streak that includes two tournament victories as the PCAHA playoffs draw near.
The Colts most recently won the prestigious John Reid Memorial Tournament in St. Albert but also have not lost a game in 2012, winning all nine contests since Christmas.
“All the kids are buying in and working hard,” said head coach Brian MacGillvray. “They’re competing at everything.”
Sometimes though, hard work isn’t enough.
“We’ve also had some puck luck as well,” said MacGillvray. “In the St. Albert tournament we were down 4-2 in the semifinals in a game we weren’t really in but in the last eight minutes our boys rallied to come back.”
With a win Saturday night, the Colts would have locked-up second place in the top flight behind only Burnaby Winter Club. BWC’s only loss of the year came in early January to Cloverdale. However, besides BWC, the North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks and Semiahmoo Ravens also can pose a threat on any given night based on sheer talent.
“To be successful, we need to get contributions from everybody,” said the Colts’ coach. “So if you’re a scorer you need to score. If you’re a strong defensive player, then you need to be chipping pucks into the corners, clearing our zone, things like that. You can’t have 17 goal scorers on the team, but some players need to do their job to create opportunities for our skilled players by keeping the puck out of our net.”
“When we get away from that we become an average team,” added MacGillvray. “We have some dynamic players, but we don’t have the top-down depth of the winter clubs and Semi. That’s why we need all our players to play their role to a tee.”
When dealing with players of various skill sets, it’s important that everyone feels appreciated to keep moral high, and MacGillvray and his coaching staff believe they’ve done a good job of giving a pat on the back to those role players who’ve delivered a timely hit, executed a good back check and recovered a key puck.
“Our goaltending has been quite good during the winning streak,” said MacGillvray. “And when that is the case you have a chance to win any night.”
And though winning the provincial championships March 18 to 23 in Kamloops is the ultimate goal, winning isn’t everything.
“It’s not just wins and losses. It’s about getting the boys to the next level. And even if this is the last year of hockey they ever play, it’s important that they’ve learned what it’s like to be a team player and the sacrifices you need to make along the way.”
MIDGET A2 COLTS BETTER PREPARED FOR PLAYOFF PUSH
The Cloverdale A2 Midget Colts may be winless since moving up a tier, but they know that come playoff time they’ll be better prepared for what’s in store.
The Colts were 8-2-0 to start the year in Flight 3 and when one of their rivals moved up, it was a no-brainer to follow.
“When Semiahmoo was moving up we knew we had to as well,” said Colts head coach John Holyk. “We’ve been in every game and it’s been pressuring the guys a little more.”
The Colts are 0-7-0 in Flight 2. (The Semiahmoo A1 Ravens are 1-5-1). Though they are losing the games, they’re gaining experience against teams that they otherwise wouldn’t have met until the playoffs.
“These are the teams we want to see,” said Holyk, referring to the Langley A2 Eagles as a rival in this tier. “It’s been a challenge, but the upside is that it is preparing them for the next level of challenge.”
The next level is the PCAHA playoffs and a desire to be in the Final Four that they are hosting.
“We’re up against a lot of A1-T1 teams and I guess we were hoping to develop our speed and play so that we can utili8ze it versus lower teams in the playoffs who haven’t had the same opportunities all year.”
Cloverdale AAA teams wrap-up
Midget:
The Cloverdale A1 Midget Colts are hoping to stay out of the Flight 1 basement with two games remaining this week. Their 3-13-0 record has them in 10 in the 12-team division. They won two of three games in January before dropping two in a row.
Peewee:
The Cloverdale A1 Peewee Colts have finished their league play in second place with a 15-2-3 record. They finished one spot ahead of the only other A1-T1 team in Flight 3 and won nine in a row before losing to Whistler A1-T3.
Atom:
The Cloverdale A1 Atom Colts also finished their league play, finishing third in the top flight with a 13-4-3 record.
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