January 20, 2012
Posted in Alberta Edition, Minor Midget
By Derrick Newman /
The defending provincial champions, the Red Deer IROC Chiefs, are doing their best to make it back-to-back titles in the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League.
Led by long time hockey man and first year head coach Tom Bast, the Chiefs are at the top of Division B in the south conference with a stellar record of 15-2-4.
“Our plan is working for us,” Bast said. “Our goals and objectives are working with our discipline and our defensive play.
“We got a team that has bought into team play. We have a very well balanced hockey team.”
Despite struggling to score goals through November, the Chiefs stuck with it and are now leading their division in the goal scoring category with 109 tallies through 21 games – an average of over five goals a game.
“In November we weren’t scoring any goals,” the bench boss said. “We were snake bitten for a little while.
“All of the sudden the gates opened. When you are outshooting teams 2:1, it tells you that you are doing something right.”
Not only is the team leading in goal scoring, but a huge part of their success has been their defensive play, something Bast takes pride in.
“The kids have bought into a style of hockey that I’ve always liked to coach: very disciplined, very hard working,” he said.
In goal, the Chiefs have been blessed, as Bast says, with the ability to go back and forth between two great goaltenders in Joseph Desrosiers and Thomas Della Siega, both of whom rank in the top four in goaltending statistics in the southern conference.
Central Alberta is leading the way in the southern conference as both the IROC Chiefs and the Red Deer Northstar Chiefs are leading their respective divisions.
“Central Alberta has been blessed with hockey players,” Bast said. “The 96’ born kids in this area have been stellar. These kids have gone through some very good teaching of skill.”
The Calgary Royal Gold team sits only two points back of the IROC Chiefs. Other than that the next closest team sits 12 points in arrears of the first place team from Red Deer.
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Alberta Minor Midget: South Division Wrap
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