The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The La Ronge Ice Wolves headed into the RBC Cup in Dauphin this weekend with the healthiest group of players since they played the Flin Flon Bombers in the Bauer Conference semi-finals in early March. Head coach Bob Beatty says that means defensemen Mike Alexander, Dustin Stevenson, and Colton MacPherson will all be in the line-up; something was extremely rare as the Credit Union Cup playoffs wound down and it never occurred at all in the ANAVET Cup series against the RBC Cup host Dauphin Kings. "Obviously, the ANAVET Cup wasn't a winner take all series; but we don't want to discount we got beat by a very good hockey club and would rather be going into the RBC Cup having won that series in five games as opposed to have lost it. Nevertheless, the rest time we had this week was crucial." "I think we are as close to 100 percent health as we are going to be (Travis Gordon and Taylor Greenbank are out long term). We'll approach it game by game, but I expect those guys (veteran defensemen) to be able to compete in all games. At the same time, the playoffs and ANAVET allowed us to utilize some affiliated players who got valuable experience. Those guys will use that in the years ahead," said Beatty. The Ice Wolves have made a conscious effort in practice this week to work on their penalty killing. Dauphin burned them for seven goals on nineteen opportunities in games three, four, and five of the ANAVET. "We were less than spectacular on the penalty kill and need to tighten up and be more effective," says Beatty. It's a chore that should reap results as La Ronge was between 86.5 and 88 per cent successful on the PK during the regular season and SJHL playoffs. Goaltending is always a key and the Ice Wolves feel as though they are in good hands with both Joel Danyluk and Adam Bartko. Danyluk has emerged down the stretch, posting a 4-and-0 record against Yorkton with a miniscule 1.77-GAA and .946-SPCT. Even in the losses to the Kings in the ANAVET, Danyluk had a .924-SPCT. Bartko was the number one goalie for most of the season and through the first three rounds of the playoffs; so it wouldn't be a surprise to see both in the RBC Cup. "You can't put your eggs in one basket. You need to have two guys and our players are confident with either one," said Beatty. La Ronge opens on Saturday against Oakville and Beatty says he's in the process of going through some second hand reports to better prepare the troops. "We know when you get to this point, there are five teams and there won't be any easy games. We are trying to tune up our game, make sure everyone is on the same page, and do the things that brought us success over the course of the year." The Ice Wolves could be looked at as underdogs in the tourney, seeing as how they had the lowest league finish of any of the five teams involved; and yet they could also be a marked team as the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League has placed a team in the RBC Cup final in six of the last seven national championship tournaments. Beatty coached Humboldt to their 2003 RBC Cup. "We've been underdogs for quite some time and have been able to overcome that label. If you call us underdogs, that's fine. We feel if we execute we'll be fine. We aren't going in with an inferiority complex. At the same time, we are carrying the banner with a lot of pride and know there are expectations (within Saskatchewan) and don't want to let anyone down. There is pressure for a good showing. We are very focused on getting to the semi-finals and we'll go from there."
