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.
Several days after losing in the RBC Cup semifinals to the Dauphin Kings, the sting of defeat is still smarting for La Ronge Ice Wolves head coach Bob Beatty. However, when put into perspective the club's rise from basement to penthouse in just one season; Beatty should be nothing but proud of the entire organization, top to bottom. "The fans keep telling us we gave them an exciting year, and they are very proud of us. We didn't get the results we would have liked the last few weeks, but overall I have to agree with the fans. I'm extremely proud of our team." Beatty isn't the type to make excuses and even when questioned pointedly on the issue of injuries, he was reluctant to talk about them. "I think it was well documented that Mike Alexander had a significant injury that kept him out of the lineup for most of the last three series.' He wasn't at the top of his game when he was in the lineup, and that was a factor for us. We had some other guys that were injured as well. Our defense was pretty banged up in the Battlefords series," said Beatty. To recap, Alexander suffered a suspected torn MCL and still managed to play his way through some pivotal games. Goalie Joel Danyluk also suffered an MCL injury in the RBC Cup, but returned for the semifinal game against the Kings. Defensemen Kirk Moore and Phil Belanger missed time against the Stars, but worked their way back into the lineup. One of the best kept secrets of the playoffs was Colton MacPherson playing through a broken thumb that prevented him from shooting the puck for the last two months. "He played like a warrior," said Beatty. Dustin Stevenson suffered a very serious leg injury in the Yorkton series (first period of Game 5) when he was felled by a slash. "Losing Travis Gordon in the last game of the Flin Flon series was a real killer. He's a very hard guy to replace," said Beatty. Some of the other walking wounded up front included Travis Eggum (cracked ribs), Nolan Souchotte (shoulder/ribs), Dan Conacher (shoulder), and Leo Lacourciere (chronic issues with feet, resulted in back trouble). The Ice Wolves came a long way in a short period. They were 11-42-and-3 in 2008-09; and saw themselves turn it around to go 29-21-3-and-5 in 2009-10. Despite the major improvement, the Wolves still finished in fourth place. They had to play a Survivor Series with Humboldt, which resulted in a 3-games-to-0 victory for the Wolves over the three-time defending league champs. They then knocked off regular season conference champion Flin Flon and outlasted Battlefords in a physical battle before ending Yorkton's Cinderella run in six games for the Credit Union Cup. Winning the first championship in franchise history is sure to raise expectations in the community and Beatty is also hoping the club can capitalize on fan interest, which may be at an all-time high. "I'm very proud of our guys and they were able to establish a different level of standard for our franchise. They raised the bar. I think all the guys coming back will strive to get back to that level. "I think we'll be a contender next year with the guys returning and I hope they feel the same way. There should be enough hunger to get back to where we were. We didn't get the end results we wanted and there are some players that want to return to the big stage and take care of some unfinished business."
