You have to fall before you can get up, right? That's the old saying.
photo courtesy of April Desjarlais
The Yukon Rivermen bantam hockey team, which counts several Yellowknife players among its numbers, were in tough once again last weekend as they took on the North Central Cougars, based out of Prince George, B.C., in their latest series as part of the BC Hockey Bantam Tier 1 Zone League. The series took place in Whitehorse and while the Rivermen lost all three of their games, they once again showed signs that they're coming on.
Mirsad Mujcin, a name familiar to anyone who's been around the Yellowknife hockey scene long enough, is the head coach of the Cougars and said his team simply managed to play stronger.
“We've already played 23 games this season and played in some tournaments,” he said. “It's still a young season and the Yukon guys just aren't used to the pace yet. They got better as the weekend went on but it's important to remember that it's not a sprint.”
The first game on Nov. 2 ended with a 16-0 scoreline in favour of the Cougars while game two was also a lopsided win for the Cougars, 10-2. They wrapped up the sweep with a 7-2 win in game three but it wasn't all negative for the Rivermen in Mujcin's eyes.
“They have a lot of skill on that team and they have the speed,” he said. “It's all about development and the more they play at this level, the better they'll be. It sounds simple but it will get better and you'll see them develop into better hockey players.”
The weekend series was also a chance for Mujcin to do some scouting of sorts. Mujcin is the head coach for Team NT's Canada Winter Games boys hockey team and every Yellowknife player on the Rivermen is in with a shot at making the final cut next month.
Mujcin said he had a chance to sit down with the Yellowknife players and go over how things were going leading up to December.
“Just talked with them to see how they're feeling,” he said. “That 2004-2005 age group looks really good and they're giving it all they have. It's not going to be easy for them but those kids managed to hold their heads above water last weekend and they're pushing themselves. Playing at this level on a regular basis is going to help them adjust to the pace and the speed.”
Making sure they have the pace and the speed is important because this isn't any old tournament, he added.
“Tournaments like the Canada Winter Games are a sprint, unlike the regular season,” he said. “It's not pond hockey and all of these teams we'll be playing will have a purpose so last weekend was a good chance to see and analyze what we have to work on and introduce some tactics. The most important thing is keeping it simple.”