To say that the weekend didn't go as planned would be the understatement of the century. As the Winnipeg Ice boarded a huge pink Beaver Bus Line motorcoach on Saturday morning, the confidence of earning a tie 6 days earlier kept everyone in a good mood. What each person on the bus did not know, was that weekend in southwestern Manitoba would test the bond that everyone on this team shares.
It wasn't all good news though, as the team found out on Friday that they would still be missing one of their leaders, as Ollie was unable to travel with the team. But the team felt good about the weekend, as their first opponent was the same team they skated to a draw with at home on Sunday afternoon. The afternoon went smoothly: quick bus trip to Brandon, team meal at Montana's, and finally check-in at the hotel. After a little time to unwind and claim some space in their hotel rooms, the players were back on the bus for 70 minute ride to Shoal Lake. Turns out the game was scheduled for 7:30 instead of 7:00, so the bus was a bit early, but the players did need a little longer warm-up anyways, after spending most of the day on the bus. Finally, at 7:30pm the game vs. Yellowhead got underway, and the teams picked up where they left off from Sunday, as they skated back and forth trading chances. It was a pretty good first period, that saw the ICE fail to capitalize on a few chances early on. However, before the first period ended, Yellowhead managed to take a 1-0 lead. Kathleen Kosior was strong in net through the first period. The second period began with another Chiefs goal, extending the lead to 2-0 before the ICE could mount any counter attack. It only got worse from there, already on a penalty kill, the ICE took another penalty (kind of a soft call, in my opinion) to give the Chiefs nearly 2:00 on a 5 on 3 powerplay. Surely another goal against here would put the game out of reach...but the ICE PK stood very tall (and so did Kathleen in net) and found a way to kill off both powerplays. The ICE bench woke up for the first time since Yellowhead took the lead, and momentum seemed to be building. As the ICE pressed to shrink the lead, the Chiefs took a penalty...giving the ICE an opportunity to get closer. A little bit of possession and a few shots on net gave the ICE hope, but a mistake at the blue line and bad bounce resulted in the Chiefs scoring a short-handed goal...and ultimately broke the hearts of the ICE players. The 3-0 deficit wasn't even the worst part of the second period, as Michelle Anderson blocked a shot with her hand. At first she tried to play through the pain, she is a warrior by the way, as her hand was swollen and bruised immediately. She went to the dressing room with several minutes left in the second period, but did not get changed just yet. The loss of another player seemed to drain the ICE even more than the shorthanded goal, leading to another goal by the Chiefs before the end of the second period. At intermission, the coaches reminded Michelle that she would not need to continue in such pain, as she has proven enough today by playing through it for so long. She did play one more shift later in the third period, but was finally convinced that she needed to get it looked at. She left for the Shoal Lake hospital with a few parents and the ICE were left to finish the game without her. The game ended in a very disappointing 5-0 loss. Disappointment in the dressing room was quickly changed to relief as Michelle was already back and her hand did not appear broken. Very few positives came out of the Saturday night game, but it did seem like the injury was not as bad as it looked.
Daylight savings time allowed an extra hour of sleep for the ICE on Sunday morning, as the team met at Smitty's for a 9:00am team breakfast, before boarding the bus at 11:30am for Hartney, Manitoba. The Westman Wildcats were waiting for the ICE, a day after they beat a very tough Avros team 3-2. Westman is a very fast, big, and skilled team, and they showed it very early on, taking a 4-0 lead in the opening 5 minutes. It wasn't even that the ICE were making glaring mistakes, it was simply that any small mistake, or any player being out of position, lead to a Westman goal (every goal seemed to hit metal). But, being down 4-0 was nothing compared to how the ICE felt with about 8:45 left in the first period.
A very tough knee on knee hit to ICE defenseman Tasia Girden, led to very scary scene for all ICE players and coaches and fans. Zack was met with screams as she approached Tasia. The teams were ushered to their dressing room as everyone waited for the ambulance. It seemed like hours, but the ambulance made it and the paramedics did a great job. Tasia was transported to the Souris hospital and was examined there. ICE parent Jamie Bednarz accompanied her SECOND player in two days to the hospital, and the ICE finished the game without another one of their teammates. Michelle Anderson was luckily able to play, but the ICE didn't seem to have it on this day. The details will be spared, but with Tasia in the back of their minds, the ICE lost 9-1 to Westman.
In a weekend where everything went wrong: two losses, 2 injuries, 2 hospitals...and 1 pink beaver bus getting stuck in Shoal Lake...the players supported each other through every minute. In a season where very few things, if any, have gone their way...the players are in it for each other. If anything can be taken from last weekend's experience is that the bond shared between the players on this team is stronger than ever. They have already learned more about themselves and their teammates than most teams will learn all season long. Now it is time for some bounces, some breaks, and some success. Keep at it girls!
~Coach
