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Rockies seek to address trend of slow starts
By Stephanie Stevens
Sometimes a win is achieved with diligent physical training, sometimes it is more mental and philosophical training.
But more often it is a combination of the two.
The Columbia Valley Rockies earned a point last weekend despite their overtime loss against the Revelstoke Grizzlies, but while the point is a positive, head coach Tayler Sincennes is more focussed on a negative trend the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) team seems to be stuck in.
The Junior A club started off slow at the Jan. 25 away game and found themselves down by three with no goals of their own at the end of the first period. But while they came back strong and gave the Griz a run for their money, it is not the first time the team has been slow off the blocks.
“I thought we did a good job battling back and when we made our push in the second and third, we were very hard to compete with,” Sincennes said. “But it’s a continuing trend going down 3-0 and then making a push back, so we need to sort out starting on time and being ready to go so we don’t have to dig ourselves out of big holes every night.”
The second period saw the Rockies dominate the scoreboard, with Peter Godley (assist from Wyatt Wurtz) and Carter Velker (Carter Hensch and Noah Asmundson) putting one each past the Revelstoke goalie. Wurtz (Chance Cole) tied things up in the third, bringing the game into overtime.
Ultimately Revelstoke got the winning goal, but the Rockies made them work for it. Netminder Ryan Bain kept 39 of 43 shots on goal at bay.
“It’s awesome we have the ability to claw back in games,” said Sincennes. “It is a tool you need to win in the post season, but it will get harder and harder to claw back when the games start to tighten up.”
The next game is once again away when the boys take on the Beaver Valley Nitehawks Friday, Jan. 31, but they are back home in the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena Saturday, Feb. 1 taking on the Creston Valley Thundercats.
Lead image: There are only three home games left in the regular season at The Eddie, puck drop is 7 p.m. Feb. 1. e-KNOW file photo
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