Eatonia leads White Mud while Flyers struggle
By Jordan Parker
The Eatonia Huskies have seen a successful resurgence into the White Mud Hockey League after their time out.
With two more games to play before the Christmas break, theysit first in the standings, and were ferociously dominating the White Mud.
“Things have been awesome, and everyone is really playing great. Everyone has been contributing with points and goals,” said Head Coach Ryan Adams.
“The guys are all helping where they can, playing their roles, and everything is just going really well this season.”
Not only have the players been excited to head to the rink, but the town of Eatonia has been behind them every step of the way.
“The rink is always full, and people stick around after the game with the guys, and even sometimes have a beer with them,” he said. “To have that support is amazing, and we really just want to keep things rolling.”
The dressing room is a vibrant place these days, and everyone seems to be having a spirited time in Eatonia.
“The community is happy and people are coming who haven’t been in years. We had a kids skate and the ice surface was full,” said Adams.
“It can be tough to have kids at a game that goes later than 8:30 p.m., so it’s nice to put things on they can go to.”
What makes the team special, according to Adams, is the way that they always persevere.
“We just love the way we’ve been playing. The guys are enjoying it, and it’s obviously really fun when you’re winning,” he said. “But we’ve also been down in games and fought back. We came back from a 4-1 deficit, and it’s games like that which make the record more sweet.”
If you look at the roster, you may notice a few players seem familiar – Turner and Quinton Somerville are brothers, and they also play with cousins Dylan and BJ. The brothers find themselves neck-and-neck in point scoring this year as well.
“Their dads are brothers. It’s really cool having them all on the team,” said Adams. “I’m sure there’s some competition between Turner and Quinto, but at the same time, everyone knows this is about the team.”
“No one is counting their point totals. It’s not about the individual. You see in the league there are some imports who sometimes want to pad points, but the Huskies just want to win.”
They’re in for a big test after the break, which will see them pulled out of their comfort zone a bit.
“We have five straight road games to start the new year. It sounds like most of the guys will be traveling for the games, and that’s so amazing to hear,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Leader Flyers find themselves middle of the pack and trying to push further up the league standings.
“We lost some games and we got things set back a bit. When we played Eatonia, we had a great first period, but then we got into penalty trouble,” said player Riley Feiffer.
“But when you spend all but two minutes in the second not shorthanded, you won’t win. It’s been an issue all year.”
When the team traveled to Shaunavon, they showed up with only 12 guys, and not having a full roster hurt them.
“It’s hard to score from the penalty box, and it can be difficult without everyone there. But it’s a working man’s league,” he said.
“If we can get playing and going with everyone there, we can play really well.”
They may be middle-of-the-pack right now, but their 93 per cent penalty kill is best in the league, as is their 37 per cent powerplay.
“We just do phenomenal with our special teams. But at the same time, it’s hurting us,” he said. “We need to clean things up and stay out of the box.”
Goalies Tyler Marcotte and Jarrett Liptak have continued strong play for the team.
“They’re two of the best in the league and they work so hard. This team has to start helping them out more,” he said.
As Christmas break looms, Feiffer says it will be a good thing for everyone to get some time off.
“Every weekend there are one or two games, and that can really consume your life,” he said. “This will be a good break, and a time to look forward to getting back out onto the ice after.”
League action for Eatonia begins again on Friday, January 6, 2023 against the Gull Lake Greyhounds. Meanwhile, Leader will play the Cabri Bulldogs on Saturday, January 7.