The Tisdale Trojans high-five the fans who stood outside the Tisdale RECplex to send them off on their way to Thunder Bay, Ont. for the 2019 Telus Cup (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Trojans to Telus Cup

Trojans board bus to Thunder Bay for the Telus Cup

Apr 19, 2019 | 2:00 PM

Good Friday was a good day to send off the Tisdale Trojans.

Nearly 100 Trojans fans lined up in front of the Tisdale RECplex as their players boarded the bus heading to Thunder Bay, Ont. for the 2019 Telus Cup national midget hockey championship. The Trojans qualified for the Telus Cup after winning Western Regionals on home ice nearly two weeks prior.

With support from media outlets and municipalities across the province and send off by the hometown faithful, Trojans Head Coach Darrell Mann said all the love being shown the Trojans’ way has been exciting.

“We’ve got kids from all over the province,” Mann told northeastNOW. “We’ve had lots of people wishing us luck – lots of players that have played for the Trojans in the past 30 years. We’re going there to represent Saskatchewan.”

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Where the Trojans faced three provincial champions in a four-day round robin tournament during the Western Regionals, the Telus Cup is more intense with seven games in seven days if the Trojans are one of four teams who advance to the semi-finals.

However, by winning all four games in four days during the Western Regionals, Mann believes his team is as equipped to win a Telus Cup as anyone else.

“Mentally, our guys realized what it took to play four games in four days,” he said. “I thought we were as good on day four as we were on day one. That shows a lot for our guys and their character. I really think that our character will step forward once wet get there, get playing, and get on a role.”

Their five opponents:

Calgary Buffaloes – Pacific Regional champions

Toronto Young Nationals – Central Regional champions

Cantonniers de Magog – Quebec Regional champions

Halifax Macs – Atlantic Regionals champions

Thunder Bay Kings – Hosts

The Trojans faced and defeated the host Thunder Bay Kings twice during the Western Regionals in Tisdale, although now there are four other regional champions that will be new to them.

Mann said him and the coaching staff have been able to watch video on teams such as the Buffaloes and Cantonniers but will go into the tournament a little bit blind against other team’s tendencies.

“You’ve got to wait until you get there,” he said. “There might be things we have to adjust during the games, but our biggest focus is just making sure we’re playing the kind of hockey that we can play and have played during Regionals.”

While the challenges of not knowing their opponents all to well is the same as the Trojans faced during Western Regionals, one thing that will change is their daily routine. Their bus left Tisdale on Friday, April 19 and will take a full day to get to Thunder Bay where they’ll face a two-hour time change.

The Trojans won’t always play in the last game of the day like they did during Western Regionals. Sometimes they’ll play in the first, second, or final game of the day. Instead of staying in their own beds and getting natural rest, they’ll be in a hotel while the Thunder Bay Kings get that privilege this time.

One positive for the Trojans is two of their coaches have Telus Cup experience. Mann won the Trojans’ first and only Telus Cup in 2002 as head coach, while assistant coach Gary Janke played in the tournament in the 1970’s as a member of the Swift Current Legionnaires.

“A seven-day tournament like this happens quick,” Mann said. “We will use a lot from what we learned playing in Regionals, knowing those four days go by quickly. You’ve got to make sure you get on a roll early and we did that at home, we now have to do that on the road. Playing in a different building, we’ve got to make our own energy. We won’t have 1,200 people behind us every night.”

In preparation of playing in a larger, warmer arena such as the near 5,000 seat Fort Williams Garden in Thunder Bay, the Trojans practiced at Northern Lights Palace in Melfort, and the vibe amongst players and staff appeared to be as optimistic as its been all season.

“This is probably as healthy as we’ve been – knock on wood – all year long,” Mann said. “Right now, we’ve probably got a couple guys at 85 or 90 per cent, but everyone else at 100. We’re really excited to have a healthy line-up going into this and hopefully we can stay healthy throughout the process.”

The Trojans play their first game of the 2019 Telus Cup against the Quebec Regional champion Cantonniers de Magog on Monday, April 22 at 2 p.m. SCT.

Tisdale Trojans Full 2019 Telus Cup Schedule *if necessary

Monday April 22 – v. Cantonniers de Magog (Quebec) at 2 p.m. SCT

Tuesday April 23 – v. Thunder Bay Kings (Hosts) at 5:30 p.m. SCT

Wednesday April 24 – v. Halifax Macs (Atlantic) at 2 p.m. SCT

Thursday April 25 – v. Calgary Buffaloes (Pacific) at 10 a.m. SCT

Friday April 26 – v. Toronto Young Nationals (Central) at 9 a.m. SCT

*Saturday April 27 – Semi-final at noon and 4 p.m. SCT

*Sunday April 28 – Bronze Medal game at 11 a.m. SCT and Gold Medal game at 4:30 SCT

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow