The Tisdale Trojans (white) embrace following a 5-2 win at home over the Notre Dame Argos.(Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Trojans Split Weekend Series

Trojans split weekend series against Argos before challenging stretch

Nov 25, 2019 | 9:10 AM

It was a scrambly game against the last-placed team in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL), but the Tisdale Trojans concluded their weekend series at home against the Notre Dame Argos with a 5-2 win.

Matters were level at 2-2 in the first period, before the Trojans eventually shut the door and outscored the Argos 3-0 in the final two frames.

“The last 40 minutes I liked,” Head Coach Dennis Kubat told northeastNOW. “You look at scoring chances against and I would say there were very few and far between from their team and that’s what we like to see as coaches. We know we’re going to provide some offence, but if we can eliminate their chances… that was the difference in the last 40.”

The win was crucial for the Trojans for two reasons: because they’re entering a stretch of three games in four nights, and because of their performance the night before against the same Argos team.

Heading into the first game on Saturday, Nov. 23, the Argos had one win and 17 losses. They ended up defeating the Trojans 4-3 at the Tisdale RECplex, coming back from a 3-1 deficit.

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Trojans center Keagon Little admitted his team took the Argos lightly.

“We came in thinking we were going to beat them two straight,” Little said. “But that team works hard, so give them credit. Anyone can beat anyone in this league, so we have to be ready and have fun while doing it.

“We all came together as a team and knew it was a bad game [Saturday] night. We wanted to regroup and show the fans in front of our own barn. We came out and had some good pressure in the first, got better as the game went on, and all lines were contributing.”

The Trojans flirted with disaster against a lower-ranked SMAAAHL team in the Yorkton Maulers before, which left a sour taste in Kubat’s mouth. After responding to that game by winning four games against Battlefords and Beardy’s – two teams outside of the SMAAAHL post-season picture – Kubat was surprised his team dropped the first game against the Argos.

“We’re a team that needs to make sure we get every point available,” Kubat said. “Especially the teams behind us. Those are big games all the top teams are winning. If we want to compete in the upper echelon, we’ve got to win those games.”

Coming up for the Trojans is their most challenging stretch of games so far this season. They travel to Saskatoon on Nov. 28 to play the second-placed Blazers before returning home on Nov. 30 for two games in two nights against the third-place Moose Jaw Warriors, who have the lowest goals against in the SMAAAHL at 39 allowed in 20 games.

“I was feeling nervous after [Saturday’s] game but today was a better effort,” Kubat said. “Our guys seem to step up against better competition. We’ve fared pretty well lately against Regina and the (Saskatoon) Contacts where we got three big wins against some top teams, and we’ve been in a lot of the other games we’ve been on the short end of.

“It’ll be an interesting weekend. We’ll get to see what we’re up against and where we stand in the league. I really loved watching Moose Jaw when we played them early in the year. They’re a team that scares me and they’re good with team speed. Right from their goaltender to the forwards to the defence, they’re going to be right on us. Are we going to be a top team, or are we still that middle of the pack team that needs more work?”

Injuries healed; injuries sustained

Kubat believes he jinxed his team when he foresaw his Trojans finally getting a full, healthy roster.

Then the road trip to Battlefords happened.

The Trojans lost three players to injury: rookie forward Mario Fortier (who’s 30^th in SMAAAHL scoring), defencemen Rylan Donald and Drayton Hvidston (who just returned from a previous injury) after their two games against the Battlefords Stars from Nov. 16 to 17.

Kubat doesn’t expect either of the three players to return any time soon.

The good news for the Trojans is they got two key players back in their line-up

Little and defenceman Cole Tanchuk returned to action against the Argos after missing six weeks due to injury.

Little played both games against the Argos, scoring in each of the two games. He said he’s still feeling a bit rusty after his injury leave.

“I’m getting there, but not quite at the level I want to be,” Little said. “It will come in the next game. This was a good weekend to get on the ice and finally play some hockey.”

Little returned on a line with Jordan Normand and Ethan Lang. A bit different than being paired with his fellow former Prairie Hockey Academy partner Noah Wills. The duo combined for 13 points (five goals and eight assists) in eight games prior to Little’s injury.

“Normand and Lang work their butts off, so it’s not hard (to play with them),” he said. “Wills is an amazing player. He sees the ice perfectly, so that’s how we got along. But he’s been playing unreal with [Kalen Ukrainetz and Kylynn Olafson] and it’s been doing well. [Coaches are] now trying to get me in the line-up and I thought our line did pretty good. We were creating lots of chances. We all work hard and get our noses dirty, so it’s good.”

The Trojans begin their stretch on Thursday, Nov. 28 against the Saskatoon Blazers. You can listen to the game on Saskatchewan’s New Beach Radio with the pre-game show at 6:55 p.m.

aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow