The Tisdale Trojans (white) are tentatively scheduled to play their exhibition schedule against their division rival Prince Albert Mintos (green), albeit with a different approach. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Trojans Exhibition

Trojans preparing for unique exhibition schedule

Oct 16, 2020 | 5:30 PM

Clubs in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) are awaiting the league’s schedule to be approved by the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

As teams wait, the Tisdale Trojans have a pair of exhibition games against their division rival Prince Albert Mintos tentatively on the calendar.

“That’s the big excitement for the boys,” Trojans Head Coach Dennis Kubat told northeastNOW. “They’ve been practicing for so long… this gives them a little more hope that we’ll be able to eventually play some games here in the future. These guys have been with me for 45 to 50 days. We do small games and 5 on 5, but just to play someone else besides their teammates is going to excite them a ton.”

The main difference between the Trojans’ exhibition schedule in 2020 compared to previous years is the roster. Because players are required to stick with their club for the season, Kubat said the Trojans won’t leave a spot or two on to potentially be won during exhibition games. All SMAAAHL teams will have their regular season rosters competing in exhibition games. If there any injuries, teams won’t be allowed to call up an alternate player from a lower league.

The only change the Trojans made from the end of training camp to now has been signing former Yorkton Maulers forward Payton Kachur, as forward Noah Wills sticks with the Melville Millionaires in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

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Kubat hasn’t minded the lengthy break, as it’s given the coaching staff extra time to implement their systems. He said the Trojans are still in talks with town staff to ensure the Tisdale RECplex will have all the protocols in place to safely welcome as many fans as possible.

“If [fans] can’t watch it at the rink, they’ll be able to watch a live feed… if not now, definitely in the future,” he said. “We’ve got a great group of guys that work hard; they’re coming together as a team. Hopefully we can keep producing a good product we’ve done in the past years. They expect a lot from us in Tisdale, and as a staff we expect a lot as well. I know I’m excited, and talking to people in the community, they’re excited to watch some hockey and cheer for their hometown team.”

The Trojans are tentatively scheduled to face the Mintos on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert, followed by another game against the Mintos on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Tisdale RECplex.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow