(File photo courtesy/Wes Rudy)

By Ben Tompkins

A season to be proud of

Trojans culture rebuilt after much improved 2023/24 season

Mar 20, 2024 | 4:06 PM

The Tisdale Trojans have shown significant growth over the past two seasons, with an especially large jump this year.

Just 24 months ago, the Trojans sat in last place (12th) in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League, with a measly six wins, while following that up 12 months later with an 11th place finish, after posting 13 victories.

This season, they nearly doubled that number again, as they finished with a 23-8-3 record, which earned them a postseason berth as the sixth seed.

Tisdale also went on to win the first round of the playoffs, upsetting the third-ranked Warman Wildcats, as they came back from a 2-0 deficit.

“I’m proud of the boys, they just bought into a system that I wanted to play and they played hard. The one thing I heard the most from people is that we worked hard and we were a hard team to play against, and that’s probably the biggest compliment you can get as a coach,” explained head coach Wes Rudy.

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“It was definitely a process, I don’t think we got off to the start we were hoping for, but if you look at our record since Christmas, we had a really strong second half and that just shows that it takes time. You can’t just hit the light switch when you change things, it takes time and I’m just so proud of the kids.”

In the 2024 portion of the regular season, the Trojans finished off strong by going 10-5-1.

They then made it to the second round of the playoffs, as they ran into the top team in the league.

While Tisdale did get swept by the Saskatoon Blazers, every game was close, and it very easily could have gone the other way.

“When I look at that series in a nutshell, we could have been up 2-0 very easily as opposed to down. With a couple of lucky breaks and a few calls that went our way, it would have been a completely different series. We battled hard, the boys never quit, right to the last shift we played hard and I’m proud of that,” Rudy added.

“The one thing that doesn’t go is culture and I think that’s the biggest thing that the kids experienced last year with us, along with a pretty long playoff run in this league, so they don’t forget that stuff. They’re gonna bring that experience and culture back with them, and they’re gonna teach the younger kids that are coming in.”

That is the hope as this team and community are already excited for next year, with another leap on the cusp.

For Rudy, he had fun with this team and he knows the guys did too, as he wishes everyone who’s moving forward the very best.

“The main thing is we’ve built that culture now and I think that’ll last through the summer and into the start of next season,” he told northeastNOW.

“I had a lot of fun this year. It was a year that had a lot of unknowns coming into it as I’d been out of hockey for five years. Tisdale, the board, and the kids made it fun for me again, it was exciting to come to the rink every day and that’s important.”

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8