By Gary Moskalyk
26 Games 12-10-4 Points 28 WPct .538
4th place, 2 points back of 3rd
GF 93 GA 91 +2
GFPG 3.58 GAPG 3.50 +0.08 goals per game differential
Penalty minutes 18.5 per game
PP% 15.0 PK% 87.4 Shorthanded GF 6, Shorthanded GA 5 Shutouts 1
TOP SCORERS GP G-A-PTS
Jacob Lamoureux Rookie (24 GP, 19G-8A-27 PTS), Colton Crysler (25 GP, 13G-14A-27 PTS), Aiden Corbett Rookie (26 GP, 8G-16A-24 PTS), Dayvan Bull Defence (26 GP, 4G-15A-19 PTS), Kyle Schechtel Rookie (25GP, 7G-8A-15 PTS), Mason Mowat Rookie (26 GP, 5G-7A-12 PTS), Matthew Macpherson (15 GP, 3G-9A-12 PTS), Quintyn Sidaway Rookie Defence (18 GP, 3G-8A-11 PTS).
GOALIES GP W-L-T GAA SV% Shutouts Minutes)
Jack Osmond (19 GP, 10-6-2, 2.81, .930, SO 1, 1,109)
Trent Boryszczuk has not played.
The Christmas break will clean up a lot of bumps and bruises on the Miners roster.
“The layout of the schedule kind of put us at odds a little bit having a lot of three-in-threes. Avery busy, hectic schedule in the first quarter of the season, and that really wore us down,” said head coach Kevin Walker. “A lot of wear and tear on the body. The last two weeks allowed us to lick our wounds so to speak, get back to healthy, get back to normal.”
The Miners made a big move in net, acquiring Trent Boryszczuk to back up league ace Jack Osmond.
“Trent’s a great young man. His character is second to none. That’s something we really value here in Red Lake. . . He’s definitely going to be a strong competitor and push Jack for the rest of the season.”
Osmond leads the SI in save percentage with a .930 mark.
“He’s truly a world-class goaltender and we’re excited to have him,” said Walker of Osmond.
“He gives us a chance to win no matter what night it is.”
The Miners are about league average in winning percentage, goals per game, goals allowed per game, and four minutes less than average in the penalty box.
They’re penalty kill is 87.4%–number one. They’ve allowed 14 powerplay goals but have also scored six shorthanded.
No discussion of Red Lake is complete with mention Jacob Lamoureaux’ 19 goals, Colton Crysler’s 27 points, Aiden Balance’s 8-16-24 line or defenceman Dayvan Bull’s 19 points.
“We genuinely feel we can beat anybody on any given night. We very excited to get the second half of the season started,” said Walker, who replaced Geoff Walker, now head coach of the rival Fighting Walleye. “I think teams have to show us some respect and can’t underestimate us. Win or lose they’re going to know we played a full 60 minutes, hard, and that our guys are never going to quit. We need to clean some things up a little bit. We’re pretty happy with our group.”
It’s a young group, too. Most teams have five or six 2002 players (20-year-olds) in their line-up.
“We have a lot of youth on our team. We have one 20-year-old. We have a lot of inexperience, but a lot of these guys are standing up to the plate, are starting to understand what it takes to play at the Junior ‘A’ level. The more experience and exposure they get as the season goes on; I think the stronger we become. If you look at where we come from September 16 and 17 in Kenora against Dryden to where we are now, I think the changes are drastic, and we’re trending in the right direction.”
The Miners haven’t compiled the numbers of teams like Kam River or Dryden. Walker feels the best is yet to come.
“We genuinely feel we can make a push for the title here in the second half of the season. Make a run at defending our title. In saying that it’s not going to be an easy task.”