The Fort St. John Huskies enter this weekend’s slate of games undefeated, with three wins under their collars. The team had a big win against the first place County of Grande Prairie JDA Kings Oct. 7, winning 5-2, which has them very confident.
The Huskies host the Fairview Flyers Oct. 13, and then hit the road to take on their rivals, the Dawson Creek Junior Canucks, on Oct. 14. Both games are at 8 p.m. Both the Canucks and the Flyers are struggling out of the gate, but the Canucks did beat the Flyers last weekend 3-1.
Huskies assistant coach Todd Alexander feels confident about his team’s play heading into these two games, but was cautious when asked what to expect from Fairview and Dawson Creek.
“We haven’t seen either team yet, we’re just sort of going into it feeling out both clubs and seeing how it goes,” Alexander said.
“The main thing is we want to play our game anyways.”
The Huskies’ game is all about getting lots of shots on net and moving the puck well.
“When we’re shooting, and when we start playing the game like that, the game really opens up for us,” Alexander said.
The offensive game is resulting in the Huskies scoring goals from seemingly everybody. Already, 12 different players have scored in the three games this season. Nolan Legace leads the way with five goals, and Gary Loewen leads the team with nine points.
Combine that with the team’s special teams, along with the strong play of goalie Jonathan Bateman, and the Huskies appear to be ready to take on the Junior Canucks.
Last season, the Huskies made easy work of the Canucks, winning four games against them, and losing two, one in a shootout. However, just because the Huskies are off to a strong start and have played well against them in the past doesn’t mean the Canucks are afraid.
“I feel really good going against them,” said Canucks General Manager Colby Wagar. “We haven’t seen them this year so we’re really curious to see them and see what they got going on their side.”
With provincials being held in Fort St. John this year, Wagar knows the Huskies will come to Dawson Creek with a competitive team. “We think we built a team to beat them, so now we just got to play our game,” Wagar said.
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