By Ryan Laverty /
After the beating the MLAC Elite Sportswear Maple Leafs took on Nov. 5, there were only two options left on the proverbial table.
The first option was to maintain the fetal position they held while the Sherwood Park Squires pounded their way to a 9-0 win.
The second was to pick themselves up, bandage their wounds and ice their bruises, and commit to not letting that sort of embarrassment ever happen again.
The Leafs chose the latter.
Under the direction of coach Tim Tymchuk and with the leadership of Blake Ireland and Riley Sheen, the Maple Leafs have turned into the aggressor in the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League’s North Conference.
Since having their doors kicked in at the beginning of November, the Leafs have rattled off an impressive 4-1-1 record in the league, including a 3-3 draw with the first-place South Side Athletic Club AMC Bulldogs, a 10-5 thumping of Fort Saskatchewan and perhaps most importantly a 5-4 payback victory over the Squires.
In addition, the Leafs took their show on the road Nov. 26-29 and came home from the Kelowna Midget AA tournament with a perfect 5-0-0 record.
“You know any time you take a loss like the one we did you can handle it one of two ways. You can jump up and down and yell and scream or you can look at it as a learning experience and move on,” explained Tymchuk. “I think we’ve come a long way since then and I think that 5-4 win was a big one for us.
“We did it the hard way — killing off a penalty in the last minute and a half — but sometimes a 5-4 win is just as good as a 9-0 win when you get it by digging down.”
That said, the 10-5 victory over Fort Saskatchewan wasn’t a bad way to go either. Sheen and Troy Tymchuk combined for 17 points in that victory, helping to secure their place as the top two scorers in the AMMHL this season.
Sheen leads all point-getters with 28 goals and 47 points in 19 games with Tymchuk second at five goals and 40 points in 18 games.
Still, there is work to be done in the Maple Leaf camp. After taking the SSAC Ice Breaker tournament for the first time in a decade, the team seemed poised to challenge for top spot in the AMMHL this year.
Despite that tournament win, the Leafs have struggled to keep pace with the likes of the Bulldogs and the PAC Saints who, at press time, were tied atop the conference with 31 points, 10 better than the Leafs.
“We know we have things to work on, but our guys are getting better every game,” said Tymchuk. “And when we think they may be starting to slip we just remind them of that 9-0 loss and no one wants to experience that again.” |
