Crocus Plainsmen erupt offensively, defence playing stingy

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This article was published 13/12/2023 (844 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

By Jules Xavier

“We don’t score a lot of goals,” said Crocus Plainsmen rookie coach Darren Galatiuk.

So, it was a surprising effort from his players at Flynn Arena on Sunday night when the Plainsmen erupted for eight goals en route to an 8-2 triumph over the Birtle Falcons.

“We have to get contributions from more than one line, and we did that tonight,” Galatiuk said.

As the Plainsmen near the midterm mark of the 2023-24 Westman High School Hockey League, Galatiuk is still working on overall consistency from his players in all three zones, putting what they work on in practice to what they do during league or tournament games.

Of late, the Plainsmen have been stymied on offence with losses to teams above them in the 16-team league standings, an 11-3 setback to the fifth-place Killarney-Wawanesa Raiders and 5-1 loss to the fourth-place Neepewa Tigers.

“I’m happy with what the team has done as a group … teamwork is good, but we need to reduce our mistakes,” Galatiuk said. “The team has a long way to go before we realize we can win games as long as we play more consistently with and without the puck.”

Recent play during the team’s home tournament, and league losses, told the coach his defensive systems needed more fine-tuning in practice. Practice makes perfect, he emphasized.

“Our play in the (Victoria Inn high school) tournament showed we got away from our ‘D’ systems, so we went back to the basics in practice again and they played much better then our last couple of games,” he said, pointing to keeping the Falcons to just 19 shots on winning goalie Shelby Brown (5-4), while generating 30 at the Birtle net.

Galatiuk was especially happy to see more than just one line contribute on offence, which keeps opposing coaches from blanketing just one line with their checkers. He would like to see his energy and checking lines contribute, with the likes of tenacious checkers like Cale Calcut and Cooper Kirkpatrick causing headaches for the opposition on the forecheck.

Calcut used one of these occasions to break free on a breakaway off a turnover, and beat Stebeleski for his second goal of the season. He also set up teammate Ritchie Monias in the middle period after pressuring the Falcons defenders.

“When we have our defensive breakdowns in our own zone, teams capitalize on them. When we reduce these, and our offence is spread around, we will have success as (fans) saw tonight.”

Landan Nadeau paced the Plainsmen on offence with a hat trick, scoring in each period on Falcons goalie Aiden Stebeleski.

Gilbert Teneycke had a four-point night, with three helpers. Will Galatiuk also set up three goals.

Single markers went to Red Durward, Monias, Calcut and Merrick Smart. Carter Malchuk had both goals for Birtle.

With the win over the visiting Falcons (6-6-0), the Plainsmen (6-7-0) leapfrogged their opponent from the 10th to ninth spot. The team has just three games left before their Christmas break: road games on Dec. 16 in Sandy Bay and Dec. 22 in Boissevain and a home game on Dec. 17 against Vincent Massey.

Galatiuk has no worries about his team when it comes to venue, even with the last change on home ice.

“During the season it has not mattered the location for this team, we just need to get the effort from them, play as a team, and keep to our systems, especially on defence,” he said.

“It should be a great game in Boissevain, we do this annually, on Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. The arena should be packed with students,” he said.

Following Christmas break, Galatiuk will have his players regroup and focus on playing with more consistency to finish off the regular season, then cause some damage in the post-season.

His offence is led by three Crocus snipers currently among the league’s top-15 scorers: the fifth-place Nadeau (14gp, 12g, 16a, 28p), ninth-place Galatiuk (17gp, 11g, 13a, 25p) and 13th-place Teneycke (17gp, 8g, 16a, 24p)

Crocus defencemen and back checkers will especially have to be on their game, according to Galatiuk, when the Plainsmen face cross-town rivals Vincent Massey Vikings (10-2-0) on Dec. 17.

The Vikings boast three players among the league’s top-10 scorers, with Josh Romanik on a current torrid scoring pace with 13 goals and a league-best 29 assists. He’s three points up on Minnedosa-Erickson Chancellors sniper Ozy Atkinson, who has 15 goals and 39 points.

Carter Dittmer is fourth in league scoring, with 18 goals and 35 points; teammate Nash Stone has 13 goals and 25 points.

Crocus’ top snipers will also face the league’s best goaltending tandem, who have combined for a league-best five shutouts and are one-two in statistics.

A 12th grader, Sawyer Wallin has a 1.63 GAA and .935 save percentage while posting a 7-1 record. His partner is ninth-grader Casey Berry, with a 3-1 record, who has a 1.00 GAA and .955 save percentage.

“We lost to Massey early in the season, so it should be a good game as long as we play our systems, especially on defence,” said Galatiuk.

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