Hard-working Yellowhead Chiefs eyeing playoff spot

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This article was published 19/01/2024 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Boy, am I tired!”

Awaiting on the bench before hitting the ice for the third period, Yellowhead Chiefs rookie goalie Kieran Madill offered that comment to a Brandon Sun sports scribe.

His previous 40 minutes between the pipes at J&G Homes Arena saw the 2006-born Brandonite face 21 shots in the opening period against the host Brandon Wheat Kings.

By the time he was ready for third-period action, Madill had already seen 39 shots from the vaunted offence of the first-place Wheat Kings (29-0-1-0).

Down 3-0 after the first period, the Chiefs (8-18-1-3) finally solved Matthew Michta in the middle period with tenacious forechecking.

The “never quit” attitude instilled in his players by coach Chad Taylor was evident as Yellowhead battled back to close the gap at 3-2.

“We’re a team that works hard,” he said pre-game. “We know they have lots of offensive talent and their record shows it. We’ve lost the three previous games against them, but we follow the old adage: working hard can beat talent.

“We know the tendencies (of Brandon) and are quite familiar with their players, it just comes down to us playing our game, and working hard. For us, every game is like a playoff game now as we look to move up in the standings to be in the playoffs (this spring).”

The Chiefs had their chances in the final period, and Madill ended up facing 55 shots to the 23 fired at Michta. Brandon won 6-3 thanks to a four-goal effort from forward Loughlan McMullan. Single markers went to Brady Turko and Declan Hoad.

Addison McIntosh capitalized on his line’s forechecking and scored three goals in close for the Chiefs.

Madill managed to do something most teams have not been able to do thus far in the 2023-24 season — keep one the league’s top snipers off the scoresheet. Going into the game, Jaxon Jacobson had 23 goals and 59 points in just 21 games. He was blanked on this night.

“We know his line can score a lot of points,” said Taylor, “and with their team having last change, we’ll just roll our lines. I’m not looking to match lines when his line is out because I have confidence in our lines they can do the job to stop them.”

Madill was equally not intimidated facing the likes of Jacobson or Turko, who managed to score just one goal in the game.

“If you just focus on (Jacobson), then he’s got guys on his line who are just as dangerous,” he said pre-game. “You just have to be aware of where he is on the ice, and be ready for his shot or pass. With Turko, you have to watch out for the back-door plays.”

While his team is in the 11th spot in the 12-team league, Taylor is not throwing in the towel when it comes to the playoff picture. There are still plenty of games to play, and his squad has a good work ethic despite the current record.

“We have a lot of 2006-born players on our roster, so we have a lot of younger talent, with me bringing eight of my players up from last year’s team,” said Taylor, who coached the U15 AAA team last season.

He’s joined on the bench by his assistant coach Craig Geekie from last season, and along with Aidan Woodley, have been working hard from game to game plus with team practices to bring everyone up to speed on the team systems.

Taylor likens his team play drawing on two examples from the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets.

“We like to play with lots of puck support, and right now we’re building on each game to get into the playoffs. Each game for us is playing a playoff game. We have a lot of games coming up that are four points, so we need to win those to move up from where we are right now in the standings.”

Looking back to the start of the season, Taylor had 45 players vying for spots on the roster. Two of those players call Brandon home, his goalie Madill and winger Quinn Schutte, who has 10 goals and 24 points in 25 games. Schutte’s tenacious forechecking helped McIntosh record his hat trick.

“Putting our team together, we’re drawing on players from a large area, unlike Brandon,” Taylor explained. “We have players coming from all these small communities around Shoal Lake.”

Building team chemistry takes a while to come to fruition, unlike the Wheat Kings where the players have come up through the Brandon Minor Hockey Association’s program starting in Timbits, up to the U15 AAA team.

“My goal going into this season was to be a playoff team, and I still think we can be,” Taylor said. “Once you get into the players, every team is starting fresh, and you never know what can happen if you get on a roll.”

Taylor himself is now living in the Yellowhead hockey area after moving from Winnipeg. He bought his grandparents’ home in Newdale. With his job working for Only Hockey, he can work from home.

Besides coaching the Chiefs, he’s also a scout for the Neepawa Titans of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

“I eat, breathe and sleep hockey,” he quipped as his players did their pre-game warmups around him.

Madill was nearby doing a goalie drill where he threw balls against the wall like a juggler, while others stretched and limbered up before lacing up skates and adjusting elbow pads and shin guards.

“I think our strength as a team is our work ethic,” he offered. “No matter the score, we always believe we’re in the game and can with it.”

His players demonstrated this in the middle period with his team down 3-0. Forechecking proved effective with McIntosh scoring twice to close the gap to 3-2.

“We just have to work on our defensive zone and keep the other team from scoring,” said Taylor. “A good defence creates a good offence.”

Keeping the Wheat Kings offence at bay is no easy task for any of the teams in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League. Brandon has outscored opponents in 30 games this season 172-62, while the Chiefs’ record is 99-131.

“We just have to reduce our turnovers,” said Taylor, “and take advantage of our opportunities when we are on the forecheck.”

Currently, the Chiefs are led on offence by Max Collyer (12-16-28), Bo Tibbats (13-12-25), Cole Hunter (10-14-24) and Dylan Miko (7-13-20). With McIntosh scoring three goals, his offensive totals improved to 15 goals and 20 points in 30 games.

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