Crocus Plainsmen victorious sticking to game plan

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This article was published 14/02/2024 (812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a reason why coach Darren Galatiuk and his three assistants put a game plan in place this season.

When the 11th-place Crocus Plainsmen (11-18-0) deviate from their game plan, the scoreboard usually favours the opposition leading on the scoreboard.

That was evident during Galatiuk’s recent tilt with the Boissevain/Souris/Deloraine/Waskada Broncos (11-17-0) Sunday night at Flynn Arena. Down 2-0 after 40 minutes, and his charges not generating much offence facing goalie Ethan Williams, something needed to change. This included discipline to avoid giving the 10th-place Broncos power-play chances.

At the other end of the rink, Crocus goalie Kelsey Dell was keeping her team in the game with a number of highlight reel saves from in close, especially when the opening period was scoreless.

Galatiuk took a different approach to the second intermission with his players in hopes of coming out with a different perspective knowing making the top-eight in the Westman High School Hockey League for the playoffs is still attainable.

“We did things a little bit differently in the second intermission,” he offered post-game. “(Assistant) Phil (Durward) addressed the team briefly, but for the most part (the players) all knew they had strayed from our game plan and discipline. They proved in the first few shifts of the third that they had more to give.”

In fact, Will Galatiuk, with his 20th goal of the season, and Cooper Kirkpatrick scored a minute apart to start the third to draw the teams even.

It was all Crocus for the remainder of the game after erasing a 2-0 deficit, with Drayden Murray and Rylan Dean scoring to pace their team to a 4-3 victory. Ryan Sprott, with his 20th, Myles McGregor and Gavin Wickham answered for the Broncos.

While the Plainsmen had chances on Williams in the first 20 minutes, he was more than equal to the task to allow his team to go up 2-0 after 40 minutes. It was a different Crocus team in the middle period, and coach Galatiuk observed it from the bench.

“We played well in the first, but were not rewarded with any goals,” he explained. “Sometimes when that happens we tend to become a bit selfish. We also added undisciplined and lazy to the selfishness, which added up to losing the second period 2-0.”

While Crocus generated 35 shots on the Broncos net, Williams was not tested from close range, with his defence keeping the Plainsmen to the outside. Shot blocking also contributed to negating any changes of generating offence. Galatiuk tells the team constantly they need to send the puck at the opposition’s net to create scoring chances.

“We preach that to them in every practice and every pre-game speech … get pucks in deep, get pucks to the net, bang in rebounds,” he said. “As a group, we need to get more pucks and bodies to the net.

“A lot of our practice drills allow for screens and rebounds to make it second-nature for them. That part of our game is getting better, but is far from perfect.”

With a team built with speed, with the likes of Kirkpatrick, Cale Culcut, Gilbert Teneycke and Landan Nadeau cruising the ice, Galatiuk would like to see them use it to keep the opposition off balance playing a 200-foot game, especially on the counter-attack.

“Our players are all pretty good skaters, and we have the most success when we attack from the rush, and forecheck like crazy,” he explained. “Speed is a very important part of our game. That was evident in the first shift of the third period with Lachlan Sprott. We put him on the top line with Galatiuk and Nadeau due to his work ethic and speed.

“Right off the bat, he chased a loose puck down in the offensive zone which created a couple of chances prior to (my son) getting our first goal.”

After the come-from-behind victory and the effort his players demonstrated in the third, Galatiuk let his players know how he felt in a post-game address.

“I let them know I had never been madder at them, after the second, or been prouder of them after the win.” he offered. “We discussed the importance of playing 60 minutes, and we discussed the importance of (Lachlan) Sprott coming out flying in the third and setting the tone for the others with his work ethic and speed.”

Galatiuk wants his team to feed off that win, especially with just four games remaining in the regular season. Crocus has games against Swan Valley twice (Feb. 17, 24), Dauphin (Feb. 23) and the Roblin/Grandview/Gilbert Plains Raiders (Feb. 25). They are five points back of the seventh-place Tigers, so the two games are important to come out with wins, and look for help from other teams also fighting to stay in the top eight, or move into it.

Galatiuk is hopeful the win bodes well going forward, and his team know they can win if they stay focused and use their tools to generate scoring chances.

“It is hoped (the players) realize that when they do things the right way, work hard and follow our game plan, they can be successful against anyone in the league,” he said. “If they do things their way, take undisciplined penalties and are lazy, things are much more difficult.”

The coaching staff are looking to keep the wins coming as the regular season comes to an end, but it will be up to the players to collect eight points in the next four games.

“We are trying … I’m not sure we will be able to jump all of the teams between us and that eighth spot. Therefore, in reality, we are hoping to get one of the top seeds of the consolation side,” he said. “If we can’t compete for the big trophy, it would be nice to have home ice advantage in the first round of the consolation.”

In the previous game, the Vincent Massey Vikings (22-5-0) moved into a first-place tie with the Dauphin Clippers following a 7-5 win facing the Swan Valley Tigers. Third-place Neepewa Tigers (21-2-0) are a point back.

Carter Dittmer paced the Vikings on offence with four goals, including his 50th to start the game. Josh Romanik scored twice, while Dylan Luncalfe added a single marker. Brady Burghart scored three for the Tigers, including his 24th, while Eli Butcher and Christian Hart added single goals on Viking goalie Sawyer Wallin.

The Vikings have three games remaining to hold down first in the league, and take the No. 1 seed for the post-season.

The Broncos are back at Flynn Arena on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The team’s next two games are on the road to face the Killarney/Wawanesa Raiders on Sunday at 4 p.m. and the Major Pratt Trojans on Feb. 25 at 4 p.m.

The scoring race will come down to a battle between Dittmer and Raiders sniper Connor Martin, especially when they face each other Sunday. The two are tied with 82 points each, with Dittmer’s 54 goals going with his 28 assists in 27 games. In 24 games, Martin has 39 goals and 43 assists. Romanik is third in league scoring with 31 goals and 79 points in 28 games.

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