Brown, Crocus hoping to play spoiler facing league’s best

If there was a David vs. Goliath matchup equivalent in the Westman High School Hockey League, this would be it.

The Crocus Plainsmen, who sit at the bottom of the standings having strung together just one win through 10 games (1-8-1), will need to do just about everything and then some to have a chance against what will be their toughest test yet in the league’s cream of the crop, the Swan Valley Tigers — the only team who is yet to register a regulation loss.

“It’s going to be a pretty hard battle, but I’m sure the boys will try and battle even harder,” said Crocus forward Destin Brown ahead of his club’s match against Swan Valley this afternoon at Enns Brothers Arena.

“Playing great teams up in the standings is going to be pretty hard, but, you know, you just never stop battling, and you never know what could go on, so it’d be pretty fun to win. Hopefully we can come out and get the win.”

The Tigers enter today’s matchup with an 8-0-1 record. Their only loss came to the fourth-place Major Pratt Trojans (7-3-1) during the season opener, when they fell in an 8-7 barnburner during extra time. Since then, they have won eight games in a row, while outscoring their opponents 63-28, and currently sit second in the entire league with six games in hand over the Virden Golden Bears, who they trail by just three points.

Crocus, on the other hand, dropped its first seven games of the season and was outscored 49-20 but was able to get into the win column with a 3-2 victory against the Minnedosa/Erickson Chancellors at Enns Brothers Arena on Nov. 22. Since then, they’ve lost their last two games against the Golden Bears and Trojans in 4-3 and 6-2 decisions but also wrapped up a decent outing at the annual Victoria Inn High School Hockey Tournament at the end of November.

In a 23-team tournament and with seven other teams competing in their Brandon School Division bracket, the Plainsmen finished sixth overall in their division following a 7-2 loss in the consolation final to the Dryden Eagles. Crocus went 1-1 during round-robin action after opening the tournament with a 3-1 win over the Prairie Mountain/Notre Dame/Miami/Gilbert-Rosset Mountain Mustangs and then a 5-0 loss to the Sanford Sabres.

In playoffs, they dropped a 5-1 contest to the Sandy Bay/William Morton Badgers to move to the consolation side before defeating the Helen Betty Osborne Huskies 4-2 to advance to the final. Brown, a second-year forward for the Plainsmen, believes his team has been trending in the right direction as of late and will continue to do so if they keep playing the way they have.

“Our team play is pretty confident,” he said. “Sure, we could be a little better on the little things like passing and getting it off the boards with a dump and chase, but the main thing is we haven’t stopped battling for pucks and playing the body. I think the improvements are definitely there, so we just need to keep it going.”

After as slow of a start to a season as Crocus had, it would be easy for guys to get discouraged and have that leak over into the locker room, but Brown said that hasn’t been an issue as of late. Bringing that positive mindset to every game on and off the ice starts with the leaders on the team, according to Brown.

“Our team captains are people that we can depend on,” Brown said. “It’s basically just off of the leader’s attitude, so based off of their attitude, that’s where everyone else gets their attitudes. If they (the leadership group) are upset and mad about how they’re playing, that’s how our other teammates are going to be.”

Crocus’s squad is led by Liam Bromley, Lachlan Sprott, Cody Johansen, and Cale Calcut. While Brown may not have a letter etched on his jersey, he still leads in a very big way on the ice. Through nine games, he’s collected six goals and 13 points, which is on pace to smash his totals of 10 goals and 21 points set in 44 games last year. The big jump in offensive production hasn’t exactly been a surprise, though.

“I expected me to be a little bit more on the better side this year,” he said. “Going into the season, I was just working hard and putting in time and effort, so I expected the numbers to be a little bit better this year than they were last year.”

Brown, who describes himself as a fast and physical player who is relentless on the puck and can be a playmaker from all areas of the ice, is currently second in team scoring, only behind his linemate Calcut, who has nine goals and 15 points thus far. He said he’s really enjoyed playing alongside him and Sprott.

“We just start making plays up, and seeing how it works out is lots of fun. We have a lot of communication, which is really good, so we try to make lots of plays and then follow them up in games and see if they work well. If they do, keep sticking to those plays,” Brown said. “It’s been nice, just being more confident with the puck, having my head up a lot more, and knowing how to make more plays.”

After today’s tilt against the high-flying Tigers, the Plainsmen will have another tough matchup waiting for them on Sunday when they face the fifth-place Dauphin Clippers (6-4-1).

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com