DIDSBURY - The Mountainview Colts have made good progress in several key areas, including offensive production and netminding, so far this season, says head coach Ron Doig.
The first-year bench boss of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League Colts says after a slow start to the 2024-25 season, the team has made impressive strides in recent weeks, including a six-game winning streak last month.
“I think we are happy,” Doig told the Albertan. “It was a tough start; I think we were 2-7 and 3-8 to start. We struggled to score goals and pretty much struggled to stop shots. We just had to iron that out and we got it going before Christmas.”
The team’s early struggles had a bit to do with the strong competition the squad faced, he said.
“We faced Sylvan Lake (the top team in the north division) four times in the first 15 games, and Medicine Hat and Cochrane and Strathmore, all top teams,” he said.
The addition of goaltender Nicholas Smith midway through the first half of the season proved to be a good move, he said.
“Nick came in and kind of settled everybody down,” he said. “I think he’s a calm guy and I think that was an attitude we needed in the room. Then guys started feeling a little better going into games, that they could relax and play the game they wanted.”
Smith has a 10-4 record and a .921 save percentage so far this season.
Doig cited forwards Corbin Rae, Simon Leischner and Tanner Austin as some of the team’s offensive leaders so far this season.
Konnor Poitras and Ryder Hammer are the team’s top scorers so far, with 23 and 22 points respectively.
Looking towards the second half of the season, Doig said work will continue on getting more goals.
“We take a lot of shots so hopefully we’ll get from the three goals a game we have been scoring to four a game,” he said. “That should probably help us out a bunch.”
The Colts had a 13-11-2 record in the 2024 part of the season.
The team split two games over this past weekend, starting the 2025 portion of the season with a win over High River and a loss against Medicine Hat.
On Friday, the Colts travelled to High River to take on the Flyers at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Complex.
The Colts got goals from Cohen Richardson (assists Mitchell McDermid and Zachary Wheatley), Corbin Rae (assist Treydon Brien), Richardson (assists Aidan Saunders and Treydon Brien), Brien (assists McDermid and Seth Sideroff) and Trey Mueller (assists Haiden Parks and Ryder Hammer) for a 5-0 win.
Colts netminder Nicholas Smith stopped 23 shots for the shutout.
On Saturday, the Colts hosted the Medicine Hat Cubs at the Centennial Place Arena in Three Hills.
The Colts gots goals from Richardson (assists Mueller and Smith), Rhett Miller (assists Hunter Sellers and Tristan Visser), Parks (assist Hammer) in a 7-4 loss. The game saw more than two dozen penalties handed out.
Smith stopped 32 of 38 shots he faced.
The Colts are in Cochrane on Friday for a matchup against Generals.
The Heritage Junior B Hockey League Colts are playing their home games outside Didsbury the rest of the season due to a mechanical issue at the Didsbury Memorial Complex. Home teams get the last change on face-offs.
The team’s next ‘home’ game is against the Three Hills Thrashers at the Innisfail Arena on Jan. 18.
