DIDSBURY - With the playoffs just around the corner, first-string netminder Chance Griffith says team play remains the key to success for the 2021-22 Mountain View Colts.
A second-year player with the Colts, Griffith has lead the team to a winning season with a few games left before playoffs.
“We definitely are on the right track,” said Griffith. “We’ve all got to come prepared to play. I think we will have success if we all come ready to do our jobs.”
Griffith, 20, has been with the Colts since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season but has really come into his own this season, with head coach Gord Olson calling the netminder a “very big part” of the team’s success.
Lane Rothenbusch is the Colts 2021-22 captain. He echoed Olson’s comments.
“Chance is probably one of the top goalies in our league,” said Rothenbusch. “He has won us a lot of games this season.”
A Crossfield-area resident, Griffith has been playing goalie since switching from forward in second-year peewee.
“I’ve been affiliated with the team (Colts) for a few years, back in first-year midget when I would practise with them,” he said.
In his third year of midget, Griffith played in Fernie, B.C before joining the Colts last season.
So far he’s been pleased with the way the 2021-22 campaign has gone.
“I’ve been having a pretty decent season,” he said. “It started off a little bit sloppy but I’ve pulled it together and tried to keep the Colts in for the win.
“I’ve been seeing 40 to 50 shots a game against the top teams this season.”
The Colts have actually had more success on the road than at home at the Didsbury Memorial Complex this season.
“It’s been good on the road but a little bit of a struggle at home,” he said. “I think with all of us together on the longer road trips it really helps get everyone ready at game time. It helps focus everyone.”
Griffith says the coaching staff has been helpful to both him personally and to the team as whole this season.
Asked what his plans are following the 2021-22 Colts season, Griffith says he’s leaving his options open.
“I’m going to see what kind of opportunities I get after the season,” he said.
Griffith could play another season with the Colts as a 21-year-old.
The Colts are back at home on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5. Playoff game times and locations have not yet been set.
