INNISFAIL - Innisfail minor hockey has begun the tournament season.
The Innisfail Bantam A Fourlane Ford Flyers held their first tournament of the season Dec. 2 to 4 at the Innisfail Twin Arena, with the red ice surface back in action after a serious breakdown of the ice making plant.
“It was the very first tournament of the season for Bantam A Fourlane Ford Flyers,” said Aaron Kitzul, head coach. “It was very busy the whole weekend.”
The Innisfail Bantam A Flyers took on the Beaumont Braves on Dec. 2.
“We hosted the tournament opener Friday night and we lost 6-1 but it was a very close game, it was evenly matched. They got a couple of lucky goals and we got some unlucky bounces,” said Kitzul.
On Saturday, the Flyers faced another strong team, the Bonnyville Pontiacs.
“They too were a strong team but we carried the play,” said Kitzul. “We outshot them 51 to 16 in the game, but they did a good job of keeping those shots to the outside,” he added, noting Bonnyville won that game 3-1 with a couple of late goals.
The two losses knocked Innisfail out of contention for the semifinals and finals on Sunday, Dec. 4
Both the Bantam A and Bantam B teams play in the Central Alberta Hockey League (CAHL). The A squad plays in tier two while the B team is in tier six.
“We're going to have one more bantam tournament (B) here this year and we will run tournaments right through to the end of March,” said Kitzul.
Despite the tough tournament for the Bantam A Flyers Kitzul said he is pleased with his teams' efforts but noted there is still work to do.
“It's been a slower process. We only have one returning player from the (Bantam A) team last year and we only have four second-year players, so there's lots of new faces this season,” he said. “We're a very fast team. We're not a very large team so we don't play a very physical brand of hockey, but it's coming along.”
There will also be a focus on some areas in the new year.
“We need to develop some chemistry and some communication skills with the boys and get ready for provincials, which start in the second week of February,” said Kitzul.
Aaron Kitzul
"We're a very fast team. We're not a very large team so we don't play a very physical brand of hockey, but it's coming along."
