The Innisfail Legion Flyers peewee team was back on the ice in early January preparing for the second half of the hockey season.
They kicked off the new year with an exhibition game against fellow league contender, the Red Deer Chiefs, on Jan. 3 in Innisfail.
“It was the only opportunity we had to play a game after the Christmas break and before we started league play,” said Stephen Bates, coach of the Legion Flyers peewee team and president of the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association.
League play returned with an away game in Cochrane on Jan.10.
Tryouts for the peewee team began last September, said Bates, with the regular season getting underway in November.
“We played a bunch of tier games in October and into November and the league started at the beginning of November,” he said, noting the team plays at the tier two level in the Central Alberta Hockey League.
The Legion Flyers have had an excellent season thus far and are currently undefeated, added Bates, noting an impressive 7-0-2 (wins, losses, ties) record. The team is now preparing to participate in league playoffs and provincial playdowns starting at the end of February.
“Things will lighten up for us here in the last part of the season. We've entered provincials and those games will come up on us quickly,” he said, adding that the Innisfail Legion Flyers are the defending Zone 4 champs for their division.
“Last year this team won the Zone 4 (championships) for the peewee division at the A level.”
It's a feat that many returning players would like to repeat, said Bates. That determination is something he hopes can inspire some of the newer players on the team this year.
“I think the ones that were there last year really want to get back (to the championship), and I think that's spilling over to some of the first-year kids,” said Bates. “They heard how much fun it was and how tough it was to get there and they're looking forward to it.”
Stephen Bates
"I think the ones that were there last year really want to get back (to the championship), and I think that's spilling over to some of the first-year kids."
