INNISFAIL - The Rosetown Red Wings may be the newest team in the Chinook Hockey League but they are more than ready to make their mark.
Joining the league for the 2016-17 season, the Red Wings are the only senior men's AAA hockey team in Saskatchewan but bring years of experience with them.
"We're not new to AAA hockey, we started in 2012. We lost in the Allan Cup final to South East (Prairie Thunder) that year. We were in Red Deer at the Allan Cup (in 2013) and lost in the semifinals to Clarenville," said Jason Ediger, head coach. "We played a couple more years and never advanced to the tournament. We took a year off last year, knowing we needed to rebuild, start over and re-address everything, and we've done that."
Although the team currently sits in fifth place in league standings with a total of 11 points in 10 games, it is no indication of the skill or ability of this team.
Ediger noted some of his team's key strengths this season.
"I think our biggest contributor is some of our youth we've brought in (this season)," he said, noting a strong defence as well. "We can score in bunches with this group, but we do pride ourselves more on our defensive game. Last night (Jan. 7) in Lacombe we shut down the neutral zone. We beat Lacombe 6-1," he added, noting their penalty kill has also been a key factor for the team.
The Red Wings hosted two games against the Eagles last weekend (Jan. 14 and 15) in their second matchup of the season, and they beat the Birds twice - 5-4 on Saturday and again the following day by the same score in double overtime.
"We knew Innisfail was going to come hard. They're a hard-working team," said Ediger.
His players feel the same way.
"We're pretty fortunate to come out here and play against a team like that," said Red Wings forward Jared Jegow. "We've had a lot of fun this year. It's definitely been a learning year for us."
Ediger said the Red Wings have come together as a team.
"We have some very talented forwards up front," said Ediger. "Rosetown has great hockey and is a good hockey community. We've gathered guys from all over Saskatchewan (including Rosetown) and have a great mix of young to old (players)," he said.
"Being new to the league and coming in, I think we can be proud of our accomplishments and where we're standing right now."
Rosetown returns to Innisfail to face the Eagles Jan. 29 at the Innisfail Arena. Puck drop is 2:45 p.m.
Jason Ediger, head coach of Rosetown
"We took a year off last year, knowing we needed to rebuild, start over and re-address everything and we've done that."
