OLDS — The Olds Grizzlys could rocket up the standings and “do some damage in the playoffs” if they play at least .500 hockey in the second half of the season, assistant coach and assistant GM Pete deGraaf says.
A big test will occur Dec. 30 and 31 when they play a home and home series versus the Blackfalds Bulldogs.
“We’re pretty evenly matched with them,” de Graaf said during an interview with the Albertan. “We have two wins against them so far. They’re a very hard-working team, so we have to match or exceed their work ethic.”
The Grizzlys will have to be especially wary of the Bulldogs’ Brett Meerman line, he said.
“He’s their key offensive forward,” he said. “He’s one of the leading scorers in the league and they are a dangerous line when they’re out there, so we just have to be aware of them and play good, hard defence against them.”
The team showed the potential they have when they took two of three during a north division road trip Dec. 9-11, beating the Whitecourt Wolverines 4-2 and the Grande Prairie Storm 5-2 before losing 4-1 to the Sherwood Park Crusaders.
Two of the standouts in that trip and the team’s season so far have been forward Cade Moxham, who was named Rookie of the Week for the week of Dec. 5-11, and goaltender Marcus Cumberworth.
De Graaf said the Grizzlys recruited Moxham because “we saw a player with a lot of speed and size.”
The native of Bakersfield, California, Moxham stands 6’2” and weighs about 180 pounds.
“He's exceeded our expectations,” he said. “He’s contributed more than we expected him to by this point in the season, so we think he has a very bright upside and we’re just proud of what he’s accomplished so far and his recognition as Rookie of the Week.”
Moxham has already shown great leadership potential, he said.
“In fact, of our first-year players, he’s stood out as the leader of that group so far," he said.
The Grizzlys spotted Cumberworth, 20, playing junior B hockey in B.C.
“He was having an outstanding season and we thought that might correlate to stabilizing our net,” he said.
"He’s done that and more. This (past) weekend, he played all three games and had a save percentage north of .900 and won two games and was recognized as the player of the game in two of those games by the opposing team.”
The team had “a rough patch” about a month ago, de Graaf admitted. But overall, he’s pretty pleased with the way they’ve played in November and so far this month.
“We’re very confident that we will have a strong second half and climb up the standings and do some damage in the playoffs,” he said.
"There’s actually three or four teams within striking distance. Realistically, if we play .500 hockey or better, we can catch up to three or four teams in our south division.”
