The Swan Valley Stampeders are faced with a situation they haven't been up against this season. Over the weekend, the club dropped two straight games for the first time this season. The Winkler Flyers, who have now won four games in a row, beat the Stampeders in a weekend set at the Centennial Arena.
The team earned a point in an overtime loss on Friday, but they were doubled up, 6-3 on Saturday evening. The Stampeders saw their record drop to 7-2-1 through 10 games.
"We got outworked by a better team and I think people are starting to pay attention to them," said Geoff Grimwood, head coach, and general manager. "We knew going in they were a really good team but they outworked us and outclassed us. I think it's a good kick in the teeth for us and we need to be better in our defensive zone."
After an off-day on Sunday, the Stampeders helped out for the election on Monday. They were back on the ice yesterday preparing for a game tonight against the OCN Blizzard.
OCN is in eighth place in the league with a 5-6 record, but they're coming off a big win against Portage over the weekend. Tonight's meeting is the first of six between the two clubs. The game goes down at the Gordon Lathlin.
"OCN is coming off that great win against the best team in the league, so they're going to come into the game with some confidence," added Grimwood. "They're playing well right now. We expect to see a hungry hockey club and we also have to be hungry."
"Our defensive zone was weak against Winkler, we gave up far too many goals," he continued. "If we figure out our defensive zone, we'll be okay."
Tonight's game is the first of three in a row away from home for Swan Valley. They're in Virden and Waywayseecappo this weekend. Their next home game is next Wednesday against Dauphin. You can hear that game right here on 730CKDM as Darnell Duff will have the pregame show at 7:15.
