The Parkland Bantam Rangers have been cruising along early in their season. They're out to a 5-1 start to the season and their only defeat came in a game that could have been different in a 6-4 loss against the Winnipeg Sharks.

Over the weekend, the club took Thompson by storm and got past Norman twice, 10-1, and 7-4. On their current four-game winning streak, the club has scored 33 goals. They have also only allowed 11 which is just as impressive.

"We're playing strong right off the bat here this season," said Carter Zalischuk, a second-year player on the team. "Our first periods we start out rough, but we get a lot better as the game goes on."

"We all start getting looser as the game goes on and we just feel more confident in ourselves it seems later in the game," he continued. 

Of the team's 44 goals this season, Carter has scored five of them. He also has five assists as he's averaging two points per game. On Sunday in Norman, Zalischuk led the way with three goals and one assist. In a 10-1 drubbing on Saturday, the Dauphinite had two assists.

"I think I'm playing alright, but I need to work on scoring more goals, moving the puck around, and communicating," said Zalischuk. "We have a really good group and I think we have a lot to offer this season."

"We're all really enjoying playing with this team, it's awesome heading to the rink," continued Zalischuk. "We want to take it all the way this year."

Their regular-season is on a break until October 27 when they're in Winnipeg to take on the undefeated Winnipeg Wild. However, the team plays again later this week as they head to Regina. They're playing in the Graham Tuer Bantam Challenge, a tournament that welcomes some of the best teams from across Canada. 

Parkland plays their first game of the tournament on Thursday morning against the Warman Wildcats. On Thursday night, they play the Yorkton Terriers and they wrap up their round-robin on Friday afternoon against the Northeast Wolfpack. 

"It's going to be a really good tournament with a ton of good teams playing," added Zalischuk. "It's going to be tough to go all the way to the final, but that's our goal."

"I'm confident in the group that we can go really far," he continued. 

Carter is also draft eligible this season. That means he can be taken in the WHL and MJHL Drafts in May and June, respectively. 

"I'm just trying to play my game and whatever happens, happens," he concluded. "I'll work as hard as I can and we'll see what happens."