Buffs vow to learn from past
One year ago on Boxing Day, the Calgary Buffaloes started the Mac’s AAA Midget Hockey Tournament with a convincing 10-1 win over the Arizona Bobcats.
Unfortunately for the Buffaloes, they dropped a 4-2 decision to the eventual male division champion Belarus national under-17 team the next day.
Although they responded with a 5-4 win over the Regina Pat Canadians, the Buffs lost 2-0 to the Vancouver NE Chiefs to finish the round robin with a 2-2 record, which wasn’t good enough to advance to the playoffs.
“We learned from that and this year should be different,” said Buffs coach Claude Vilgrain, whose team will open this year’s Mac’s tournament against the Swift Current Legionnaires on Tuesday afternoon (3:30 p.m.).
The Buffs will also face off against the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes on Thursday (11:45 a.m.) and the Cariboo Cougars in Friday night’s feature game (8 p.m.) before finishing the preliminary round with a tough test against Edmonton’s Knights of Columbus Pats on Saturday (2:30 p.m.). All of their games will be played at the Ken Bracko Arena at Max Bell Centre.
“The thing is, I know what to expect,” said Vilgrain of the secret to having success in tournaments like the Mac’s. “I’ve got some experience in short-term tournaments, not only for coaching in the Mac’s, but for playing in two Spengler Cups (in the mid-1990s) and one Olympics (in Calgary in 1988).
“Every shift counts. All the little details are important. That’s what we try to instil into the players’ minds. It’s not easy when you deal with 15- to 16-year-old kids, but it’s do the little things right all the time, because one mistake could cost you the tournament.”
Although the Buffs lost their final two Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League games before the Christmas break (4-2 at home to the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers on Dec. 17 and a 2-1 road decision to the Calgary Flames last Wednesday), they still boast a respectable 18-5-2 record.
That puts them in second spot in the Chrysler South Division behind the Lethbridge Hurricanes (18-33), who have Boxing Day off before playing their first Mac’s tourney game on Wednesday morning (9 a.m., Ken Bracko Arena) against the Prince Albert Mintos.
“Lethbridge is a good team as well,” Vilgrain said. “They’ll be the team that we’re going into battle against all year for first place.”
Since they’re in different pools the only way that the Buffs and Hurricanes will face off against each other at the Mac’s is if they advance to the playoffs.
“Most of the guys on our team are having a good year, so we’re looking forward to starting the Mac’s on a high note,” said Vilgrain, who will rely on returning players Sam Anderson, Layne Sniher, Zach Ashton and Jacob Bayne to lead the way.
After an early exit last year, Anderson said he’s even more motivated to help the Buffs qualify for the playoffs this time around.
“Right now, we’re just focusing on the teams in our pool and making it out of that,” said Anderson, who was appointed as captain of the Buffs earlier this season. “I used to watch the Mac’s with my parents and I’ve always looked forward to playing in it. It’s really an honour to represent the Buffaloes at this stage.”