Legionnaires enter regular season on a high

The Swift Current Home Hardware Legionnaires will look to carry some momentum from an overtime win in their preseason finale into the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League regular season this week.

The Legionnaires defeated the visiting Saskatoon Contacts 3-2 when Mason Strutt scored midway through the three-onthree overtime period.

Lucas Ochitwa and Christian Albertson also scored, while Blake Rasmuson and Riley Dekowney added assists.

Jacob Herman picked up the win with 32 saves on 34 shots.

The Legionnaires finished the preseason with two wins and three losses.

“The way we go at it here is it’s a process of putting our young guys in giving some Bantams some experience to what they’re going to have to come into to make this hockey team,” explained head coach Darren Evjen. “We also have players that are trying to make this team. As we go on you have to make steps in order to stay in the camp. We probably got pretty close going into our third game where we were going to be at… We feel good where we’re at right now.”

The Legionnaires will open the regular season on the road this weekend. They visit the Beardy’s Blackhawks on Saturday and the Prince Albert Mintos on Sunday.

“There’s a tonne of work ahead of us, just a tonne. But I think we’re starting at the basics and we’re just going to keep trying to get better everyday and that’s what we can do. There’s some things we really need to work on. Our discipline has been a real issue in the preseason, but yet our character has been a real issue for winning these games.”

Evjen said the team will lean on veterans early in the season.

“Well they’re driving the train. So when you’re a leader you’re representing the team in every way. How you play the game, how you go to school, how you handle situations, that’s how our young guys are going to react. So they’re a major impact on your team at every level.”

The Legionnaires trailed in the third period before pulling out the win.

“I think what I’ve liked is the last two games is we’ve really, for 60 minutes, there’s been push. Today, the second period we did damage to ourselves by taking bad penalties. But we found a way to kill them off, the old bend but don’t break. We got down, but your going to go through that in games. You gotta learn to push back, tie it up, and then win a game somehow and that’s what we found today,” said Evjen.