The St. Albert Raiders wrapped up a four game road swing with a disappointing 1-1-2 record against south division teams in the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League.
It’s not exactly how assistant coach Geoff Giacobbo drafted things up, particularly after a 4-2 loss to the Red Deer Rebels (12-4-3) Friday.
“I don't think a lot went well,” Giacobbo chuckled dryly.
“We weren't prepared to battle or to play against Red Deer,” he continued more sternly. “They were in our faces and they worked real hard. We didn't match that work ethic and competitiveness. We did everything we could to prepare mentally but it was one of those games where we didn't seem to have that competitive fire that's needed to win hockey games.”
While the Raiders are still 13-4-4 on the season, good enough for a first place tie with the Lloydminster Bobcats (13-2-4) in the north standings, it was clear in Giacobbo's tone that expectations are high behind the bench this year.
“Frankly, I think we go into games thinking our skill level is going to take care of business and we don't have to get gritty,” he said. “I think we learned a good lesson on Friday that you have to bring that element if you're going to be successful at this level. Skill will only get you so far. You have to use grit to be able to get opportunities for your skill to showcase itself.”
The Raiders battled back against the Calgary Royals (7-8-5) Saturday for a 3-3 tie. Even though it was only one point on the weekend, Giacobbo had positives to draw from the game in lessons learned. Those lessons are effort, competitiveness and minimizing mistakes.
“It was a good hockey game. We competed hard and so did they. It ended up balancing,” he said. “We're at that time of year where you have to minimize mistakes. Everybody's getting better and playing their systems well. No team is going to play a perfect game, but the team that can do the best job of making sure that fundamental mistakes aren't made is probably ending up on the right side of the scoreboard.”
The Raiders were back on the ice Tuesday in Fort Saskatchewan to play the Rangers (4-13-2). The score was unavailable at press time. Leading up to the Mac’s tournament at Calgary during the Christmas break, the Raiders will host the Southside Athletic Club (9-7-4) in a rescheduled match Thursday at 7:15 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena. On Saturday the Raiders visit the Bobcats at 7 p.m. then play Red Deer Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Four games in less than a week is a pretty busy schedule at the midget level, but Giaccobo said the timing couldn't be better with the Mac's tournament looming large.
“We're taking the mindset that it's good preparation for the Mac's and playoffs. You have to go 4-0 or 3-1 to get into the playoffs at the Mac's and that's how we're operating this week. It's one game at a time and each game is important,” he said. “Our focus is to get back to fundamentals and details. Regardless of our opponents, if we take care of details our skill will shine and we'll give ourselves opportunities to win hockey games.”
