NOVEMBER IS HERE

November is upon us and what a month it is shaping up to be. During any given season there is always a chunk of games that seems to make or break a hockey teams year. I remember looking at this month back when the MJHL schedule came out and thinking that this is definitely one of the key times in the season.

14 games in 29 days with 10 of them being played on the road. Yikes! Well it’s a good thing that the Flyers are a better team on the road (5-2-1) then they are at home (5-4-1). And why not begin the craziness right away as they will play five games in six days beginning Tuesday when they host the Winnipeg Blues. They then travel to Steinbach on Wednesday to play the last place Pistons and then head up north for the first time this season for three games in three nights against Swan Valley, OCN, and Wayway.

Whenever there are a lot of games in a short period of time there are a lot of things that need to happen for a team to come out of it ahead. Health is a major one. The Flyers are already a bit banged up. Jory Mullin and James Buttermore are on the shelf and Michael Wilgosh left Saturday’s game after the first period with an injury. That problem leads me to my second key and that is depth.

Saturday’s game was a good example. The top six forwards got their points but three of the six goals were also scored by the guys that you would call depth players. The players that round out the bottom two lines can quite often be the deciding factor between a win and a loss especially in the playoffs. The opposition will always try and key on the top players but let’s face it, if you can get consistent production out of more than just your top six players then life gets a lot easier.

Momentum is also big factor in a month like this. So much of this game is mental and if you can get things going in the right direction you can really make some hay in a short period of time.

I am personally looking forward to this month. It’s exciting for me to think of where the Flyers would sit if they could have a good run here in November. Plus when the World Series comes to an end this week we can finally start broadcasting some games on 1570 CKMW. (Click on the CKMW tile on the Flyers website for the broadcast schedule)

This coming weekend we head up north for the Flyers first big road trip of the season. And for my next blog entry I will put together a road trip time line complete with pictures so that you fans can see life on the road.

ARE YOU A CHICKEN OR A PIG?

If I have learned one thing about Head Coach John Marks, it’s this. He makes for some great interviews. Many of you have probably heard a number of his funny quotes and analogies. Anything from winning the RBC in one period and then going to KFC the next. Saying that players work harder in the offensive zone then they do in the defensive zone because chicks dig the guys who score goals. Comparing good goal scorers to Jesse James. He has also talked about how it wouldn’t be the best thing to see him in a short skirt and pom poms (I would agree).

But as funny and entertaining and he can be, there is profound and thought provoking detail behind it. By now you have probably heard his analogy about bacon and eggs. If you haven’t here it is. Following the Flyers 3-1 loss in Neepawa last Tuesday, John and I were talking about commitment to winning and that is when he told me this story.

“You look at bacon and eggs. The chicken makes a contribution to the bacon and eggs and the pig makes a commitment and a sacrifice. We need more pigs.”

Now as funny as that quote can be it does hold real truth. When it comes to your commitment and desire to win are you a chicken or a pig? Are you a player that just chips in from time to time when the going is good (chicken) or are you the type of player that is willing to give everything he has for the betterment of the team (pig). The chicken can give eggs and still be perfectly fine and uncommitted and unattached to what is going on. The pig on the other hand gives his heart and soul to the cause and is emotionally and physically invested in the end result.


At the start of the season things were going along really well and I think we are just in a time right now where the team is trying to learn how to be a winning team. You can be a team that wins some games but that doesn’t make you a winning team. Learning how to win and do that on a consistent basis is hard. In a league with parity you can’t afford to only show up in the third period and expect to win. I think this team has the makings of a winning team on the ice but they have to become a winning team in their heads.

Some players (not just on this team but on any team) think that they can do it on their own. They think that success or future opportunities will be based on nothing more than how many points you had at the end of the night. Well that my friends doesn’t always work.

You look at the old saying that one finger is not nearly as strong as your whole hand. Well its the same in hockey. You need all five players on the ice to work as one. The Flyers 6-1-1 start was both good and bad. It’s great to be in first place (at the time) but it can also lead you to believe that you are better then you are.

One of the reasons they were so good at the beginning is because they worked as a team and used each other and didn’t take anything for granted. And one of the reasons that they are 1-4 since is because they thought it would keep on going without being prepared to put in the work to do it.

If you look in the mirror and see a pig, then good for you. But if you see some feathers, then that better change.

It's Wide Open!

The 2010/2011 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season has been underway for about two weeks now and things so far have been pretty exciting. The Flyers are in first place in the Addison Division right now for a number of reasons, none of which I want to get into right now for no other reason than because I don’t want to jinx them.

You look at the standings as of right now and there are some teams in some places that nobody really expected. On any given night anybody can beat anybody and I think that is a really good thing.

Last season the Dauphin Kings hosted the RBC Cup and therefore had a guaranteed ticket into the national championship. Because of that they had absolutely no trouble recruiting top level talent to their hockey club. As a result they were head and shoulders above the rest of the league and made for a bit of an unlevel playing field. I am not saying that is anyone’s fault but if your team was playing against the Kings of 2009/2010 you were pretty sure a win wasn’t in the cards. They are now 4-4-1 to start the year and the OCN Blizzard, who didn’t even make the playoffs last season are 6-0. Who would have thought that hey!

Anyway, to get to my point I want to talk about the shuffle in the league this year and about the exciting parody that there seems to be. Like I said before, any team this season is capable of winning any game. From the top to the bottom there is a lot of talent in this league. Even the teams that are in the bottom of their respective divisions are good, young teams.

I think this does wonders for the league in terms of growing the support in certain towns that may not be used to having competitive teams. It goes a long way to attracting and retaining quality player from both Manitoba and other places. It also makes a much more desirable brand of hockey to spend you more to go and watch.

Having an overall competitive league makes for a more excitement and a higher level of hockey. It sure beats the heck out of a league where you can basically print out a league schedule before the season even starts and be able to pencil in who is going to win and by how many. That is no fun and drops the caring level for a lot of people.

I love going to the league site after the games are over and being able to say “Oh man, so and so beat so and so. That is cool!”.

I think we will see this become more and more evident as we move along here during the season. There will always been those teams (Winkler I hope) that separate themselves but if the younger teams are able to keep improving and becoming more competitive that will be a good thing.

There are a number of other blog topics that I have in mind and if you have any then please let me know. Thanks for checking out “Behind the Mic” and please let me know what you think of the blog or this years team or whatever.....see you around!