HOME OF THE FIGHTING SIOUX

(The Ralph Engelstad Arena "The Ralph" is the home of the UND Fighting Sioux)

At the end of November, the Winkler Flyers had the great opportunity to take a break from their hectic schedule and visit the home of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. The Sioux are highly regarded as one of the best NCAA Div I hockey programs in the nation and has been the home of many current NHL players including Jonathon Toews, Mike Commadore and TJ Oshie. It is also the alma mater of former Winkler Flyer goaltender and future NHL Hall of Famer Ed Belfour. Kevin McKinnon and Dane Litke are also some former Flyers that have made their way to UND.

For the majority of Junior A hockey players, getting the call from UND would be a dream come true. The program is excellant, the facilities are even better, and the level of education that is available to you is great. The Flyers and many other MJHL teams annually make the trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota to let their players see one of the things they are competing for on a nightly basis. Talking to Head Coach John Marks (who is a former Sioux himself....more on that later) he said that not only are these kids playing for wins or for MJHL championships but they are, in a lot of cases, playing for an education and a better life for themselves down the road.

As you will see in the following pictures, the facilities that the Fighting Sioux have are quite amazing. If walking through the dressing room, gym, meeting room, and underwater treadmill isn't incentive enough to put in the extra work or time needed to increase your game to the next level then I don't know what is. These trips are a great way to give the players a little bit of a carrot to follow or a look ahead as to what their life could be like if they are the fortunate ones to get a chance to go to the University of North Dakota or any other Division I school.

I was able to tag along with the guys and snapped a few photo's....enjoy!

(Pretty cool experiece. The team got to practice at "The Ralph")

(In the halls beneath the stands sits the dressing room, gym, offices, and a lot of memorabelia. The above and below pictures are of all the NHL draft picks that played at UND. In the above picture, look at the player who was the first every College player ever drafted in the first round of the NHL entry draft.....pretty cool)

(NHL Award winners....mostly Ed Belfour)

(The above and below pictures are of the plaques of all the former Sioux players that have played in the NHL and which team they played for)

(Stanley Cup Champions)

(Stick Room)

(Fighting Sioux Dressing Room)

(above...this is the first thing the players see when they step out of their dressing room and head for the ice. "Expect To Win")

(Players lounge)

(video meeting room)

(This is the gym for the Men's and Women's hockey teams)

(dry land training area in the gym)

(great motto)

(above....who is this handsome devil.....psst, it's John Marks)

(here are a few shots of the game we got to go to...UND vs Notre Dame)

(Fighting Sioux logo designed right into the marble floor)

That's it folks. If you are ever in Grand Forks I strongly encourage you to check out the Ralph Engelstad Arena. You won't be disappointed.

Until next time.....

BILLETS, PARENTS, AND THE DEADLINE

Well the dreaded month of November is almost over. The stretch of 14 games in 29 days with 10 of those games being on the road has taken its toll on a lot of people. The injury bug has finally started to go away. And the schedule has started to slow down a bit which is nice.

As you may or may not know, the first MJHL roster cut down deadline is coming up on December 1st. Each Junior “A” team in Canada needs to get their cards down to 25. But that doesn’t mean that teams will have 25 players. This deadline is the first of two that Junior “A” leagues have during a season. The big one is on January 10th. The December 1st deadline is used to set yourself up in a positive position to make the moves that will give your team the edge before the rosters are set following the January deadline. Most teams will only keep around 21 or 22 playing on the roster after December 1st which gives you three or four extra cards in which to add those impact players in January.

The Flyers are not the only team in the world that is looking to upgrade what they have which means there are many teams looking to find the same kind of player. So making the right move or even taking a pass on a certain player can have huge implications as to how your season will enfold.

However, as much as I would like to see some moves that bring excitement and legitimately upgrade the talent on the ice, I think the most important upgrade that can be made is with the players that are already here. No one can say that the Flyers of 10/11 don’t have talent. But what you can say is that the consistent effort that is required to win on a nightly basis isn’t there. We have seen a lot of games this year where the effort matches the talent and that is really exciting to see and makes you think that this team can really do something special. If the 23 players currently on the roster can all play to their potential and the men in the Flyers office can find the right pieces that fit the puzzle, I think the sky is the limit this season.

(2010/11 Winkler Flyers Billets Families and Parents)

Another thing that happened this past weekend was the annual Flyers billet and parent weekend. It was a time to give thanks and recognize a group of volunteers that has such a huge impact on any Junior hockey franchise. Every season numerous families open up their homes and lives to these players and take them in and treat them as one of their own. I have heard many times how important it is to have a good home like atmosphere for these guys to live in for seven or eight months of the year.

This past weekend a good number of the players parents and other family members were in town to watch a couple games. If you go to as many games as I do you get to see a core group of parents that make the trip to nearly every game. But, for some of them it was the first chance they have had to see their boy in action. It was great to see the excitement in the eyes and just to see how proud they are of their kid who spends most of the year hundreds of miles away from home. I can only imagine what these parents have to go through when they put their trust in someone else to put the best interests of their child first. It was really nice for them to be able to come and watch a couple games and for the team to recognize them for the things they do.

I hope that through this blog, the stories that I write for the Flyers website, and through the Flyer Folder and play-by-play broadcasts on the radio and internet it lets you be a little closer to the team even though geography doesn’t allow you to be sitting in the stands cheering them on. The things that we all do to promote the team are for you as parents and family and for the fans. It was great to be able to meet you all this weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

If you have any questions or comments you can leave a comment on this blog post or you can email me at matt@winklerflyers.com

Until next time....

NORTHERN ROAD TRIP DIARY

Hello Flyer Fans, This past weekend, the Winkler Flyers boarded the bus and made the trip up north for the first time this season. It was a 1,500 km journey that began Friday morning in Winkler and ended in the early morning hours of Monday when the team arrived back home.

For those of you that listened to the games you will know that Eric and I made the trip along with the team. It was a busy and tiring trip and a lot of fun at the same time. I kept a bit of a diary of our travels complete with pictures. For most of you the only time you get to see the team play is at home. I hope this post gives you an inside look at life on the road....enjoy!

(stretch time in Dauphin)


Friday, November 5th
- 10:30am - Board the bus (the pride of '83) and began the 530km journey to Swan River, home town of the Swan Valley Stampeders.

-1pm- Make a stop at the convenience story in Neepawa for drinks, snacks, and a potty break.

-2:30pm- Stop for lunch in Dauphin and back on the road in a hour.

(pre-game walk before the Swan Valley game)

-5:30pm- Arrive at the Swan River Centennial Arena.

-10:30pm- Following a tough 3-2 loss to the Stampeders we are back on the road and drive 230km to The Pas (the home of the OCN Blizzard)

-12:30pm- We get to the WescanaInn in The Pas, get our room assignments, bring in our stuff, and head off to bed.

(Unloading the bus in Swan)

Saturday, November 6th

-9:30am- Wake up call!!!!

-10am- Bacon, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and LOTS of coffee is on the menu for breakfast at the hotel.

-2:30pm- After some down time in the room it's time for a pre-game stretch and walk.

-5:30pm- Pack up the bus and make the five minute drive to the Gordan Lathlin Memorial Centre to take on the OCN Blizzard.

(Ernie Sutherland is wide awake....I think)

-10:30pm- After a 5-3 loss to the Blizzard the boys are back in the hotel for a post game meal. After that it is off to bed to get ready for another day on the bus.

(Troy Kliever and John Marks)

Sunday, November 7th

-9am- Wake up call!!!

-9:30am- After packing the bus and getting ready to leave its time for a quick breakfast buffet at the hotel.

-10am- All aboard the bus and we embark on the 405km stretch to the Waywayseecappo First Nation.

(Ernie showing the guys his fancy stick work)

-12:15pm- Stop at the Swan River Tim Horton's for some of the worlds best coffee and "healthy" donuts and back on the road within 15 minutes.

(There is good fishing up north and Peter Alexander is letting you know just how big they are)

-3pm- Arrive at the Waywayseecappo Community Complex.

(What hotel isn't complete without a snow mobile in the lobby)

-7:15pm- Finally the Flyer were able to pick up two points with a 5-3 win over the Wolverines. The customary two honks of the horn and we are off with the sweet sounds of Travis Tritt's "It's a Great Day To Be Alive" ringing in our ears.

(WescanaInn....we didn't try the soup)

-8:30pm- It's time for some Dairy Queen in Neepawa after a big win.

-9am- Back on the road and headed for home.

(shot of the hotel)

With full stomachs and positive vibes after a win you would think that the remaining two hours of the trip would go smoothly right?........WRONG!

(Dining room at the hotel)

-9:12pm- The faint hum of the road is back in our ears and we are all settling in for the final leg of this long journey...but....something breaks the silence.....POP...flapflapflapflapflap. Yup it's a tire.

(GLMC in OCN)

After a 30 minute effort to try and remove the back outside tire in order to get to the busted inside one we gave up and called for some help. A nice guy with a shop in Gladstone (about 15 minutes away from the tire event) tried to help us out but didn't have the tools to do the job.

So the next option was calling the after hours phone number for Fountain Tire in Portage. Success!

-11pm- We were able to limp our way to Portage and thanks to Justin at Fountain Tire we were in and out in half and hour and back on the road full steam ahead.

Monday, November 8th

-12:50am- The bright lights of Winkler show up on the horizon and we pull into the Winkler Recreation Complex. The trip is over and a good nights sleep in the comfort of our own beds is just minutes away.

Well that is your look inside a road trip of the Winkler Flyers. I hope you enjoyed it.

Scroll down for some more photos.....

(Me doing some work)

(The endless highway)

(Me and Kevin Klassen, the best bus driver in the game)

(Looks pretty comfortable to me)

(Inside the Wayway Arena....biggest ice service in the league)

(Steve Hancock doing a pre-game tape job)

(Here is a shot of the surroundings)

(John Marks doing some pre-game reading)

(The Tickle Truck)

(The broadcast booth in Wayway)

(Wayway crowd)

(Eric Braun on the left and myself on the right)

(Nice way to end a busy road trip)

(Checking out the damage)

(David Goerz holding a road flair making sure we don't get run over)

(You can see the hole in the inside tire)

(You can see the big gash in the top of the tire)

(Justin the Hero)

(THE END)

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!