With both the regular and playoff season complete for the Stettler Lightning, head coach and general manager Doug Smith took some time to reflect on the roller-coaster season of the local Junior B team.
“We had a good start,” Smith said of the team. “Our whole season boiled down to late November and early December.”
Smith said the 11-game losing streak really affected the team’s standings and morale.
“We didn’t establish that ‘be scared of us’ value early in the season,” Smith said, explaining that lack of presence on the ice also hindered the team’s success.
A few injuries – like the concussion that took out strong player Michael Neumeier and broke the Neumeier-Anheliger- Bottomley line – also hurt the Lightning.
“We kept swapping people in for Michael, but the lines never clicked the same way,” Smith said.
The past two years for the Lightning have been a bit of a struggle for the team, as it has lacked the strong scoring ability necessary to stay at the top of the division, Smith said. Realizing early on that the team didn’t have the Scoring potential of others, Smith and his fellow coaches, Gavin Brandl, Kyler O’Connor and Neil McCallum, worked on honing the team’s defence.
Playing a defensive game all season is wearing on a team, Smith noted, which was part of why the team hit that 11-game skid mid-season.
“It really grinds you down,” he said, reflecting on defensive play. “We didn’t lose those games by much – a goal or two, or in overtime, or in a shoot-out.”
Smith absolved Simon Thieleman, the main goalie for the team, of blame for the losses.
“Goaltending wasn’t the cause,” Smith staunchly noted. “Thieleman was solid.”
Thieleman is one of the players who will age out of the team this season, unable to return for next year. Also aging out are Mark Dietz, Reese Anheliger, and Jake Schwartzenberger, some of the strongest scorers for the team.
“The real kicker is that you don’t know what the next roster looks like,” Smith said. Last year, the team had four players age out, but lost another three due to job or school commitments. He expects the same thing for this year.
Though Smith isn’t able to say with certainty that they will return, the Ternes twins – Scott and Adam – and Dylan Houston are three strong players he expects will lead the team next season if they’re able to make the commitment.
As for Smith, who retired last year but found himself behind the bench again as head coach, this year is the last. Seriously.
“I hope I won’t be back next year,” he said with a laugh.
He admitted he isn’t even sure if he’d stay on as general manager for next year, too.
“Kyler and Gavin did all of the on-ice work this year, with me and Neil doing the back end,” Smith said.
“They’re solid, and whether they work in a three-coach configuration or one is named head coach, I know they’ll be able to do it.”