Once they got past the first-game nerves, the Parkland Rangers improved their play in the season opener against the Yellowhead Chiefs, Friday at Credit Union Place in Dauphin.
But it wasn’t enough to secure a victory as the Rangers fell, 3-2.
Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot wasn’t pleased with the team’s start, stating even the veterans were slow out of the gate.
“It goes back to the old, urgency, playing with relentlessness and it’s hard to work hard. I think for some it was an adjustment,” he said. “But as the game went on, I liked the second half of the game.”
The Rangers, Carefoot said, started creating more scoring chances in the latter half of the contest by getting pucks to the net.
“I liked the way our D played. I liked Carnegie up front. I thought he was noticable up front,” he added. “But I just think some of the veterans, for sure, they’ve got to start moving their feet a little bit more.”
Even during the pre-game warm up, the coaching staff noticed there appeared to be some nervousness among the players, many of whom were playing their first game at the U18 level.
“Even in the first period, the puck was like a grenade. And that was for everybody. It was exciting, with good support in the stands. So there were some jitters, for sure,” Carefoot said, adding the Rangers played through it and were a lot better in the third period.
It bodes well for the team in the future, knowing they didn’t quit.
“If we’re going to have success this year, we’re going to have to be a team that just really focuses on being really efficient with the little details. And that’s just being strong on the puck, winning battles and taking those battles personally,” Carefoot said. “Everything starts in the D zone and then you work your way up. Are you getting the puck deep? Or are you chipping it? It’s all those little things. Eliminating pucks through the middle. We always say, ‘girlfriends are pretty, hockey is not pretty.’ And we don’t want to be a team that’s pretty.”
Overall, Friday’s loss is a game the Rangers can build off of. Every shift, Carefoot said, is a teaching point.
“We’ve got a young group here and we’re going to be positive,” he added.
The Rangers will look to get into the win column when they host the Eastman Selects, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
