The Golden Bears had varying degrees of expectations placed on them ahead of their home opener this past Friday night.
On the one hand, they were playing Trinity Western University, the last-ranked team in the Canada West preseason coaches poll.
On the other hand, they added 13 new players this past offseason, and head coach Ian Herbers was tasked with assembling a lineup of players from vastly different junior careers and told to make them ready come game one.
Lose, and the Bears prove that recruitment did get the better of them.
Win, say by a 3-2 margin, and everyone can sleep at night.
“Our focus was to get better than we were last year,” began Herbers post-game. “Get better every week and get better every day. As individuals, players and as a team.
“Took some strides again tonight.”
That said, there’s a certain reprieve about playing Trinity Western on days one and two and then playing the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (UBC) on days five and six as opposed to the other way around—less pressure, let’s say.
And yet, Trinity Western kept the Bears withing one at each turn, forcing Alex Thacker to come up with the game-winning goal only a minute and a half before the end of regulation—not quite the game expected.
“We shouldn’t have let that team come back like that,” agreed Herbers. “But again, another great learning lesson for us to make sure we keep playing the right way for the whole season.
“Every team is competitive, so you just can’t take shifts or periods off. They work hard at this school. They’re well coached. So we just gotta make sure we play the right way the whole time.”
The Bears rostered a lineup with seven new faces, most of whom belonged to the forward group, and most of whom naturally have more runway before too much judgment is passed.
Whether that be nerves, chemistry, or development, who knows—but it is still early.
“First U Sport or Canada West league game is different than preseason,” argued Herbers. “Every game is a playoff game, so there is some importance to it. We had a little bit of jitters in the first period, but I thought we came into the second period and spotted well.
“One thing we have to get better at is getting bodies to the net. Adam Hall scores his goal because he gets in there and fights for the rebound. We’ve got to get more of those types of goals.”
So no, it wasn’t all perfect, but perhaps it is too early to label the Bears just yet?
After all, they did still win.
And they did so at the hands of veteran goaltender Ethan Kruger, who, until recently, was expected to miss a good chunk of the regular season.
“That’s his first full game,” said Herbers of Krugers’ season thus far. “So he’s come a long way regarding the spectrum.
“We probably thought we weren’t getting him until January or December. So he hasn’t played a full game, so from where he was just in the spring, and where he is now is huge. It’s huge having him back in net. The confidence and leadership he brings to the team.”
He was yet another veteran player for the Bears—Blake Gustafson, Alex Thacker, Dawson Davidson, Hall, Kruger, to name a few—that kept them ahead while the new players were still getting their feet wet.
Come game two against Trinity Western, they’ll have the chance to make the Bears 2-0-0 to start the season.
