A long Pacific International Junior Hockey League (PIJHL) season came to an end on Feb. 19, as the 麻豆社国产Wolf Pack concluded their 2010-11 season losing to the Grandview Steelers 6-3.
The team compiled a record of six wins, 36 losses and four overtime losses, which left them in the basement of the league. The Pack's 16 total points equaled the second worst record in league history and head coach Matt Samson admitted it was a frustrating season.
"We knew we were a young team heading into this season and were a little surprised at how many teams had older kids coming back," he said, noting it took the young Pack players longer than expected to gel. "We got off to a slow start, losing a lot of one-goal games and then lost two key players in Trevor Kang and Marc Chabot."
Kang provided flashes of offensive brilliance for the team but was dealt midway through the season while Chabot left the team for personal reasons. Samson said losing the two players really hurt the Pack.
"Those two were going to be a big part of our team," he said of Kang and Chabot. "Losing those guys early on forced us to take a big step back and our young guys, like Jaret Babych, took some time to adjust, which is normal for a 16-year-old."
Babych was one of the bright spots on the team, catching fire in the second half and placing first on the team in goals with 14. Samson also praised the work of forward Brady Bjornson, calling him the team's most valuable player.
"He was our best player, our hardest worker and he didn't have a lot of off nights," he said. "He played power play, penalty kill and he's one of the guys we'd really like to have back next year as a 20-year-old."
Samson said the shootout win in Whistler back in October, in which Whistler product Matt Bonin scored the shootout winner in a 5-4 victory over Port Moody, was one of the season highlights for the team. He also pointed to the Pack's 5-4 shootout win over the Grandview Steelers back in December as another memorable moment of the year.
Samson said overall this year seemed to be a step backward in the evolution of the third year team.
"Our first year we were an expansion team and we were just getting established," he said. "Our second year we made some improvements and we were so close to making the playoffs but I think we took a big step back this year. Just losing those players early on and losing all of those close games at the start of the year killed us."
Bjornson led the team in points with 36, while Jaret Babych was tops in goals with 14. Ty Babych led the team with 126 penalty minutes and Bonin led the team in shorthanded goals with two. It was a rough year statistically between the pipes for 麻豆社国产with Jordan Liem compiling a record of four wins and 27 losses. He also led the team in goals against average, with a mark of 3.70 and save percentage, stopping 87.78 per cent of all shots fired his way. The team averaged 2.7 goals, while being scored on an average of 5.5 times per game.
The Wolf Pack now have an all-time record of 36 wins, 92 losses and 14 overtime losses over their three year existence.
For more information on the team, visit www.squamishwolfpack.com
