What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.
Cochrane-based AC Avalanche hit a crossroads in their Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League (AMMHL) campaign this past weekend.
Travelling to CBHA Rangers – the number-one ranked team in the South Division – on Nov. 7, Avalanche (6-2-2, 5th South Div.) fell in a 10-1 mauling. Austin Wong scoring the Cochrane team’s solitary goal.
“Obviously (the Rangers game) didn’t go the way we planned,” said Kenton Levesque, Avalanche head coach. “It was a monumental collapse.”
Avalanche rebounded on Nov. 8, with a 7-2 win at home against Lethbridge Headwater Hurricanes (1-9-2, 13th, South Div.). Eric Van Tetering (three), Austin Wong (two), George Reed, and Cole Reinhardt being the goal scorers.
“Sunday was a clean slate,” Levesque said of the comfortable win. “We just forgot about the past and focused on what made us successful. We moved the puck, we weren’t selfish, and we had a positive attitude.”
Getting beat heavily is always hard on any team, but how they bounce back from defeat shows what kind of character they have and what they’re capable of.
“We realized how good we can be and that we can take over games,” Levesque said. “The defeat was just us being selfish, and not having a good attitude at all. We knew this would be a tough weekend and that we had to get at least two points out of the possible four.”
What does he think his team has improved on since the start of the season?
“We’ve worked on playing as a group, because there’s a lot of talent here but we haven’t always been a coherent team. We’ve come together more, and it is something that is still a problem for us, but we are making strides.
Avalanche next play CBHA Blackhawks at Spray Lakes Family Sports Centre on Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. A game Levesque is not taking lightly.
“It’s a chance to show everyone including ourselves that we can bounce back and put things behind us. We normally have practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays but this week we have one on Saturday so we are prepared.
“We have to believe in ourselves, we have the talent to succeed.”
