Generals Back In Action Tonight At Mac's

Written by Marc Smith on Friday, 28 December 2012

After having Thursday off to regroup, the Moose Jaw Generals return to action on Friday night at the 35th annual Mac's Midget AAA Tournament in Calgary, Alberta.

The Generals dropped their opener, 4-2, to the Red Deer Chiefs on Wednesday, but will try to get back on track against the Lloydminster Bobcats in their second round robin game.

“We weren't at our best,” said head coach Ray Wareham about his team's opening loss to Red Deer.  “Ryland (Pashovitz) was fantastic, he kept the score as close as it was, but you could definitely tell that we have had a few days off and when you're playing against a team like that, you need to be your best and we weren't unfortunately, so now our backs are against the wall.”

In the Mac's Tournament, two losses ends any hope of advancing to the playoff round, so the Generals will need to right the ship quickly if they hope to play after the weekend.

Offence was a glaring problem for the Generals during their loss to the Chiefs as they were only able to muster 13 shots on goal in the game.  “We just couldn't get to the net,” explained Wareham. “They've got big guys and they do a good job, they work extremely hard.  We had an off-day and when you combine that with playing an experienced team, it doesn't bode well.”

The day off on Thursday came perfectly for the Generals as it gave them a chance to pre-scout their two upcoming opponents during the morning as Lloydminster took on Pirati Chomutov.  The Czech Republic team came out on top 5-3 in the contest.

“It gave us an idea for both teams of how they play and have a good idea of what both teams will be bringing to the table,” said Wareham.

Momentum is key in short tournaments like the Mac's and the Genearls will be trying to get it back on their side coming up on Friday against the Bobcats.  “I think if we can find a way to win that one and get some momentum, it could carry over to the rest of the tournament.  We're going to have to be at our best to get a win,” said Wareham.

“We got out worked on Wednesday and turned the puck over way too many times, so we've got to do a better job of taking care of the puck and just simplify things and get in on the fore check, which we weren't able to establish against Red Deer.”

The Generals take on the Bobcats on Friday night at 9:00pm Sask time.  They play three games in the next three days to finish off the round robin with a 3:30pm game against Pirait Chomutov on Saturday and then a 10:00am game against the Calgary Royals on Sunday.