January 24, 2008
It is hard to believe, but we have one game
remaining in the month of January and then head
in to the final stretch of games during the month
of February. This year we have played in more
tournaments than ever during my tenure as coach
and we will play in one more tournament as we
take the team to Pittsburgh the first weekend in
February for the Mt. Lebanon Invitational. It
should be a fun weekend as the team will get a
chance to see the Penguins-Carolina game while in
Pittsburgh and stay at a downtown hotel near Mellon Arena.
We are down to seven league games remaining and I
think we are going to have to win all seven of
them to give us a chance of hosting in the first
round of the playoffs. The playoffs are set for
the first week of March. At this time, we are in
a battle to finish in the top eight and we will
need every point if we hope to keep our streak
intact of hosting a playoff game every year since 1987.
After the Mt. Lebanon tournament, we will have
one non-league game against Bethel Park in the annual BlackDog Cup game.
If there is one word that describes our team’s
play over the last few weeks – it would be
inconsistent. There have been times when we have
played well, as we did in the St. Edward and
Gilmour Tournaments. Then there are games we
have played poorly, as we did in our own tournament.
The month of February is an important time of
year in my opinion. We play a long, demanding
schedule. Part of it is by design to test the
kids and see how they respond to adversity. Part
of it is to allow them to develop and hopefully
we are a better team as we head in to the last
month. We are about to get Bill Espy back after
a serious injury. I believe the timing of his
return will give the team a boost as he brings a
lot of energy to the team both on and off the ice.
At this time of year, I believe our seniors have
to be our best players and leaders. This is
their last time through and it will go
quickly. Hopefully, we can stay healthy as we
prepare for the final league games and the playoffs.
Jamie Plunkett
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