Sports
DCB icers all on the same page
Matthew Semisch
10/21/2014
There’s no way of hiding it: Not nearly enough went right for the Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) hockey team last season.
The Lumberjacks struggled all throughout their 2013-14 campaign. That much was made very evident in DCB’s final record of 5-19-4.
That was already a long time ago, however, as the Jacks are less than a week away from their season-opener on Saturday against the Winkler Royals. In the lead-up to that, DCB head coach Travis Rybchinski said he feels he’s working with a very different team this season.
That’s in part because new is exactly what many of the Jacks are. Thirteen freshmen make up more than half of the team’s 21-man roster.
Sophomores from the 2013-14 team have moved on, including former Bottineau-Rugby (B-R) high school standout Kyle Volk.
What’s more, Rybchinski said that several freshmen from last season were asked not to return.
To a certain degree, then, it appears as though Rybchinski has pressed the proverbial reset button on the DCB hockey program. He’s comfortable, though, with what’s come from him doing that.
“I think we may be pressing that button a little bit,” Rybchinski said, “But we actually had to get rid of some kids from last year to get better, so I feel like we’re ahead of the game on that.
“I don’t feel like it’s too much of a resetting thing because junior colleges have turnover every year since they’re all two-year kids. You just have to go out and recruit and hope you can get the best kids you can to come out here.”
Last season, Rybchinski believes, was something of a missed opportunity. Plenty of talent was there, but the right attitude wasn’t always on show.
So far in preseason training, though, a significant mental adjustment appears to have been made.
“You look back at everything from last year,” Rybchinski said,
“And the teams we should’ve lost to we did, but we should’ve had seven or eight more wins than we did, and that’s disappointing.
“Part of it was, I thought, leadership and just guys not playing hard, but we’ve changed that around so far this year. Guys are working their tails off, and it’s showing in practice and with results in the weight room already, and I hope that that carries over into the games.”
The veteran Jacks icers know that last season should’ve gone better than it did, and they’re working to make up for that. They’re also making sure DCB’s freshmen also buy into the notion that the team has business to finish.
That’s no tiny task, considering how many newcomers there are. Eight of the Jacks’ 12 forwards are new to Bottineau, and five of DCB’s six defensemen are freshmen.
That last factoid, more than any other, rings alarm bells. The hope, though, is that although the blue line corps is green at the moment, it won’t be come the business end of the season.
“We’re really young back there on the back end,” Rybchinski said, “And I wouldn’t say it’s a concern, but we’re going to make rookie mistakes back there because that’s exactly what they are.
“Some of them don’t even really have junior hockey experience as they’re fresh out of high school. In saying that, they’ve already gotten better since we first got together for dry-land training on Sept. 1, and that’s going to carry over and we’ll know come February that the work we’re putting in now is going to come in handy.”
That’s the right attitude to have at this point. Hard work in preseason doesn’t do much to mask a team’s question marks, though, and there are plenty of those surrounding the Jacks.
Sophomore forward Brett Hebel returns after having led his team in scoring last season with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points. Numbers two through seven on DCB’s scoring chart from the 2013-14 campaign, however, are all gone.
After Hebel, DCB’s top returning scorer from last season is a defenseman in the form of Ethan Hicks. The veteran blueliner had three goals and five assists in his first campaign in Bottineau.
If there’s one place on the ice at which the Jacks feel most established, it’s in DCB’s net. Ryan Miner and Christian Vivian, DCB’s first and second-string goaltenders from last season, are both back.
Miner started most of the Jacks’ games last season, and that looks likely to happen again this time around. Vivian is seen as Miner’s top understudy, but freshman Luke McAllister will also compete for playing time this season.
Miner and Vivian will both be looking to improve on their numbers from last year. Miner posted a 4.19 goals-against average (GAA) and .883 save percentage over 19 games, while Vivian had a 4.96 GAA and .856 save percentage in six outings.
Rybchinski feels confident that DCB’s goaltending partnership will help lead the Jacks in the new season.
“Ryan and ‘Vivs’ both showed at times last year that they were capable of being No. 1 goalies,” Rybchinski said, “And they’ve both come into this year with an attitude that they’re going to push each other.”
DCB will face Winkler both Saturday and Sunday in a two-game series. Saturday’s game at the Bottineau Community Arena will start at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday’s rematch starts at 1 p.m.