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Eggy216 · 01-29-2016, 04:27 PM

1,047 words

The New England Wolfpack are last in the East, and third last in the entire SHL right now. But you wouldn't know it if you had the chance to be in their locker room following the completion of their most recent game against the Buffalo Stampede, a game that saw them drop their fourth straight game, this one a shootout loss.

Despite the devastating loss in a game that the Wolfpack truly believed they should have been able to win, the mood inside the locker room was an altogether positive one.

The second you walked into the hallway outside the First Niagara Center locker room that led up to the visitors' locker room, you could hear the distinct sound of Neil Diamond's classic "Sweet Caroline" playing loudly above the general commotion within the locker room. Get a little closer, and you were hit with a smell that was quite familiar to those living in Buffalo - no, not Cheerios (though the nighttime air outside carried that distinct scent to the noses of fans who were leaving the arena). Rather, it was the smell of that Buffalo staple all tourists want to eat - Chicken Wings. It was unmistakable - the Stampede were probably able to smell it from where they were sitting in the home team's locker room because the scent was so strong.

When the door's opened the locker room to allow the media inside, there was a smile on just about every face. They didn't look like a team that was struggling to find wins, but a team that was in a playoff position, just about to make that final push towards what they hoped would end up being a Challenge Cup run. But why would a team that was playing so poorly be so excited?

"We scored more than two goals," joked the smiling Wolfpack captain, Bubba Nuck. "We were actually pretty happy about that. We've been struggling to find the back of the net, and we only scored two goals in each of our first 5 games this season. It's not a way we can win games, no matter how Earnie's playing."

It was a sentiment echoed also by his teammates. "It's been a rough couple of years for the Wolfpack players and fans," said defenseman Jasper Clayton, who was drafted by the Pack in S25 just after the rebuilding process had begun, and just completed his rookie season last year. "This team looks completely different than the team that won the Challenge Cup back in S23, and it wasn't like we were going to turn things around in just a few years. The fact that we've started scoring more shows a huge improvement that should bode well for the future of this team."

When asked about the locker room atmosphere, rookie center Mainio Makinen also cited the importance of team unity in his postgame interview. "We're really close as a unit, and even though we're struggling to put together wins every game and every loss along the way is another opportunity for all of us to play together and get a better feeling for the way we interact with one another on the ice. Even if we're not winning games, just having the opportunity to go out there and pick up one more goal than we had in the last game, and to walk out of there with a point - it feels good."

While the regular season has started slowly for the Wolfpack, the team doesn't think it's time to worry just yet. "It's still early in the season," says the team's GM Nathan Russel. It's not time to start saying we've got a tire fire and that this team is going nowhere fast. We traded away a lot of the key pieces in our team, such as our old center Dean Colt to the Steelhawks, so at this point we're kind of just trying to see how the new, younger Wolfpack team fits together."

Wise words indeed. With young players like Riley McDonald and Raven Silverwing waiting in the wings to come up and join the team in Boston in a few seasons' time, as well as the young players already on the team, whether they've been around a few years like defenders Connor O'Reilly and Jasper Clayton, or they joined the team more recently like forwards Tim Buckner and Mainio Makinen, the New England Wolfpack have nowhere to go but up. Even if they struggle this season, they'll be given the opportunity to add another top pick to their already formidable roster, and it's safe to assume that this Wolfpack team is going to be a dynasty for many years to come once their stars begin to hit their prime.

Looking forward, the New England Wolfpack will be looking to take one or both games in a home and home performance against the Minnesota Chiefs and their red-hot rookie goaltender Robert Andersson, who's playing in his first season after spending the last few years of his career playing down in the SMJHL with the Montreal Impact (where he formerly played as the backup to the Wolfpack's goaltender Earnest Ciarelli). Following that will be another set of home and home performances against the Toronto North Stars, a team that's slowed quite a bit since the preseason saw them dominating the pace of play up and down the ice in every game they played. Then the Wolfpack will travel back home, where they'll face off against the Manhattan Rage under the guidance of their new GM following the retirement and subsequent trade of Daniel Merica. The Wolfpack will then look to try and pick up another win when they return to Minnesota for another game against the Chiefs.

But if they're going to want to win more games, the team is going to have to manage to keep up a better offensive performance. Two goals is never going to cut it, especially not with such a young goaltender playing between the pipes, and even three is a little less than you want to see. But at this point in the season, which such a young and inexperienced team, we can be happy to know that we're seeing signs of progress as the team is growing closer to one another both on and off of the ice.

prettyburn · 01-29-2016, 04:43 PM

Great article, Eggy. Not only does a great job of capturing the situation, but well written on top of it. Cheers

Eggy216 · 01-29-2016, 04:43 PM

Quote:Originally posted by prettyburn@Jan 29 2016, 03:43 PM
Great article, Eggy. Not only does a great job of capturing the situation, but well written on top of it. 

Thanks

storm · 01-29-2016, 05:11 PM

<3

lil · 01-29-2016, 05:15 PM

If we manage to score four goals in a game, I hope we break out the champagne. Even if our opponents scored six. Smile

Really nice article! Well done, and should be good for another drop in the giant bucket that is your ridiculous bank account.

***HabsFanFromOntario*** · 01-29-2016, 07:22 PM

1k words and none about me :(

Mac · 01-29-2016, 07:50 PM

Quote:Originally posted by HabsFanFromOntario@Jan 29 2016, 08:22 PM
1k words and none about me :(

Teammate Brandon Pomery was found later in a janitors closet wolfing down six pounds of buffalo wings dipped in full fat mayo.

He was later told he was out of shape by head coach, John Tort--:ph34r: McBride