Huskies need to ‘dig themselves out of a hole’ in game four of winless NWJHL playoff finals

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Fort St. John Huskies head coach Todd Alexander says the fate of his team in the 2024 North West Junior Hockey League (NWJHL) playoff finals depends on “how badly they want to dig themselves out of a hole.”

The Huskies are gearing up for game four of their winless playoff series against the La Crete Lumber Barons on March 22nd.

Aiming for their fifth consecutive championship win, the Huskies will hit the road to La Crete after a short break following Sunday’s tough 2-4 loss in game three. 

Alexander says his team has a “good knowledge” of what they need to do and what their “structure” is.

“We’ve had a good culture in our club for many years now,” said Alexander.

“At the end of the day, it’s up to the players and their execution and how badly they want to dig themselves out of a hole right now.”

A three-game losing streak is an uncommon trend for the Huskies, a trend Alexander attributes to his team being unable to capitalize on their opportunities and a handful of players who have yet to “step up” in this crucial series against the Lumber Barons.  

“There’s definitely guys who have been talking a big game and haven’t shown up, but they need to show up in this series,” said Alexander. 

“I’m not talking about just scoring goals. I’m talking about doing the little things — making those extra hits, getting pucks in when they should, putting up more blocks, and understanding where the structure of the defensive zone is.”

Throughout the series, Alexander says he’s been impressed by the physicality demonstrated by some of his “top end” players, who normally lead in scoring, in contrast to the players who have been failing to meet the requirements of their physical roles. 

“They are supposed to play that role and haven’t been playing that role at all. They’ve been quite soft on a lot of different situations,” Alexander said. 

“It’s been a pretty soft series on our end, as far as physicality goes, and I think that’s something that has been very beneficial to the style of game that La Crete is playing, so we’ll see if we can get that turned around on Friday night.”

Alexander says some affiliate players from the Prince George Cougars will step in and join the Huskies roster for Friday night’s game. 

“We’re going to inject a little bit of new blood into the series here,” said Alexander. 

“We’ll see if these players can help us out and get some physicality going for us.”

As a whole, Alexander says the success of the Huskies in this series will not come to fruition by relying on a handful of individuals to carry the weight of the entire team to a victory. 

“When we’re playing this game — whether it’s a regular-season game or a playoff game — at the end of the day, it takes a group to get the job done,” said Alexander. 

“[La Crete] has more guys firing on all cylinders than we do, and we’re going to pull ourselves out of this. We’ll definitely be ready to play on Friday and see where the chips lay.”

The Huskies will take on the Lumber Barons in game four of the NWJHL finals in La Crete on Friday, March 22nd, at 7 p.m.