Huskies eagerly anticipate weekend tussle versus La Crete

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Huskies know they will have to bring their best game as they travel this weekend for an important early-season series.

The Pups hit the road to Alberta for a two-game road series against the La Crete Lumber Barons.

The two teams have been on the opposing sides of the last two Strike Group North West Junior Hockey League (NWJHL) finals. 

While the Huskies have managed three wins in their first five contests, the Lumber Barons have picked up where they left off last season, with six wins from their first seven games.

However, during Thursday’s practice at the North Peace Arena, Huskies head coach Todd Alexander emphasized there is no extra bad blood on his team’s mind.

“I don’t think we ever have any of that extra stuff towards anybody,” said Alexander. “It’s on us and how we react and who we’re playing. [It] doesn’t matter what barn or what team.

“We have had a fairly solid week of practice [and] had some good chats in the room. [We] figured some things out. It’s a building block in the right direction.”

Alexander has been enthusiastic about some returning players on his squad early in the season, in particular the play of Cortt Callison.

Having spent parts of three seasons with the Huskies, Callison also spent time with the Sicamous Eagles of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) and recently eclipsed a milestone of playing 100 junior hockey games.

Having spent time in the KIJHL as a forward, Callison has been pressed into playing as a defenceman so far this year with injuries on the blue line.

Alexander said of Callison: “He has been pretty stapled to that fourth line centre for us. For him to be able to step up and help us out when we have four or five injuries on the backside already this year has been a little bit of a blessing in disguise.”

While Alexander remains neutral about his team having extra motivation, defenceman Jordan LaGreca thinks there is indeed a built-in rivalry between the teams due to their recent history.

“Yeah, it gives us extra motivation,” said LaGreca. “They are a top team in the league. We have got to show up every night to beat those fellows. It gets the boys extra fired up to play.”

The Huskies will play their first game against La Crete on Saturday, October 4th starting at 7 p.m. at the Raymond Knelsen Arena.

Less than 24 hours later, the teams will play a second game on Sunday, October 5th starting at 1:30 p.m. at the same venue in La Crete.

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