They didn’t win any games on their “Wrangler Good Samaritan Tour,” but the 100 Mile House Wranglers won the hearts of the people of Princeton.
That’s how head coach Dale Hladun views the Wranglers’ busy weekend on the road. The Wranglers had been scheduled to play against the Princeton Posse Nov. 26 but the game was cancelled, following the extensive floods in mid-November. Despite the game being rescheduled the Wranglers went down early with Miles Bucknell’s 14-foot trailer full of donated supplies from around the Cariboo.
“We left real early on Friday at 6 a.m. and got there before 11 a.m. and just offered what we could do,” Hladun said. “Some of the guys sorted out the donations they had at the rink, some of our guys worked alongside the Princeton Posse at a furniture donation depot and the rest of us went down and filled sandbags.”
Hladun said he was proud of his players’ work ethic as they didn’t need any prompting to pick up a shovel and get to work. That pride was mixed with a healthy dose of respect for the Posse. Hladun said they’ve been helping out their community since the floods.
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“That community is really rallying, they’re quite an inspiration really,” Hladun said. “When we left Sunday morning to go play in Logan Lake, the mayor came in and shook everyone’s hands. They really appreciated us being there.”
On the hockey front, Hladun said work still needs to be done to embody the tough-to-play-against spirit of Wranglers hockey.
When they played the Osoyoos Coyotes on Saturday he saw a glimmer of that potential. They lost 4-0 but the Wranglers played hard and held the Coyotes to one goal until well into the third period, Hladun said.
“I was real happy with Tanner Hooper. He eventually ended up in a fight but that’s part of his game,” Hladun said. “He was to be feared out there because he was hard forechecking and hard to hit.”
Loic Mainguy-Crepault also proved “to be a darn good goalie” and got player of the game. Throughout the season, Hladun said the goaltending of Casey Thomson and Mainguy-Crepault has kept the team competitive.
Going into Sunday’s game against the Posse, Hladun was confident they’d be able to win. However, the Posse came at the Wranglers hungry for a win and bested them 4-2.
“It was another unique day because we were on the way to the game in Logan Lake when the Posse bus hit a rock and the oil pan got ripped off. So we got to Logan Lake, unloaded quickly and then sent our bus back to Merritt to pick up the Posse players,” Hladun said.
Throughout Sunday’s game, Reid Stumpf was a reliable player no matter what position Hladun threw him in. He said Stumpf “brings his A-Game every shift” and is an important part of the team.
Hladun said the Wranglers need to improve their offensive capabilities and learn to capitalize on the rebounds, he added.
“If they can just use their hockey sticks as well as they used those shovels for the sandbagging we might have won a game or two.”
The Wranglers hit the road again this weekend for back-to-back games against the Revelstoke Grizzlies Friday and the Sicamous Eagles Saturday.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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