IceMen prepared for AAHA inaugural season

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – When the summer started, the Evansville IceMen franchise knew it was going to be playing hockey in the fall. As time went on, questions arose about what league the team would play in. Evansville Head Coach Jason Reichart heard all the talk but was confident that the team would be on the ice come November. Despite all the talk, Reichart continued his planning and it has paid off with a roster full of players who will begin the chase for the AAHA’s inaugural championship when the season opens on November 14. “We knew that it (league issue) was going to get worked out so the work we started putting in over the summer never really stopped. Players contacting us, contacting other players, other teams‘ coaches and scouting. That never did stop” Reichart said. “It wasn’t as hard. It was more anxious because we were ready to get going. When it got delayed, that was probably the bigger factor of the two. It was getting guys into town and when can we start.” From the start of training camp, Reichart’s top priority was having a team that was physically fit and ready for the season. He had strength and conditioning coach Shane Hemingway design a “dry land” training program that would start each day off. The program became so popular with the players that after the first couple of days, Reichart kept the program going throughout the camp. “A lot of times in camp, you have it (dry land training) after the morning skate or in the evening. We wanted to do it right off the bat because we knew we were going to be on the ice twice a day and we wanted to see what their fitness level was with a full tank of energy,” Reichart said. “We knew the levels the guys were coming in from so we knew they could skate. We knew they could pass, shoot and score. We wanted to see their conditioning level, how they work with some of the other guys and who had the endurance.” Evansville invited between 35 and 38 players to training camp. The players that emerged from the almost two weeks of workouts are a solid, albeit young, group that Reichart expects good things out of. In net, Reichart is very pleased to have two solid goalies in Matt Wagner and Reid Sifford. Wagner, who Reichart scouted during a free agent camp in Grand Rapids in September, was high on the IceMen’s “got to have” list because of his attitude and work ethic. Wagner spent some time in the camp of the Twin City Cyclones (SPHL) before joining Evansville. On defense, everything revolves around Warren Galloway. Galloway, who began the year with the CHL Arizona SunDogs before being bumped in a series of moves brought on by NHL veteran Claude Lemieux’s return to the game, brings leadership skills both on and off the ice. Galloway will get plenty of help from C.J. Schneider, a defensive-minded blue liner and Brandon Davis who like to get involved on offense. Up front, Reichart’s plan was to build around speed and puck movement but feels his team could play any style. Will Roberts and Isaac Coy both feature speed and finesse. Jason Carter, who like net minder Wagner came from the Grand Rapids camp, is a quality center who is excellent on face-offs. Roberts most likely will team up with Dan Kohanchuk and Ryan Ford to form the number one line. Coy will headline the second unit with Aaron Garner and Dylan Haddix joining him. According to Reichart, the youth of the IceMen squad is going to be both

a strength and a weakness as the season begins to unfold. He also feels that overall the roster is perfectly balanced to be able to win both defensive games as well as shootouts. “We have great attitudes and work ethics. They want to get better. They want to learn. They want to support each other. Some of them are rookies so they are green around the gills. It’s just getting that time in to get their confidence built up that they can play at this level,” he said. “We’re pretty balanced. We’re not completely defensive minded or just straight offensive minded. We have a good balance and we keep that in check.” As for an outlook on the AAHA’s first season, Reichart is confident that the IceMen fit in well and that Evansville will be more than competitive. “I think we’ll match up just fine. Just from the information I’ve seen and heard, I think we’re right in the mix,” he said. “I don’t feel we’ll win every game but with the guys we have here, we’ll be in every game.” If the IceMen can be in every game they play, they may just pay off their coach’s faith with a championship at the end. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com