Turn! Turn! Turn!

AMARILLO, Texas – The Byrds, the 60s American rock band, made it a popular anthem for the changing culture of the times. “Turn! Turn! Turn!”, a Pete Seeger adaptation of a traditional melody, with some lyrics taken directly from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, became the group’s second US #1 single, also headlining their second album by the same title. It was was an anthem for an entire generation about change. It could well be the anthem for the Amarillo Gorillas this season, as the only thing remaining the same is perhaps The Jungle, the venue they play in. New owner, new coach, new goalies, new defensemen and only three familiar faces on the forward lines, but Head Coach Tom Coolen has put together a tough, experienced team that looks to be a formidable foe in the CHL this season. New owner and GM, Randy Sanders is so sure of the product he is putting on the ice that he is offering a money-back guarantee that season ticket holders will be satisfied. “Building from the net out” is Coolen’s philosophy. With that in mind, he has brought in two top notch netminders from the Scandinavian leagues, and a core of tough-minded, experienced defensemen in front of the net. Coolen has selected Swedish netminder Sebastian Jonsson and Danish goalie Simon Nielsen to guard the posts this year, both of whom bring a lot of experience from their respective elite leagues. In Coolen’s training camp, sixteen skaters are battling for ten positions on the final roster, with the only returning players being Austin Sutter, Brett MacConnachie and Joe Guenther. Three players carry veteran status, Guenther, Matt Frick and Sam Ftorek Coolen has also brought a lot of welll-needed toughness to the team by dipping into the LNAH for some physically minded players. The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey has the unofficial reputation as the world’s roughest hockey league. Not known for its skill level. Its teams employ many enforcers and has a rather infamous reputation for on-ice antics that mostly include fisticuffs.. In their two pre-season bouts against long-time nemesis, New Mexico Scorpions, the Gorilla squad was sharp and effective with spot-on passing, solid netiminding and frustrating penalty kill. From watching pre-season games since the Rattler days, Amarillo teams have tended to be slow starters, but a view from the stands this year showed none of the sluggish start of days gone by. The team’s make up relects the 20 years of experience including several years in Euro elite leagues Coach Coolen brings to the ice.   Contact the author at: rhudson@prohockeynews.com