AMARILLO, Texas – Take a good look at the rink this Friday, Gorillas fans. After this Friday’s game with the Rapid City Rush, the rink crew will be tossing truckloads of dirt and cows onto the ice, and the Gorillas won’t be seen again in Amarillo until after Thanksgiving. Talk about your hockey withdrawal. The World Championship Ranch Rodeo has come to town, and the only ice in the Jungle for a while will be used to cool down those delightful adult beverages that accompany such an event. The 6-game road trip that trails on until November 28 can be a season maker – or a back breaker. Road trips can be the gel that pulls a squad together, or a downhill slide that sends a team into the cellar. Coach Tom Coolen and his squad are hoping for the former. They seem to have gathered the players with a propensity towards playing a full 60 minutes of hockey. “The game of hockey is 60 minutes long, and flashes of greatness won’t win you games at the pro level,” the Gorilla’s one returning forward, Austin sutter said. “We need a solid 60 minute TEAM effort, and things will start changing direction for us. Change they have. The Gorillas play of this past weekend reflected a visibly more fired-up hockey team. They garnered 4 points out of a possible 6 and looked formidable even in their loss to the Arizona Sundogs.
The wins weren’t what the NHL pundits continue to desire… goals and more of them, but they were great hockey games that hockey afficianados like to see… solid old-school hockey. The shootout win against the Texas Brahmas, and the Sunday afternoon rematch win against the Sundogs were not offensive NBA-like scoring battles, but they were meticulous, fun-to-watch games, and the wins put smiles on the players faces.
“Well, the way I see it, I think we’re moving in the right direction ,” Head Coach Tom Coolen said. “I think we have to move forward step by step, which is what we have done so far. I think those road games will be important games for us, and we’ll want to come out of there with some wins. Our goal is to stay in the race, and not fall off. I think, on the other end, momentum is a big thing, but it is a long season. I like the direction we’re headed, and I’m not unhappy with how we played on the weekend. It’s a good sign for things to come, and the guys are getting more used to each other on a daily basis.” With a new confidence, the Gorillas face a team that has more former Gorillas on the squad than do the current Gorilla team. Forwards Chris Lipsett and Rich Hansen and defenseman Mark DeSantis return to the Jungle under the tutelage of former Gorilla Head Coach Joe Ferras. The Rush stands at an impressive start for a first season team of 2-1-4. “Rapid City is a talented team,” Coolen said during his weekly ‘Tom Coolen Coaches Show’. “(Rapid City Coach Joe) Ferras has put together a good bunch of players, and it will be a very challenging game for us.” A win against the Rush would be just what the Coach ordered to get the Gorillas on track for this extended roadtrip.
Contact the author at rushe.hudson@prohockeynews.com
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