SINCE LOSING THE FIRST TWO GAMES IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER THE YELLOWSTONE QUAKE HAVE NOW WON 3 OF THEIR LAST FOUR AND CURRENTLY SIT AT 5TH PLACE IN THE FRONTIER DIVISION, WITH A 6-13 OVERALL RECORD. THINGS ARE STARTING TO TURN AROUND FOR A QUAKE TEAM WHO MANAGED JUST 3 WINS IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS. WITH FOUR GAMES REMAINING THIS MONTH HEAD COACH PHIL OBERLIN TALKS ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN WORKING FOR THE TEAM THIS MONTH.
“IT’S A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSISTENCY. WE’VE KEPT SOME LINES TOGETHER A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSISTENTLY IN PRACTICE AND SO BUILDING A LITTLE BIT MORE CHEMISTRY THERE, BETWEEN THOSE GUYS. WE’VE GOTTEN A COUPLE PLAYERS IN OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS AS WELL SO OUR DEPTH IS THERE A LITTLE BIT MORE. I THINK ADDING A COUPLE PLAYERS AND THEN JUST GETTING A LITTLE BIT MORE CHEMISTRY GOING AND TRYING TO PUSH THE GUYS.”
BEFORE THEIR LOSS SATURDAY AGAINST SHERIDAN THE QUAKE HAD WON THREE GAMES IN A ROW AND COACH OBERLIN TALKS ABOUT THE TEAMS MINDSET AND WHAT THE NEXT STEP IS THEY NEED TO TAKE.
“JUST THAT CONSISTENCY. I THINK WE UNDERSTAND WHERE WE’RE AT RIGHT NOW. AGAIN, I THINK WINNING THREE GAMES IN A ROW WAS SOMETHING WE HADN’T DONE ALL LAST YEAR. SO I THINK THAT’S BUILDING THAT CONFIDENCE AMONG THE GROUP AND WITHIN THE LOCKER ROOM THAT THEY CAN PLAY AT THAT LEVEL AND THEY CAN WIN GAMES. JUST KIND OF CONTINUING THAT TREND AND CONTINUING TO BUILD THAT CONFIDENCE WITHIN EACH PLAYER AND WITHIN THE GROUP.”
AS FOR WHO THE QUAKE WILL SEE NEXT ON THE ICE: THEY WILL BE ON THE ROAD FOR A FACE-OFF AGAINST A GILLETTE TEAM WHO SITS JUST ABOVE THEM IN THE STANDINGS. COACH OBERLIN WITH A LITTLE INSIGHT INTO THE MATCH-UP.
“THEY COLLAPSE PRETTY LOW IN THE DEFENSIVE ZONES. AGAIN, THEY PLAY PRETTY SIMILAR TO US. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE USING OUR POINTS AND OUR DEFENSE-MEN. WE WANT OUR DEFENSE-MEN TO BE ACTIVE IN THE O-ZONE AND THEN ON THEIR FLOOR CHECK WE JUST HAVE TO BE READY TO MOVE OUR FEET AND MOVE THAT PUCK NORTH, YOU KNOW MAKE SIMPLE PLAYS COMING OUT OF THE ZONE, NOT TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING. JUST MOVING THE PUCK TO THE OPEN GUY AND MOVING OUR FEET.”
AND AFTER GOING UP AGAINST A HIGH POWERED SHERIDAN OFFENSE THIS LAST WEEKEND COACH OBERLIN IS LOOKING FOR THE QUAKE’S DEFENSE-MEN TO BE THE AGGRESSORS.
“I THINK WE’LL GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, KIND OF OUR DEFENSIVE END. I THINK WE CAN CONTINUE TO PUSH AND GET BETTER AT OUR PUCK MOVEMENT COMING UP THE ICE AND JUST AGAIN, UNDERSTANDING WHERE TO JUMP IN OFFENSIVELY AND WHEN TO HANG BACK. LOOK TO GET A LOT OUT OF OUR DEFENSE-MEN THIS WEEKEND. WE’LL TRY TO GET OURSELVES BACK INTO A MORE OFFENSIVE MINDSET.”
YOU CAN CATCH YOUR YELLOWSTONE QUAKE BACK IN ACTION THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WHEN THEY TRAVEL TO GILLETTE FOR A FACE-OFF AGAINST THE WILD. PUCK DROPS AT 7:05PM BOTH NIGHTS.
