JV Coach Tanner Thomas addresses his team with an energetic manner. “The ice is ready boys, let’s go to work.”
The Mansfield JV hockey team has stepped up its record this half of the season with a 57 percent win rate as opposed to the 22 percent record it previously held.
“This half is like 360 degrees from where we were at,” Coach Thomas said. “The players are really starting to buy into the system.”
The JV and varsity teams traveled to Detroit shortly after last Christmas. They played and observed teams from all over the country for four days.
“The trip really helped out both teams,” Coach Thomas said. “There is a new sense of camaraderie that came from both the games and the team pranks, which us coaches don’t know about of course.”
The team remains five points away from making the playoffs. Two points are awarded for a win and one point for overtime.
“We’re battling hard for that last playoff spot,” Coach Thomas said. “We’ve got some hard games coming up, but if we play like we’ve been playing, we’ll pull in those last points.”
JV plays their next game against Keller at the Dr. Pepper Starcenter in Euless on Feb. 17 at 4:30.
Varsity also shows improvement so far, winning 40 percent of their games as opposed to the previous 30 percent.
“The first half of the season was a lot of learning and instruction,” Assistant Varsity Coach Dave DePaul said. “The guys needed to understand our coaching philosophy and the type of game we want them to play.”
On the Detroit trip, varsity ended up in second place in the tournament, losing to a travel team from Alabama.
“We played really well in Detroit,” Coach Depaul said. “We beat a Canadian team and a Michigan team, and the team bonded the guys together.”
Varsity currently stays four points away from a much desired playoff spot.
“One of the problems we’ve been working on is just putting the puck in the net,” Coach DePaul said. “It is not as easy as it sounds.”
Varsity plays their next game against Keller at the Dr. Pepper Starcenter in Euless on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.
