Optimist Chiefs coming around as stretch run begins
The Alberta Midget Hockey League’s Red Deer Optimist Chiefs are slowly, but surely becoming the team they need to be in order to ensure a successful post-season run.
Last October, the Chiefs managed to come away with a tie in a game against the Calgary Flames. But following the match-up, head coach Doug Quinn called out his team for its last of consistency and sub-par work ethic, despite the somewhat favourable result.
Fast forward two months to Saturday night where on home ice at Servus Arena, the 16-4-6 Chiefs knocked off the first place Calgary Buffaloes 6-3.
“We were in a little bit of a funk, but we played a lot of hockey in December. We played the Edge tournament in Calgary, and then the Mac’s tournament,” Quinn points out. “We played maybe 15 games in five weeks and you could see we were getting a bit tired mentally and physically.”