Pengjie HuAfter an inconsistent start to the season, it appears the Pandas hockey team is finally hitting its stride.
The Pandas swept their series with the Lethbridge Pronghorns last weekend, improving their winning streak that began on Nov. 29, 2014 to five games — their longest streak of the season so far. With the wins, the Pandas are now in sole possession of first place in the Canada West standings with 41 points.
At the beginning of the season, head coach Howie Draper said the team came up with the goal of winning 23 out of 28 games, which appeared unlikely as they went into Winter Break with a 10-6 record. With this recent winning streak, the Pandas have a renewed sense of optimism of achieving their goal.
“The reality was we were 10-6 at the end of the first half and we were a long way away from achieving our objective,” Draper said. “Now they feel they can do it. I think they’re more determined now and they realize they can’t take a night off, or even a shift off.
“We’ve got four wins so far this semester and four more weekends left, so we’ll work hard to get those eight wins and guarantee ourselves first place (in Canada West).”
The Pandas opened up the weekend with a bang on Friday, completely shutting down the Pronghorn’s offence on the way to a decisive 4-0 victory. Pandas’ goaltender Lindsey Post stopped all 11 shots she faced, helping her earn her league leading seventh shutout of the season. On Saturday, the Pandas followed it up with another commanding 5-2 win, limiting the Pronghorns to only 13 shots on goal.
The Pandas and Pronghorns are now on completely opposite ends of the Canada West spectrum. With a 13-1-6 record, the Pandas are at the top of the standings, while the Pronghorns, who own a 4-16 record, are stuck in the basement. Despite the fact Lethbridge might seem like an easy win, Draper said every win matters because of how important momentum is to a team’s success.
“It’s nice playing teams you should do well against and building momentum that can carry into the following weekends,” he said. “I’m optimistic, I think the team is playing well right now and I don’t think we’re close to peaking just yet.”
The Pandas will look to keep their winning streak going next weekend when they travel to Calgary to take on the Mount Royal Cougars. While Mount Royal may seem like another weak opponent like the Pronghorns, Draper said the league is too unpredictable to take anything for granted.
Just last weekend, the Cougars, who were in last place in the conference, swept the Calgary Dinos, pushing them from first place to fourth in the standings.
“I know it’s cliche, but any night, any team can win,” Draper said. “When the last placed team sweeps the first placed team, you know anything can happen and you have to be ready.”
