100 Mile House Wranglers Junior B Hockey Club president Tom Bachynski was all smiles after the Blue & White game that gave fans a look at the top 30 skaters and four goalies emerging from Main Camp on Aug. 20.
Noting attendance was just shy of 500 fans, Bachynski said it was a fantastic turnout for a prospects game.
“Just going around town the past couple of days, I’ve received positive comments from people who know hockey, saying they thought the talent for the prospect game was ‘outstanding’ for an expansion team.
“I’m feeling good about it. Now, we have a few things to get done to get ready for the season.”
The next big event is hosting the BCHL game tonight (Aug. 28) with the Prince George Spruce Kings taking on the Vernon Vipers.
It’s a fundraiser for the Wranglers and the puck drops at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door and it is festival seating.
Meanwhile, the Wranglers are also hitting the ice Aug. 28 with the squad’s first practice starting at 3 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
Head coach/general manager Doug Rogers said he was also pleased with the
intensity the prospects brought to the Blue & White game.
He notes there are 28 players in camp right now and he needs to pare that number down to 23 by the end of pre-season.
“We will likely add a few Junior A cuts, so we will likely need to reduce
the current roster by seven or eight players.
Rogers adds the Wranglers will be in Williams Lake for a few practices as a result of the South Cariboo Community Fall Fair, Sept. 6-8.
The Wranglers pre-season schedule starts with a road trip to Kamloops against the Storm on Sept. 4, and then they travel to Princeton to take on the Posse on Sept. 7.
On Sept. 11, the Storm comes in to 100 Mile House for the third and final pre-season tilt for the Wranglers.
It will the local fans first look at the Wranglers in a game situation, Bachynski said, adding it will be exciting because the “boys will be wearing their home jerseys and raring to put on a show for the home-town crowd.”
Noting the club is doing something special to commemorate the evening, he said the $20 tickets will include a souvenir T-shirt.
“We’ll start selling [T-shirts with a ticket on them] at the Spruce Kings/Vipers game. We only have two weeks to sell them; we have 650 T-shirts and then we’re sold out.”
Bachynski said he hopes businesses will get involved, as the Wranglers will be going into businesses to sell the T-shirts.
“We hope to sell them to all of the staff and the staff will wear the T-shirt to let everyone know the big game is on Sept. 11.”
