SRSS Sabres hoping for bounce back year on the ice

Editor’s Note: This story was published in the Nov. 14 Carillon

After one game in the Winnipeg High School Hockey League, it looked like the Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres were set to repeat last season.

In 2023/2024, the Sabres made a habit of giving up backbreaking late goals to let potential wins slip away, and it once again happened to start the season, as JH Burns scored with 2:11 left in the third period to complete a comeback and hand Steinbach an early loss.

Since then, the Sabres have been on a roll, picking up three one-goal victories, only losing to league-leaders St Paul’s.

“Our goaltenders are holding us in it,” Sabres head coach John Laninga said, noting both Trae Fast and Kash Amor are returning players.

“Both are guys that are all business. They show up at the rink ready to go. They raise the bar for everyone just in their game prep and practice habits. They give us a chance to win every game.”

Steinbach even enacted a measure of revenge for that season-opening loss, travelling to Winnipeg to defeat JH Burns 2-1 Nov. 1, with Hunter Plett notching the game-winner mid-way through the second period.

There is no shortage of athletic talent on this edition of the Sabres, with their forward core bringing plenty of size and speed throughout the lineup.

Those attributes are perfect for a team playing on the smaller ice surface inside the T.G. Smith Centre to start this season.

“It took us a while last year to learn how to play in the T.G., and we want to be that big, imposing team that gets in on the forecheck and causes turnovers,” Laninga said.

The Sabres are planning on moving into the Southeast Event Centre when the new building is ready to go, but have not set a start date in stone.

The defense core isn’t as experienced as the forwards, but Laninga expects them to quickly grow throughout this season.

“The talent and the hard work is certainly there,” he said on his defenders.

“The future is bright on D with six puck-moving defenseman that see the ice really well.”

Those tough results last season meant a spot in the bottom of the standings, and an incredibly tough path in the playoffs. This year’s team is hoping to find a bit more success in the regular season, and transition into the league playoffs.

In 2022 the Sabres were felled in the league playoffs by Selkirk, but went onto earn a wildcard spot in the provincial championships and pulled off the upset en route to a Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association AAAA championship.

“I would really like to end up in the top half (of the standings), and then a nice deep playoff run,” Laninga said on the team’s expectations this season.

“We’ve got this provincial banner hanging in the gym, it would be a dream of mine to get another one of those.”

High school hockey is becoming more and more attractive. Players can’t play both AAA hockey and for their high school, and it seems more and more players are choosing to remain closer to home and enjoy playing for their school and with their friends.

“The players enjoy the flexibility of high school hockey, and having a little more freedom later in the evenings and into the weekends,” Laninga said.

“The school spirit side of things is huge. Some of the rivalries you build from school to school are a lot of fun. Our players really take pride in representing our school.”

There wasn’t a lack of success at the tournament level last season, and that’s continued into 2024. The Sabres opened the year with a victory in the Morris Mavericks-hosted tournament, before falling 1-0 in the final of the Husky Classic, defeating a strong River East team in the semi-finals.

Steinbach will play four consecutive weeks at home on Wednesday afternoons, starting Nov. 13 with a game against Oak Park that finished after press time.

The Sabres are hosting their own tournament this weekend, in one of the biggest events Sabres hockey has held. The SRSS Invitational includes eight teams this year, with the final scheduled to take place Nov. 16. at 8:45.

The Morris/St Pierre co-op team, which plays in the Zone 4 Hockey League, will be at the tournament.