Springfield Xtreme battle out to undefeated record

The Springfield Xtreme might be the hottest team in Manitoba.

They’ve cut through the rest of the Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League (HTJHL) like butter to start the season, posting a perfect 11-0-0 record and are five wins ahead of their closest competition in the league’s East Division standings.

As of Nov. 19, the Xtreme lead the league in both goals scored (59) and have given up the fewest (seven).

“We have a really good group of guys, they’re bonding very well,” head coach Paul Binda said after a 5-1 victory over Macdonald Nov. 16.

“They’re doing a lot of team activities off the ice, they’re a really close bunch, I think that’s a big part of it.”

Those impressive stats come despite no players with outstanding numbers. Chase Janas leads the team in points, with 12. That’s good for only 15th overall across the league.

“We do a lot of battle drills, a lot of offensive zones in practice,” Binda said.

“The guys have been clicking together, we haven’t really changed up the lines too much, letting them roll with it and it seems to be working out pretty well for us.”

The team has relied on their depth to carry the day, with nine players already in the double-digits for points on the season.

“We’re not the biggest team, but we’re definitely up there for speed,” Binda said.

“We try to keep the tempo as high as we can at all times.”

Springfield returned eight players from last year’s team, which lost in the league final to Steinbach, including captain Nathan Bartecki.

After the team’s first skate of the season Bartecki hung his silver medal from last season inside the dressing room as a reminder of what the team’s expectations are.

“The (returning) guys came back this year and they had a mission and they set the tone right away in the dressing room,” Binda said.

“We all agree we have one goal and that’s to make it to the end.”

With the HTJHL expanding, motivation is high from the Xtreme, which have been a strong team over the past decade, to set the tone for the league. Springfield has defeated all three expansion teams (Grunthal, Mitchell, Ste Anne) already this season.

“We see a lot of new faces, each game we go into like (our opposition) is the team to beat,” Binda said.

“We just keep pushing and pushing and pushing.”

Springfield moved to 11-0 by defeating Macdonald. The Xtreme set the tone early, striking for four first period goals to clinch the victory.

The game turned ugly late in the third period. With just under a minute left, and with minor scrums throughout the period, a Macdonald player entered the offensive zone offside and was hit. The ensuing scuffle spiraled into a full-blown line brawl between the two teams.

The two goalies nearly got into a fight after Springfield starter Josh Rash got involved in the scrum, with Macdonald’s Carson Fischer skating out to the red line to challenge his counterpart to a fight. Rash would decline the offer, but that didn’t stop the league from handing him a one-game suspension.

“It was bound to happen,” Binda said on the rough ending to the game, noting he hasn’t seen a goalie fight since his own playing days.

“I always feel like we tell the boys we’ve got to keep our emotions in check. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”

Referees were eventually able to get control of the brawl, handing out 114 minutes in penalties, including 10 misconducts, before allowing the clock to wind down without the puck in play.

Also suspended for their role in the brawl were Springfield’s David Hazlitt and Mattix Carpenter and Macdonald’s Cole Kendall and Kaden Sutyla. All players received one game bans aside from Hazlitt, who received two.

The Swarm had an eventful weekend, playing a game against Ste Anne Nov. 15 in Sanford which exceeded the line brawl in Oakbank. The two teams combined for 190 minutes in penalties, requiring three Aces players to be suspended.