Sunday, December 26th

Obviously last weekend was a rough weekend with a couple of losses. We got back to work on Monday and had a good practice and then left for Tulsa that night. We got a good night’s sleep and then had a chance to skate in the morning. We came out and played a really good game and won 4-0. It was a big game for us coming off those two losses and going into Tulsa’s building – they’re a team that’s been pretty hot as of late. Going into the Christmas break, we definitely didn’t want to have three losses in a row.

We had three days off for Christmas. Some guys flew home and some guys stayed around. We had an optional skate on Friday for the guys that were in town. Last night, everybody returned to town and we were back at it with practice. We got up bright and early this morning to head for Odessa and a four o’clock game. We left at seven thirty and got there about one forty-five or so; in time to get ready to play.

The game didn’t start off the way we wanted to – Odessa capitalized on a couple of mistakes and had a 2-0 lead after the first period. But we came out flying and scored five goals in the second period and we continued on and had a good third period. That was another big win for us coming in after the Christmas break and especially coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the first.

We have another big game coming up on Tuesday against Allen. They’re one of our big rivals and I don’t think we’ve played a full 60 minutes in the games against them this season. We’ve played four games in their building and they haven’t been to our building yet and that’s going to be a big help for us playing them at NYTEX. We’ve got to come out and play physical and play our game. If we put a 60 minute game together, I think we’ll be fine. When we don’t play a full 60 minutes, they’re too good of a team and they capitalize on our mistakes. They’re a hard team to beat and we’ve just got to come out and work hard and be physical and I think we’ll be alright.

After the game, we’ll have the second skate with the fans this season. It’s always good to get out and see the fans and spend time with the people that support us. It’s also tough after playing a game. You’ve worked hard and don’t have a lot of free time to relax a little bit, so it’s tough that way. But it’s definitely good to get out there and meet the fans and get to know some of the people, especially this season because there are a lot of new guys on the team.

We have a tough schedule coming up, starting with Allen on Tuesday, Bossier-Shreveport on New Year’s Eve, on the road against Tulsa on Saturday and then back home against Colorado on Sunday. It’s always a big challenge when you play the good teams. I think we have a very good team. If we come out and work hard and play physical – we play good when we play physical – I think we have a good chance to win every game. It’s definitely going to be a tough week for us and we’ve got to remain focused, one game at a time.