The Nanaimo Clippers have shown good work ethic at practice and in the weight room. They’re showing a strong team bond. They’re starting hockey games with a lot of energy.
But then they’re allowing the first goal of the game, and it’s getting to them.
“You have to have a certain amount of competitiveness in you as an athlete that’s going to push you through, and I think that’s what we’re looking for right now,” said Mike Vandekamp, Clippers coach.
That mental toughness, he said, wasn’t there in the B.C. Hockey League team’s first two games after Christmas, a 5-2 loss to the Coquitlam Express on Dec. 28 and a 5-0 loss to the Langley Rivermen the next day.
“They were weird games,” Vandekamp said. “It seemed like we didn’t play with a lot of confidence and handle adversity very well in both of those games … We make a mistake, it costs us, and then we seem to have trouble rebounding from that.”
Brett Hartskamp, Clippers forward, said his team needs to find a way to get energized in those situations, rather than getting down on themselves. It should be easy to do this time of year, because the Clippers are recharged, he said.
“It’s nice to get back on the ice,” said Hartskamp. “You get a lot more excited, you look forward to it.”
The Clippers probably brought a better effort to their last two games than the scores would suggest, but team captain Trevor Fitzgerald said the Clips can’t be satisfied merely with effort.
“We need to find a way to go that extra mile to get the wins,” he said. “It’s not good enough to be in a game. We have to push a little harder to get the wins.”
GAME ON … The Clippers played the Surrey Eagles tonight (Jan. 4) on the road. Nanaimo faces the Langley Rivermen on Friday (Jan. 6) at 7 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com