Last Tuesday, the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings came away from game seven of their best-of-seven quarterfinal series with the Humboldt Broncos on the wrong side of the scoreboard. After dominating the Broncos for the first two periods of the game, Weyburn would find themselves down 2-0 after a pair of quick goals, and Humboldt held on to win the game 3-0, and the series 4-3.
While the season ended sooner than anyone with the organization wanted, head coach Cody Mapes said overall, he was happy with the steps the team made throughout the season. For those who will be coming back next year, though, they will be hungry to get back into the postseason.
“I think that everybody, from the coaches to the players, I think we feel we left a little meat on the bone,” Mapes said. He added for the veterans who are aging out, players like Nick Kovacs, Lucas Jeffreys, and captain Max Monette, it is unfortunate how things went.
“My heart hurts for those 20-year-olds that are leaving now that should have been in Flin Flon (for game one of the semifinals),” Mapes added.
One part of the season that Mapes was proud of was the community involvement of the players. From visiting the Family Place to cheering on Weyburn Comprehensive in the McLeod Series, the players seemed to be out and about in the community a lot, which was something Mapes has committed to doing with the team.
“Since the day I got hired, it was going to be a staple of mine that we were going to be involved in the community,” Mapes explained. “We’ve definitely checked that box over the last three seasons here.”
Now, the team will be preparing for the spring ID camp, which is scheduled for the end of the month. After that, the SJHL Draft, and then the work begins to prepare for the training camp in September.
You can listen to the complete interview with Mapes here: