The Winkler Flyers have had a few days off since advancing to the semi-finals of the MJHL playoffs and for Director of Marketing and Game Day Operations Shane Neufeld, it's been time spent preparing for back-to-back home games.
"You know, it's all about getting the crowds in the door here," Neufeld says leading up to the weekend. "The arena is amazing but there are some challenges, like the noise level. It doesn't have the atmosphere like the old arena had. We want people to get loud because it really helps drive our players."
The community knows that while now is perhaps less than perfect, there's a nice prize at the end of the wait, a revamped facility. "There isn't a day goes by that someone doesn't ask about when we're going to be in there," Neufeld says with a chuckle. "People always want to know about the construction, the timeline and when we're going to have our first game."
Having two home playoff games in a row hasn't caused Neufeld much more stress, he's used to it from the regular season. "It's very similar to what we've done and dealt with over the regular season. You do everything twice, basically. You prep the day before and instead of doing it once, you do it twice. I don't see it any other way, it's just a joy to play here."
Getting to experience the support from the community working for the Flyers has been a real bright spot for Neufeld, especially given the situation of the space their in. "All of our sponsors have been so great, they understand the challenges we're going through. It's all about the product we put on the ice. It's tough for us at times but we're making the best of it and the community is behind us 100%."
Space being limited hasn't stopped the Flyers from putting together a really great experience for the fans, something Neufeld and the people behind the scenes take a lot of pride in. "We love it. Tyler Hildebrand, who was here before me, put together an amazing game day experience and it's my job to take that over and keep it going. The limitations we have, we push past them and the fans understand, we maybe can't do everything we could before but they're still Winkler Flyers fans and they're the best."
For Neufeld, this job has been a dream come true and he's loving the push for another Turnbull Cup. "I grew up around the team, I've always wanted to be a Flyer and now, just being around the team, it's so amazing to be part of it all. The organization cares so much about families and seeing players families become part of the community, shows just how bought in everyone is, it's special."
Winkler vs Northern Manitoba is set for Saturday at the Icon Area with the drop of the puck at 7:00 p.m.