Cougar Town

The SJHL Showcase is officially underway from Weyburn. As I type this, we are leaving Yorkton and I imagine that we will arrive in Weyburn in about two-and-a-half hours.

I love (almost) everything about the Showcase, and I truly hope that fans and parents take advantage of the opportunity.

There has been a TON of chatter on the blog recently, and I first want to start by saying thank you to those who stop by here and read on a daily basis. Your comments, feedback and readership are all appreciated big time.

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A relatively quiet December 1 for the Stars but obviously the Shayne Morrissey trade has a lot of folks talking.

Shayne was not dealt because of homesickness. As some of the comment-makers pointed out in the previous post, Shayne loved the Battlefords. The problem for Shayne was inconsistency and the fact that (in the eyes of the coaches) the other 18 year olds were higher on the depth chart.

I liked Shayne as a person and I wish him the best. Cudos to his family and friends for their kind remarks on the blog.

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Its an important weekend for the Stars. They have two difficult opponents and they'll need to be at their best if they want to win.

From a confidence stand-point, a victory or two this weekend would set the Stars up nicely for the rest of December. If the Stars can finish 2010 at .500 that would be a great feat. But, that means that sooner than later the Stars need a winning-streak.

The Stars need to approach these next two games with an edge.

In their last meeting, KIndersley came back from a 5-2 gap to beat the Stars 6-5.

The last time the Stars faced La Ronge, it was an ugly 8-1 loss in Stanley Mission.

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Lately I've been getting a Lot of "What is wrong with the Stars" type of questions. For what it's worth, the only thing that I can pin-point is the fact that sometimes the 'compete' level is not where it needs to be. It seems to come and go in extremes. When the Stars want to compete, they are a scary team. When they take short-cuts, they get exposed.

The puzzling part about this team is the fact that all of the right ingredients seem to be here.

Talent? Blake Tatchell, Colin Phaneuf.

Grit? Tony Oak, Travis Cech, Luke Hannas.

Youth? Tanner Schwab, Kyle Hall.

Skill on D? Woody Klassen, Brody Luhning, Chris Neurauter.

Sjze on D? Cody Folstad, Travis Sparrow.

Goaltending? Graham Hildebrand.and Kyle Birch.

The standings often speak for themselves, yet I can't find a notable weakness with this team anymore. Ken Pearson has added size, skill to the blueline, and age. Now is the time where the Stars need to show the fans, the coaches and each other that they are playing for keeps.

It starts with tonights game with Kindersley.

As always your thoughts are encouraged. Hope you can catch some or all of the game tonight. It goes live starting at 4:15.