Most coaches lose their mind after dropping a game 8-1. But Ridge Meadow Flames bench boss Jamie Fiset will chalk Thursday night’s beat down at the hands of the Richmond Sockeyes as “just one of those games.”
Fiset said while his team continues to struggle to find the back of the net, there’s plenty of time to turn things around.
“We just couldn’t get anything to go early,” said Fiset. “We had a few bad breaks where we couldn’t get the bounces to go our way.”
Fiset said with two new players in the fold, adding forwards Vitalik Morozov of Port Moody and Kurt Thrussell of the North Delta Devils late last week, combined with mixing up his lines, has led to some growing pains for his club.
“You could tell from the drop of the puck that we didn’t look like we were on the same page. But this is the time of year to work out those kinks.”
The Flames were out shot 51-20 by the Sockeyes Thursday night and went were held scoreless on seven power play opportunities.
While the offense continued its struggles Friday night at home to the Mission City Outlaws, it was able to tighten up it defensive play, skating to a 1-1 draw. However, after going 0-for-8 with the man-advantage, the coach admitted his team needs to finish when the opportunities arise.
“I told our guys I don’t want to be a one-dimensional team. We’re going to get a few more practices under our belt and try to create some chemistry with our new line combinations.”
Fiset said a pair of road games against divisional rivalries this weekend should be a good test of where his team stands.
• The Flames are in Abbotsford Friday night to take on the Pilots at the MSA Arena starting at 7:30 p.m. The Flames travel to Port Moody Saturday to take on the Panthers at the Port Moody Arena starting at 7:45 p.m.
The Flames next home game is Friday, Nov. 30 against the Aldergrove Kodiaks starting at 7:30 p.m. at Planet Ice.