Warman Wildcats U18 AAA player Berg Weber battles for possession of the puck along the boards during a preseason game against the Prince Albert Mintos at the Legends Centre on September 19

The Warman U18 AAA Wildcats are primed and ready for the regular season after wrapping up preseason play.

The Wildcats have had a successful preseason and what head coach Courage Bear was impressed with the most was the work ethic of the team, which is key for the start of the regular season.

“We’re trying to be tenacious and establish that work ethic, that needs to be consistent every night,” he said.

Throughout the preseason, Bear wanted to use those games to instill good habits in the team and work out those kinks which he believes was accomplished, and he is looking forward to the rest of the season.

Recently, the Wildcats battled the Prince Albert Mintos on back-to-back days, which saw Warman earn a 9-3 road win on September 18, along with a 8-4 home win the following day.

Bear liked what he saw from his team during both games against Prince Albert, but he knows when the Wildcats play the Mintos in the regular season it’s not going to be as easy to get the win like they did in the preseason.

“We know the team we saw, isn’t going to be the team we see next time we play them because they’ll be better prepared and they’re well coached over there,” he said.

Winning exhibition games in preseason is a bonus because Bear alluded that preseason was all about making sure the players are prepared and conditioned for the regular season

“You’re always pleased to win games at anytime of the year, but it’s more about the process, instilling good habits and getting your systems in place,” said Bear.

The Wildcats have been practising as a team for about a month now, and what the players have learned during that time and in the preseason games, Bear expects those skills to be carried into the regular season.

“We’ve said right from the get-go, we want to be known as a team that players are very detailed orientated … but we’re hard to play against,” he said. “We play a little bit of an up-tempo, in-your-face type of game, we want to be physical, and we want to play with some speed.”

Bear said it has been a great preseason but he can’t wait for the regular season to begin and start to play some meaningful games.

“The kids are real excited, and the fans are excited to be able to watch hockey. Hopefully we can continue that trend and we get control of this (COVID-19) variant, so we can play the games, but we’re excited to get the regular season started,” he said.

The Wildcats are scheduled to begin the regular season in Estevan with two games against the Bears on September 25 and 26.

Jordan Normand of the Warman U18 AAA Wildcats and Prince Albert Mintos player Carter Hanson track down the puck after a faceoff
Dustin Renas eludes a Prince Albert defenceman as he makes his way to the net
Jeter Korte controls the puck while facing pressure from the Prince Albert Players