The preseason has come to a close. 11 matches. Not a lot of wins, but if this year's preseason was just about wins and losses, we would have set up an entirely different schedule. This year is about playing the highest level teams we possibly can, so as to best prepare ourselves for the CIS tournament at the end of the year.
There are lots of reasons to be pleased, and a few reasons to be concerned as well. In the positive column, we have gotten better every time we have played, and that is our job and our mission. Many of our rookies have seen far more playing time that we (or they) might have expected and that is also a plus. All of them have shown great composure in matches and are ready to contribute as needed.
Injuries continue to play a role in our team, and are just part of our reality at this point, so no excuses for our performances. The guys who are on the floor know they need to step up and get it done. In Calgary, both Matt Taylor and Will Sidgwick performed at a new level and splitting rightside duties, Mike Tomlinson and Phil Goyer both held their own.
In terms of injuries, here is a status report for those of you who are following us closely:
Joren Zeeman - ankle sprain is almost better and he should be back next week.
Bryan Fautley - vertebrae is healing well and he is beginning physio - on schedule.
Dan Rosenbaum - is in therapy with a firm diagnosis and is optimistic for second half.
Niko Rukavina - sees the surgeon this week and will continue to play defense until he is cleared to jump.
So we continue to juggle the balls and are grateful for a large and deep team. As we enter league this week we will look forward to continued growth and progress in our game. We have taken a couple rest days, since arriving back in the middle of the night from Calgary (thanks to the 401 being closed for an 'unscheduled collision' (as per the MTO site).
First up is RMC, here at home, this Friday night at 8pm. Come celebrate Halloween with us as we take on the cross-town boys. Then we open November with games at Windsor (Friday the 4th at 8pm) and Western (Saturday the 5th at 8pm).
Come out and support the Gaels!
