'We're here to win'

The RBC Cup is set to open on Saturday night in Portage La Prairie, Man.

The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Soo Thunderbirds are in the Manitoba city and will open up the national championship Saturday night when they face the Central Canadian League’s Carleton Place Canadians.

The tournament presents a new challenge as they face Canada’s best in a tournament that also includes the host Portage Terriers, the Melfort Mustangs (Saskatchewan League) and the Penticton Vees (British Columbia League).

“We’re fortunate as I’ve got some connections across the country and I’ve had an opportunity to talk to some coaches from different leagues and get a little bit of background information on these teams,” said Thunderbirds Coach Jordan Smith. “For our preparation against them, it’s basically the focus is on our game and having our guys ready to play to the best of their ability and having them prepared.”

The Thunderbirds enter the tournament looking to make a statement.

“(The players) want to prove people wrong and we’re fully aware that we’ve got a city behind us,” Smith said. “Knowing that you’ve got a city behind you and family and friends, it’s motivating, even for the coaches.

“We’re happy to be here but by no means are we satisfied,” Smith added. “We’re here to win. We’ll take it a day at a time, put our best foot forward and see what happens.”

Smith would say that the Thunderbirds plan to enter the tournament with a similar plan that has allowed them to be successful to this point.

“We’re a good skating team. We’ve got team speed and that’s going to be a factor,” Smith said. “Each team here are very good hockey teams. They can skate and have skill, mobile defenceman and all of the things we feel that we possess but it’s going to be playing your game and gut through some adversity. Every team is going to face some adversity.

“There are going to be some ups and downs through the course of the event,” Smith added. “We’re going to need to keep our composure whether we’re down or whether we’re up. We’re going to just need to continue to play our game.”

The team enters the tournament after beating the Fort Frances Lakers (Superior League) in the Dudley Hewitt championship game last Saturday.

“I thought we didn’t play our absolute best at the Dudley,” Smith said. “We obviously played well to win the tournament but what’s encouraging is that we won the tournament and felt that we still had more to give. I still think we can elevate our play.”

Not getting too high or too low will also play a major role in any Thunderbirds success as the tournament opens.

“The focus has to be on our game,” Smith said. “If we do encounter a rough spot, which I’m sure we will over the course of seven days, we’re going to need to not get down on ourselves and stay positive and focused and realize that this thing isn’t won on Monday or Tuesday.”

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THUNDERBRIDS SCHEDULE

May 9: vs. Carleton Place Canadians (8 p.m. EST)
May 11 vs. Melfort Mustangs (8 p.m. EST)
May 12 vs. Portage Terriers (8 p.m. EST)
May 14 vs. Penticton Vees (3 p.m. EST)

SooToday will have live blogs of all the Thunderbirds games as well as full game stories throughout the tournament