The Fernie Ghostriders are ramping up for another successful season of junior hockey. Following a week long training camp, and with a couple of pre-season games already under their belts, the Ghostriders have a busy weekend ahead with three exhibition games over three days.
The team has just come off a win, after playing the Glacier Nationals last weekend, and is working hard to keep the pre-season momentum going. Returning for his second season as a Ghostrider, Brendan Burge remarked, “It’s usually tough to get back into it but we did a week of prep camp before, got back on the ice, got our legs back, and started to feel a lot better.”
Burge said the start of the season is never easy, especially for returning players. “You see a lot of guys here, and at the start of the year not many guys want to come back, or they’re not sure if they’re going to with Junior A and stuff, but things are starting to shape up,” said Burge. “I mean guys are coming back that you never thought were going to come back and your team just slowly starts to build. By the end of it all you come together as a team that looks like they can actually do something pretty special. It’s a good feeling.”
While the official Ghostrider lineup has yet to be announced, there are a few players new to town that are already settling in. Kelowna native, Dylan Rota, is enjoying not only his new team, but also his new location. “It’s gorgeous, a great town, everybody’s really nice around here,” he commented. “They treat us really well, the rink’s great, and the team’s looking pretty good so far.”
The Ghostriders are off to Invermere on Thursday to take on the Columbia Valley Rockies. They’ll be back at it in Fernie on Friday playing the Rockies once more. Saturday night sees the boys holding home turf advantage for the second night in a row and challenging the Glacier Nationals. The puck will hit the ice at Fernie Memorial Arena on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m.