Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds practice before tilt with Red Deer… interviews with Toomey and Lockhart
With Tuesday night’s opponent the Red Deer Rebels already in town and having practiced earlier, the Thunderbirds had a fairly intensive day before a game practice which seemed to focus mostly on shooting. Going to the net, passing, accurate shooting etc was the story of the day as they prepare to take on a very tough team in the Rebels who have only given up 31 goals in 16 games. The Birds have had some trouble scoring lately so they will have to work on getting those “dirty” goals in order to pull out a big win before heading on their long six game in eight days road trip to Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The Birds certainly have had their chances but some good goaltending and some tough luck have cost them a chance at a couple of wins lately. A positive is that they have been getting good scoring opportunities including several breakaways, now they just need to finish those chances.
D Erik Fleming was not practicing and is out with an MCL sprain. F Justin Hickman is no longer wearing red which means he is closer to coming back.
Before today’s practice I was able to sit down with Travis Toomey and Luke Lockhart to talk about leadership, tight games, and playing the piano.
Travis Toomey
On being a leader type
“Helping out the the younger guys is something that is enjoyable. Coming here my last year (in the league) to a team that didn’t have the best of years last year and they want some (positive) change.They have some younger players so any mentoring I can do is definitely something I enjoy”
On his playing style
“I’m definitely a two way player. I take pride in my defense, In the offensive zone, along the walls, being a bigger guy, I try to be hard to take the puck off of, and that’s the style we are trying to play with our team. I have always tried to be a player that is hard to play against.”
On the Birds size vs. speed
“We definitely have enough speed. There are some teams that have speed to their advantage but as long as we are plying our style we are tough to play against. As long as we’re playing physical we are going to be successful, we can control the pace. It’s just a commitment to playing our style every night.”
On all of the low scoring tight games this season
“Well anytime you have a goaltender like picks, all you need him to do is give you a chance to win. Lately we’ve had some tough puck late, hitting posts, but hockey is like that, other times those will go in. We’re going to do our best to increase offensively, and like I said with picks in there we are going to have a chance to win every night.”
On winning those tough divisional games
“Anytime you are in a division game it’s big. Those are four point games. When you are playing a local team, the rivalry comes into play and it’s fun. Like when we are in Everett and the fans are at us, you love to get them booing at you for some reason or another. The Conference games are also important when it comes to fighting for points.”
Luke Lockhart
On putting on some weight during the off season
“Well I was eating as much as I can. I would eat before going to bed, take protein drinks. I feel like I have a hard time putting on weight. I need to constantly eat to keep my weight up.”
On being stronger this season
“I feel like I’m stronger. I really worked on my legs. I feel like I’m stronger with the puck in the corners. My upper body got stronger so the extra weight has helped.”
On his personal goals
“Personally I wanted to really contribute, put up points. I knew I would be a key penalty killer. Contributing on the power play as well as five on five. To contribute in key situations.”
On his success on the penalty kill
“I know it does hurt sometimes to block shots. In the last game it felt like my leg was broken but in those moments you want to block it, instead of it going behind you. You know you have to do it to get the job done. It helps win games to kill penalties.”
On all of the nail biting games
“I don’t think we are going to be an incredibly high scoring team. There will be a lot of close games, and we are ready for those. We have a deep lineup, we can roll out the lines. So when we get towards the end of the game we won’t be gassed.”
On the need for the team to score more
“We have been working on offense. It will come with solid play, getting pucks to the net. We have hit five or six posts lately, and those will go in eventually. It’s early in the season, we are picking up points but we know we need to start getting the two points. I think goals are going to come.
On wearing the “C” and possibly being a captain
“I think we have a lot of leaders, it’s not up to one person. If someone has something to say they will say it. The “C” is nice to have, its an honor but everyone is contributing so it’s no big deal. As long as the team is successful.
On his skills as a pianist
(Laughs) “I played piano when I was younger till like when I was 13 or 14. I haven’t played it much lately. I can do it, if there is a piano there I can play. You never really forget how to play, if there is sheet music and you give me a couple of minutes I can usually figure it out.”
Tuesday night’s game starts at 7 pm at the ShoWare Center. You can listen to it streamed live on MyNorthwest.com as Thom Beuning and Bruce McDonald call all of the action.
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