Huskies dominant to start HTJHL season

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This article was published 18/11/2022 (1294 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Steinbach Huskies couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in the Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League (HTJHL) this season.

The team not only has a perfect 8-0 record, three games better than any of their competition, they have also put up an incredible plus-41 goal differential. They’re scoring at such an incredible pace, the rest of the league can’t keep up. No other team in the league has a positive goal differential.

Braeden Delvecchio is an assistant coach with the Huskies.

“When we outwork everybody, we can beat any team in the league,” he said after the team’s 8-5 victory over the Red River Mudbugs.

“When we don’t, we get games like this — a little closer.”

The Huskies were lead by their powerplay, which went an incredible 5/5 on the night against the Mudbugs. After scoring twice in the span of 30 seconds mid-way through the second period to take the lead, Steinbach never looked back, appearing to score at will anytime the Mudbugs began to mount a comeback.

Braden Hildebrand almost single-handedly dragged Red River back into the game, scoring twice early in the third period to cut the lead down to one, but Steinbach was able to pot a couple more goals to seal the game.

“We kind of just coasted there, staying one goal ahead,” Delvecchio said.

“Not our best effort, but if we shut down that Braden Hildebrand kid, then that’s our goal with these guys.”

It will be the Huskies final year playing in the current Steinbach arena, as the team will be forced to look elsewhere as the new Southeast Event Centre is built on the current location of the Centennial Arena. The search for a temporary home hasn’t really started yet.

“Our goal at the end of the day is to make it to the finals and win the championship,” Delvecchio said.

Given their 55 goals scored on the season, it’s no surprise Steinbach also boasts four of the top five scorers in the league, including captain Brandon Thiessen, who has racked up 21 points across seven games.

“He has the ‘C’ for a reason,” Delvecchio said.

“He’s our leader, and he’s leading by example out there. On the back end Logan Funk might not get as much praise, but he is one of the best skaters out there, and he leads the team by example.”

To keep up with the HTJHL, check out the sports scoreboard in each edition of The Carillon.