Struggling Pembina Valley Twisters hope coaching change provides spark

The Pembina Valley Twisters went from contender to bottom feeder in Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League the blink of an eye. Just two seasons ago they finished second and battled St James in the league finals.

Many of the players on that team did not return, leaving the Twisters to struggle at historic levels. The team won just three games in 2024/2025, with a minus-218 goal difference. Pembina Valley didn’t win a game at their home rink in Morris.

This year showed little improvement. Through 22 games this season, they have just two wins and a minus-88 goal difference, although those two wins have come on home ice.

With those results, it’s no surprise the team has made a coaching change. Braeden Beernaerts and Riley Wise are out, replaced by Chris Unger. Unger is from Winkler, and previously coached high level minor hockey. He played junior A hockey in Selkirk in the 90s.

Unger knows he’s stepping into a challenging situation.

“We’re trying to instill a culture of hard work ethic and a positive culture where guys feel comfortable making mistakes and learning from those mistakes,” Unger said after his third game behind the bench, a 7-2 loss to league-leaders Transcona Dec. 12.

“From what I’ve seen in the first three games I’ve been here, is the quality of play is much better. There’s lots of room to improve, but it’s a good start.”

The 7-2 score may have been a little unfair to the Twisters, who battled hard, especially early in the game, but faded in the third period.

The team’s higher ups are confident the coaching change will lead to immediate success, with owner Pat Schmitke declaring the team will climb up the standings and finish in a playoff spot in a rinkside intermission conversation. The Twisters are currently 10th, 14 points behind the eighth and final post-season berth.

Unger wasn’t quite ready to make such a bold prediction, but certainly expects the team to pick up a lot more points in the second half of the season.

“On the scoreboard or on the standings we are a last place team, but from what I’ve seen with the guys in the dressing room, the guys we have here, there’s no reason why we can’t walk into every game with intentions to win,” Unger said.

“One thing we need to work on is our conditioning. I think what we saw today is we did run out of gas. It’s not an excuse, but it is a reality… As soon as you’re tired physically, you start making mistakes.”

Unger has already made structural changes, moving the team away from a 1-2-2 forecheck to a 2-1-2 setup. That change paid off offensively in the first period especially, as Transcona struggled with the more aggressive pressing from the Twisters.

“We need to get the puck below their goalline, and we need to forecheck them like crazy,” Unger said.

“That’s the way we’ll generate offense… At this level guys are not used to it. As soon as there’s pressure, there’s giveaways. That’s our gameplan.”

Pembina Valley’s potential playoff rescue run could start this weekend, as they host the fifth-place Stonewall Jets and eigth place St James Jr Canucks in Morris Dec. 19 and 21.

“If you’re interested in watching good hockey, come out and cheer the Twisters on,” Unger said.