Last season was a wake-up call for Timon. After losing some of the players who had made the previous two seasons so successful, the Tigers weren’t prepared to work as hard as they needed to.
But they learned, and this year they’re ready.
“We have to play our game,” captain Jack Robinson said. “We can’t do what we did last year and think we would automatically go since we went two years in a row, so we have a different attitude this year. That’s for sure.”
This year’s players gained valuable experience last season, and while some were disappointed with their own pay, they’re ready to make up for it this year.
“I played alright, but I wish would have done better so we could have won, but it’s a team game,” Robinson said.
“I didn’t play as well as I should have, and I’ll make up for that this year,” assistant captain Jake Giacobello said.
“Tough season,” assistant captain Flannan Gould said. “We had a young team. Just trying to get better as the season went on, and hopefully we can do better this season than we did last season.”
“We were real young, just like he said,” Giacobello agreed. “We have a lot of kids that have grown, gotten better. We’re looking to have a good season this year.”
“We only graduated three seniors last year, so we have a majority of our team still on the team, so that’s good,” Robinson said. “We picked up a solid three or four guys, so now we have a full team, and we’re looking pretty good.”
As the leaders on this year’s team, it’s up to Gould, Giacobello, and Robinson to set the right tone for each game, get the team motivated, and make sure everyone is doing their job.
“We’re just trying to get the boys going in the locker room, set a tone,” Gould said. “We have one goal: it’s to win a championship this year, and we’re just trying to do the best we can to help the boys get there.”
“I’m more of an energy guy,” Giacobello said. “I like to get out there and go do stuff and make plays, keep the boys up, positive spirits.”
Robinson stressed the importance of the differences between this season and past seasons. Timon can no longer depend on a few flashy skilled players; everyone needs to work hard and do his job.
“We want everyone involved,” Robinson said. “We want to make sure everyone knows the systems and how Timon plays. We’re more of a dump-and-chase, hustle, grinding team. We don’t really have the razzle dazzle like we did two years ago, so we’ve just learned the forecheck, learned the power play, and hopefully we put pieces into the puzzle.”
Giacobello and Flannan, who are linemates, were excited for the chance to describe what the other one brings to the ice.
“Flannan works hard in the corners, doesn’t give up on plays,” Giacobello said. “He’s really aggressive and it’s tough to knock off the puck. He’ll go in the corners if need be. He’ll come out with it. Good two-way center.”
“Jake, he’s always getting the boys going,” Gould said. “He’s always there when we need him to step up. He’s got a good shot, good vision. He’s probably one of the most dominant players in the league, and it’s always fun playing with him.”
Robinson, meanwhile, is a defenseman. He’ll fill other roles when needed, but protecting his own net is his priority.
“I’m more of a defensive defenseman, but I’ll jump up if I have to,” Robinson explained. “I like to stay at the point. I’ll skate it up. I like doing that, but I’d rather protect — rather than have me up here and then they score. So it’s more of a defensive type.”
This was a week and a half ago. Timon began its season last Sunday with a 4-3 overtime win against Clarence and followed that up with a 5-2 win over Hamburg today. They also went 2-0 in a tournament in Canada to remain undefeated early on in this season. Only one thing remains.
“Gotta be more disciplined this year,” Giacobello said. “No more dumb penalties. Make the right plays. Don’t get down on ourselves, and keep going.”
“Yeah, as Jake said, we gotta stay out of the box,” Gould said. “Penalties were a big factor for us last year in losing games. We gotta go in the corners, work harder, and bury any opportunities we get.”
And so far, Giacobello’s expectations for the season are being exceeded, which he couldn’t possibly mind.
“We’ll be young,” Giacobello had said before the season began. “We’ll start off probably a little slower than we’d like, but I feel like at the end of the season, we’ll bring it all together. We’ve got a group of committed kids in the locker room that want to make this work.”
And they want to win.
“Everyone wants to win,” Robinson said. “Senior year, you always want to win.”
So far, that’s exactly what the Tigers are doing.