After a long week of practice, the Renegades travel to Tulsa, OK to take on the Rampage at the Oilers Ice Center. The first road trip of the year is always tough, but the Tulsa road trip is tougher for two reasons:1.) You have a time-zone change. This means that arriving at 4:00 Mountain is 5:00 Central. Time management is a necessity. Players have to plan out how to sleep on the bus and then actually sleep. It is part of the rigors of junior hockey that prepare a player for the collegiate level.
2.) Tulsa traditionally schedules their Friday game at 5:30, way earlier than anyone else. This means to arrive at 3:30 PM Central (2:30 Mountain) you have to leave by 2:30 AM. Remember, the players still have to get to the hotel, check-in, take a nap and grab some food, not to mention practice Thursday before they leave. Also, some of the Renegades are still in high school or attend their college classes part-time in person (I was luck to go on-line last year). That makes for a long day and a tough schedule.
They were off last weekend, but faced the Brahmas opening weekend of WSHL play.Bobby Watson (#14) returns as a third-year veteran to the Rampage and is their offensive threat. His stat lines were 2-2-4 in their Friday 5-2 win, 1-1-2 in their Saturday 5-3 loss, and 1-1 in their Sunday 5-2 win for a total of 4 Goals, 4 Assists and 8 points on the weekend. He appears to be on a line with Jeff Lundberg who recorded 2 goals and 3 assists on the weekend. Watson and Lundberg were seen all over the scoresheet and appear to be Tulsa's top offensive line.
Returning Tulsa 3-year veterans Travis Ringeman and Ty Smith did not appear all over the scoresheet, but are known for their stout defensive play, although they were both scratched from Sunday's game.From the scoresheets, it appears Tulsa has one main scoring line, which could bode well for the Renegades. Last season the Renegades were successful at holding Watson and former leading scorer Tom Whetsel off the scoresheet. The 2009-10 Renegades normally played Tulsa close.
The depth of the 2010-11 Renegades is key in picking up a Friday win. The Renegades need to continue holding Watson off the scoresheet and neuturalize and trump Tulsa's top line. If that is done, the Renegades next two offensive lines should put up some points. It is up to New Mexico to protect their lead once they gain it. If the Renegades play good two-way hockey and hustle, which seems to be the theme for the year, then New Mexico should come out on top.
If you are not traveling with the team, you can view WSHL league games on http://www.fasthockey.com/. Occasionally the Rampage do not use FASTHockey, so if you cannot find the game go to http://www.tulsarampage.com/.
Ride for the Brand!
Good Luck Guys!!
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