Pembina Valley to host home opener Oct. 10 after four-game exhibition slate
With their four-game exhibition schedule now complete, the Pembina Valley Twisters are turning their attention to the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League regular season — and what they hope will be a strong, competitive comeback year.
The Twisters faced a busy preseason tune-up, opening with a road contest against the Stonewall Jets on Sept. 19 before hosting the Jets two nights later on Sept. 21. Pembina Valley then wrapped up its exhibition calendar with a trip to Winnipeg to take on the Fort Garry Twins on Sept. 28.
While the results were mixed, the series gave coaches a valuable opportunity to evaluate talent, test systems and fine-tune special-teams units ahead of meaningful games.
“These games are all about learning who we are and what we still need to work on,” said Twisters head coach Braeden Beernaerts. “We saw some really promising chemistry develop up front, and our goaltending has been solid. Now it’s about tightening things up defensively and cleaning up some details before opening night.”
The coaching staff says the four-game run revealed plenty of positives, including balanced scoring throughout the lineup and improved transition play as the series progressed. But there’s still work to be done in the defensive zone, where turnovers and missed assignments led to costly chances against at times.
“Preseason always shows you where you stand,” Beernaerts added. “We know we have the pieces here to compete — now we need to put it all together.”
That confidence stems from noticeable progress in the team’s structure and intensity. “I think our biggest improvement is our defensive zone play,” said Beernaerts. “We’ve got to be a lot better in front of our goalies this year. It was great to see the drive and determination in players’ backchecks and defensive-zone structure. It shows us how hungry and determined the players are to keep pucks out of our net — the key to winning hockey games.”
Offensively, the focus is on getting pucks and bodies to the net. “Our biggest aspect is getting our net drive going,” he said. “With the results we’ve seen in preseason, it’s clear we need to find a way to generate more chances. And of course, finding that 60-minute consistency in our game is crucial.”
The Twisters roster features a mix of fresh faces and returning players eager to make an impact. “We’ve got a lot of new and returning players who came in hungry to be difference-makers this year,” said Beernaerts. “The guys are gelling really well — there were a few tough decisions — but I’m really excited to see what we can do.”
As the season begins, the message to players is simple: stay focused and start strong. “The intensity of games ramps up a bunch more this coming week,” Beernaerts said. “Stick to the systems and play hard for yourself and the team. It’s very important to get off to a good start — these points are worth the same now as they are in February.”
Pembina Valley will now set its sights on the regular season, which opens with a pair of road trips on Oct. 3 at River East Royal Knights and on Oct. 5 at the Raiders Jr. Hockey Club. The club will welcome fans back to the Morris MultiPlex for its home opener against the Transcona Railer Express on Friday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m., where they hope to carry the lessons learned from exhibition play into a fast, confident start to the campaign.
