The Stonewall Blues made it 28 straight games without a loss on Sunday.
Yes, you read that correctly, and it’s something you’ll rarely see in hockey.
These Blues haven’t lost a game in the last three months, and everything they touch is turning into gold.
They’ve also won three straight tournament gold medals and have shown no signs of slowing down.
On Sunday morning they beat the River East Royals Black 10-3 to extend the streak to 28 in a combination of regular season, tournament, and exhibition games.
The streak includes 26 wins and two ties and dates back to early December.
Coach Ryan Frost gave props to his players and staff ahead of last Sunday’s game.
“It starts from the top. Having a good general manager that’s got us a lot of ice times, practices, exhibition games,” said Frost. “Also keeping the team together and getting them to buy in and doing the extra stuff. With the assistant coaches, they have a vast knowledge of experience in the hockey field, which makes it possible to have high-pace, high teaching-moment practices where kids are learning to play the right way and to play as a team. Then the kids, our philosophy is no one’s going to outwork us, and they’ve bought into that. We have a great group of kids that put in the work every day and all get along and are becoming great human beings.”
Frost said the kid’s successful buy-in comes from their overwhelming love for the game.
Though they’re just nine and ten years old, their play makes it seem like they’ve been playing a lot longer.
At the start of the year, Frost and staff sat down with them to discuss their hopes and aspirations for the year, and many said they intend to eventually play at a higher level.
And based on how the team is coming along, it’s clear the future of hockey in the Interlake is going to be a fun watch with these kids coming up.“A lot of them do have that intention to play at the higher level when they carry on with their hockey journey and it’s our job as coaching staff to help develop them and help them reach their goals,” said Frost. “With hockey there are ups and downs but at the end of the day we ask for our team to buy into the process that keeping pushing, hard work does pay off. That’s the message for us. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but at some point it’s going to pay off.”
At this point in the season, they hope their success can continue into the playoffs.
They’ll play two more regular season games before the big dance begins in late February.
It should be an exciting final few weeks to the 2024-25 season.
“They know that though they are having success, the playoffs are right around the corner and as Kobe Bryant would say, the job’s not done. They’re ready to put the work in and keep going,” said Frost.
The Blues will close out the regular season at home on Sunday, Feb. 23 against the St. Vital Knights at 10:15 a.m. from Veterans Memorial Sports Complex.
Their next game goes this Saturday, Feb. 15 against the South Winnipeg Kings at 10:15 a.m. from Veterans Memorial Sports Complex.
