The New Mexico Ice Wolves wrapped up their preseason games August 29 and 30 against the Pueblo Peppers earning one win and one loss. As the Ice Wolves return to Albuquerque they will begin a three day leadership training with Kevin Ziegler and Kevin Hartzell. The coaching staff touched on the importance of the preseason games and Kevin Ziegler had the following to say regarding leadership training:
“Preseason was a great experience for our players especially the younger guys and we were able to learn about our team. There is still plenty of things to work on but great to get these guys their first taste of jr hockey” -Kyle McKenzie
“The team benefitted from the preseason being in a new city and a unique arena in Pueblo. The guy’s got to bond and learn how to overcome adversity as a team, we saw a young group fight hard against a more veteran squad against the Peppers. Sunday, veterans did a good job leading by example which helped the group to victory.” -Austin Alkire
All three goaltenders saw action over the weekend in Pueblo, and all three performed well under a heavy workload. Goaltending Coach Elliott Hogue said, “Getting three guys into two games is not the easiest thing to do, and that meant throwing a couple of the guys into the fire, but I was pleased with our netminders this past weekend.” Hogue continued, “Pueblo filled the rink and had passionate fans. I thought all three goaltenders stayed focused and performed well in what was a pretty hostile environment. The pace and intensity of both games was closer to a game in February or March, not a preseason game in August.”
“With this leadership program we’re trying to develop timeless standards that winning teams and organizations possess. We want to be progress driven not results driven, still discipline, commitment, and toughness. We want to have standards and accountability and we want to be relentless and have consistency in performance.” -Kevin Ziegler
