Still room to improve

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Laurie Barron believes there is still plenty of room for improvement for the Yarmouth Mariners with the playoffs a little more than a month away. “We’re still searching for guys that feel comfortable playing together,” he said. “We’re not there yet, but hopefully by the time we (play this weekend) we’ll be a lot closer.”

It would be timely for that to happen this weekend given the test that awaits the Mariners: the league’s two best teams — Woodstock and Truro — each pay a visit to the Mariners Centre.

The Bearcats and Slammers have a combined record of 58-5-2-3 and Barron said this weekend would show the Mariners exactly where they are in relation to the league’s best teams. “We’re certainly excited about it,” he said. “Obviously it’s a measuring stick for our hockey club.”

There’s been a lot of movement in the Mariners camp this month. The team has new owners, Barron is back as head coach and there are new faces in the line up. Those new faces are already making an impact.

The arrival of Lee Chuck Denny and, more recently Marco Desveaux and Justin Chiasson, has given the Mariners new life on offence and more of a scoring punch than they’ve had all season. Desveaux and Chiasson both found their way onto the score sheet in their first game with Yarmouth and both showed the skill to be forces in the league. Denny, meanwhile, provides a consistent scoring threat coupled with noticeable hustle at both ends of the ice.

In their first game playing together there seemed to be instant chemistry with Chiasson, Desveaux and linemate Shane Innes. Barron said he isn’t set on lines yet, but it’s already becoming clear that Desveaux, Chiasson and Innes make up the team’s top line.

Desveaux, back for his second stint with the team, credits the quick start to a higher level of comfort since returning from the QMJHL, his familiarity with Chiasson and the ability of Innes. “I came down and all of a sudden I have a lot of confidence,” he said. “Playing with Justin when I was younger, we both know what kind of game we have, we stick to it, skate hard and I think Innes is really smart and a good playmaker.”

Chiasson said he believes the line can become even more comfortable as they gain more time together. He hopes the same can also be true for the rest of the team. “Hard work can get us a long way,” he said.

With all of these changes in mind, it was with at least a bit of surprise that the league’s trade deadline came and went without Yarmouth making a move for added grit and defence. Barron said that wasn’t for lack of trying. “We dipped in and tried to be a big player but the price was just astronomical,” he said. “We weren’t willing to throw away the future for a quick fix. We have seven defencemen that are all eligible to return next year . . . We talked to 62 teams in a 24-hour period and it was basically the same (demands from each team).”

That means the Mariners will go the rest of the way with what they’ve got. And while the added offence gives the team a little more wiggle room in games, Barron said much of the necessary improvements on defence come down to playing with discipline and poise at every position. “It’s not just the (defence),” he said. “All six guys on the ice have to be pulling the rope the same way and supporting the d and so on and so forth . . . (We have to) try and cut down on the quality scoring chances. When we give up a scoring chance it’s a beauty.”