The Collingwood Blues will be skating with the wind at their back at their start-of-season game Friday as one of the top-ranked junior teams in Canada thanks to pre-season victories.
The Canadian Junior Hockey League announced Wednesday the Collingwood Blues Junior A team is second in the pre-season rankings for the country, behind the Brooks Bandits from the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The only other Ontario team in the top-five are the Haliburton Huskies, who ranked fifth.
"I promised Collingwood a winning team and we are on our way," said Collingwood Blues president David Steele in an email to CollingwoodToday.
The season officially starts this month with the Blues season opener on Sept. 9. The team has been on a winning streak in exhibition play, winning the Cottage Cup tournament in Collingwood last week.
The team's head coach said he's happy with the Cottage Cup win, which was accomplished with a bench shortened by illness and injuries.
"We pushed through the adversity to take home the hardware," said head coach Andrew Campoli in an email. "It was a great stepping stone for us ... we know this won't be an easy journey, but we have faith in our program, players, and staff to ensure the job gets done."
Though he's glad to see a strong start in the pre-season, Campoli noted there are still 54 regular seasons to go.
"Knowing we need to continue to put in the work is the only thing on our mind," he said.
The chair of the Blues executive, Terry Geddes, said the team might be second in the pre-season rankings, but local fans rank first place.
"We have the greatest fans in all of Canada right here in Collingwood and region," said Geddes in an email. "The Blues players are so grateful for this support both on and off the ice."
The Blues play the Brantford 99ers on Friday, Sept. 9 at the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena. The game starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are available online.
