Chilliwack makes up for lost time

Players upbeat after 4-1 start

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Marc Weber - The Province

The Chilliwack Bruins spent the majority of their inaugural season digging themselves out of a gaping hole after opening with one win and 11 losses. The script has been flipped in the early going this season with four wins in five games.

"We were struggling to keep our heads above water at this time last year," says head coach Jim Hiller.

"The start has built a lot of confidence in the players. We know that if we play a certain way each night and if we bring that consistently there's no reason we can't be up there with everybody else."

After facing off with the Vancouver Giants Friday at the Coliseum, the Bruins drop the puck on a five-game home stand Saturday at Prospera Centre against the Kamloops Blazers (7 p.m., 88.1 FM, TEAM1040.ca).

The Blazers (2-1-0-0) are coming off a 4-0 home win over Portland last Sunday and host Swift Current on Friday. Chilliwack chiselled its way past Kamloops on Sept. 21 to open the regular season with Colby Kulhanek netting the eventual game winner in a 2-1 road decision.

Chilliwack then hosts Spokane, Calgary, Vancouver and Seattle over the next two weeks.

"Those are really good teams in my mind," says Bruins GM Darrell May. "They may be home games but they'll be tough ones. It's certainly going to be a huge challenge."