Braves show resilience in taxing season

In a season of turmoil for the Spokane Braves, there have been some steadying influences for the Junior B hockey team.

Coach Mike Bay, along with five-year veterans such as goalie Ryan Skier and defenseman J.C. Thomas, have teamed up with some rising talent to put together a solid season.

The team is in the first round of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League playoffs and trails Beaver Valley 2-0 in the best-of-7 series heading into home games tonight and Sunday at Planet Ice.

It is a season which has been affected by several factors:

“New rules from Hockey B.C. that stopped 15-year-olds from playing in the league.

“The continuing migration of some former players to Eastern Washington University.

“The team’s home rink of Planet Ice being shut down for nearly a month during its sale, leaving the team scrambling for practice times that included 4 a.m.

But the Braves have overcome all of that along with the usual assortment of injuries and occasional off-ice problems and persisted. It’s what they do.

“They’ve battled through everything – perseverance, I guess,” said Bay. “I think this is the best group of guys we’ve had. Not necessarily the best players, but the best group.”

The emergence of second-year player Evan Witt, 16, has been the biggest headline for the team. The North Central High School sophomore is the league’s third-leading scorer and is drawing comparisons to another former Brave and Spokane product, Derek Ryan of the Chiefs.

“He sees things really well. He sees the play before it happens,” said Bay of Witt, whose assist totals are nearly triple that of his goals – a sign of a playmaker.

Witt is on the Chiefs’ protected list and has been to camp for each of the past two years but failed to make the team. Yet they remain high on him. Colleges have also shown some interest.

“I definitely have some decisions to make this summer,” acknowledged Witt. He is also a fair baseball player playing as a freshman. He said he will focus on hockey solely after this school year and may have to move to Canada to keep playing the sport at the next level.

The Braves are looking for a new home as an organization. They were formerly at Eagles Ice-A-Rena, but left for Planet Ice when it opened. With the valley rink closing permanently at the end of the March, they are weighing their options.

Players such as Skier and Thomas are hopeful.

“I hope something does get worked out. This organization’s been around for a long time,” said Thomas, 19. “I’m fortunate to be a part of it, but I’d just like to see some of the other kids from around here be able to experience it.”

Those are sentiments expressed by Skier, 20, who can’t come back because of the league’s age limit but said he will do his part to extend this season.

“This weekend’s huge for us – two home games and we could be back to 2-2, no problem,” said Skier.

The pair’s love for the game is obvious and their work ethic is steady. They are prototypical Braves and are special to Bay.

“They keep me coming back and vice versa,” he said. “They really feel like they have to keep this going for the next guys.”