THUNDER BAY – Last season was one members of the Thunder Bay Chill are hoping to put behind them.
But that process starts with facing the one team which played the largest role in keeping the Chill out of the postseason for the first time since 2007.
The Chill open their Premier Development League season on the road this weekend against the St. Louis Lions, a team that downed the Chill in three of their four meetings including the finale which eliminated Thunder Bay from playoff contention.
Even though only four players are back from last year’s Chill squad, returning midfielder Dominic Roberts said revenge is on their minds for these two matches.
“I know us returning players, the only thing we’ve been talking about is these two games. We’re not looking past it,” he said on Thursday after their final training session before hitting the road.
“We’re looking to get those two wins back from last year.”
Despite not having played a single minute so far this season, the Chill already find themselves looking up at St. Louis in the league table after the Lions opened the season with a 1-0 victory over WSA Winnipeg last weekend.
That makes it even more crucial to start strong.
“It’s a small season so any first couple of games are important. Everybody else has already played so everybody else already has wins,” Roberts said.
Along with the start of a new season, this weekend also represents the start of a new era for a club that has established itself as one of the best in the league.
New head coach Giovanni Petraglia will be holding the reins for the first time, replacing veteran sideline boss Tony Colistro who was the only coach in the history of the time.
Petraglia and his charges are more than ready to get on the pitch.
“I think the team is ready. We’ve been training for long enough and now we want to play,” he said.
“We’ll probably be a little behind (St. Louis) because they’ve already played a game but I believe our motivation will be better.”
Roberts said the squad, which has a lot of new pieces with only the four from last year and three others from previous years back in the fold, seems to be making good strides early.
“It’s been going a lot better than it was last year. The team has been coming together a lot quicker,” he said.
The first-year coach already knows the style of game he wants his team to play this weekend.
“Our identity must be to keep the ball,” Petraglia said.
“We know their style very well but I don’t think it’s the right way to compete against them the way they do. We want to play a different way to keep the ball on the ground as much as we can.”
The Chill will likely be shorthanded heading into the series.
The club has a number of injury concerns, mainly returning keeper Daniel Alvarado who will be unavailable this weekend.
That will insert new goalkeeper Michael Miller into the starting lineup.
“I’m approaching it very confidently,” Miller said. “I wasn’t expecting him to be injured, I’m not happy about it but I’m going to take this opportunity and run with it to see what I can do.”
With the talent up front, such as franchise leading scorer Brandon Swartzendruber and 2012 PDL MVP Sullivan Silva, Miller knows he will likely have at least a little margin for error each game.
“I don’t think goal differential is going to be a worry for us. I don’t expect us to get shut out much if at all this season,” the Canadian-born keeper said.
“I think finding the back of the net is going to be the least of our worries.”
Silva, who has been banged up and has only made sporadic appearances on the pitch the last two years, appears ready to go. Petraglia said the striker will be in the lineup on Saturday and depending on how he feels might play the following day.
Pitch marks: Petraglia said defender Zetroy Robertson has been battling groin issues and his status is up in the air for the weekend…The Chill are 16-7-1 all-time in regular season play against the Lions…Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 6 p.m. while the Sunday match will start at 3 p.m.
