THUNDER BAY – The potential future stars of the Thunder Bay Chill got an introduction to their home crowd fans on Sunday.
Five graduates of the Chill’s academy played significant minutes in the Premier Development League team’s 3-2 exhibition win over the Winnipeg Lions at Fort William Stadium to complete the series sweep.
Head coach Giovanni Petraglia said friendly matches like the two this weekend can be very beneficial for the new faces to the club, speficially former youth standouts such as forward Marco Colistro, midfielder Lucas Felice, defenders Liam Ezzard and Chris Pike as well as keeper Jack Hughes
“During our sessions we play a lot but it’s not the same feeling when you have the jersey on, you play with your teammates and there’s a crowd it’s totally different,” the first-year head coach said after the game.
“I thought our five boys all did well so that’s a start. They’re going to slowly become an important part of this team.”
Even if they don’t count in the standings, Petraglia believes any win is good for the Chill as they look to build momentum for the early stages of the regular season.
That mindset is infectious for the players.
“He always stresses about getting used to winning, no matter who you’re playing against,” captain Zetroy Robertson said. “Even though it’s just a friendly game we knew we had to come out and get the best result.”
That involves players developing cohesion together and demonstrating their value in competing for spots in the starting lineup.
Everybody on the roster knows they have a chance to see the pitch, as there are a multitude of factors that can change personnel.
“Playing back-to-back we need more than just our starting lineup. Sometimes we need to change the lineup for the second game, sometimes we need to change a system, sometimes someone has to play a different position so we want to able to last,” Petraglia said.
After scoring four times in the final 25 minutes of Saturday night’s contest, the Chill took a first-half lead when Dominic Roberts easily finished a long through ball.
The Lions drew even in the final seconds of the half, taking advantage of a foul by Chill defender Mitchell Gordan Osmond in the box that set up a penalty kick goal by Winnipeg’s Adam Hajkowski.
Just like a night before, Petraglia made half-time substitions that paid off for his group.
Striker Brandon Swartzendruber and captain Zetroy Robertson each came into the game in the second half and paid dividends by finding the back of the net.
For Robertrson, who missed last weekend’s regular season openers against St. Louis as he nurses a groin injury, the two matches are a valuable opportunity to get some much-needed game experience.
The Chill resume their regular season schedule next weekend when they host the Springfield Synergy, something Petraglia believes was on his team's minds when they surrendered an 87th minute goal to Winnipeg.
“For the last 20 to 25 minutes we were probably already thinking about Springfield because we know they’re going to be important games for us,” he said.
