Defence wins championships.
That’s what Thunder Bay Chill coach Tony Colistro has been preaching since the start of the Premier Development League season began.
It’s exactly what his players have delivered.
Seven games into the campaign and the Chill remain perfect heading into this weekend’s home dates against the surprising Springfield Demize (3-1-3), who hold down second spot in the Heartland Division.
Colistro’s squad has allowed just two goals, both on the road, in 2013, tying them with Carolina as the stingiest team in the PDL.
“It’s just a big trust factor that we have all with each other. Everybody’s in the right position at the right time. To my left I have Paul (Dillon), to my right I have Axel (Sjoberg). To the right of Axel is Zetroy Robertson,” said veteran forward Nolan Intermoia.
“Talk about a back line that just full of confidence and experience; it’s nice to have it.”
Sjoberg, the 6-foot-7 Swede in his sophomore season with the Chill, said the results make the entire defence proud.
“Absolutely,” he said. “That’s what I’m there for, ultimately. I like to score goals too, but ultimately it’s about keeping the ball out of the back of the net. Two goals against, it’s going well right now,” he said.
Midway through the season, and the talk of a perfect campaign is already starting to heat up, though both Intermoia and Sjoberg are trying to keep it on the back burner for now.
After being favoured and losing in their opening playoff game last summer, the team doesn’t want to take anything for granted this time around.
It’s all about the game at hand, Intermoia said.
“We definitely feel good, but we’re not going to take it easy and relax,” Intermoia said Thursday prior to practice.
“We’ve got work to do. Tony has a game plan for us against Springfield these next two games. But our focus for tomorrow is the first 45.”
Colistro said staying perfect could have a big bearing on their post-season hopes.
“We talked about it in the change-room this week in practice. We like to set our goals and the playoffs are definitely the goal. But it’s important for us to keep the record as clean as we can because our eyes are on the Great Lakes Division,” Colistro said.
“It’s going to be important for us to try to win that playoff bid for that first round. So being perfect is going to almost guarantee us those games. It’s a long-term goal, but it’s realistic. We have to just take it one game at a time.”
Generally the PDL awards the Central Conference championship to the team with the best record. Michigan (6-1-0) and defending champion London (5-1-0) are also both in the hunt.
The Austin Aztex (7-0-0) are the only other team in the league that can boast a perfect record.
Sjoberg said the Chill have been making improvements each and every outing – and are still getting stronger.
“We’re feeling good. We started off the season building a strong team and it’s been going well. We’ve gotten the wins. The play is starting to get better and better and we’re feeling strong right now. We’re 7-0 and can’t complain,” Sjoberg said.
Pitch marks: Springfield assistant coach Armen Toninse once worked in a similar capacity with the Chill ... Chill forward Sergio Camagno is tied for fifth in the PDL with four assists ... Colistro said he expects 2012 PDL MVP Sullivan Silva (foot) to be ready to play in two weeks. Silva was practicing lightly with the team on Thursday.
