By Drew Wilson

Mintos brass believe they can contend again this season

Aug 21, 2012 | 9:11 AM

The Mintos will try to move back to the top of the ladder in Saskatchewan Midget AAA hockey this coming season.

For returning players and staff, the bitter memory remains from a hard fought loss to the Saskatoon Contacts last March in the league final.

About 100 hopefuls hit the Art Hauser centre ice over the weekend for training camp with about 30 still in the running for regular season jobs.

General Manager Don Fauchoux is pleased with the level of competition at training camp.

“We had a very good competitive camp, and we have some tough decisions yet to make.” said Fauchoux.

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“We haven't really settled on a whole bunch (of players), a lot is going to depend on our returnees, some of our vets, are they going to be coming back? Some are going to get good shots to move up (to Junior hockey).”

However the general make-up of the team appears clear.

“We are going to score a bunch of goals.” said Fauchoux. We are a little small but fast up front, that's a little bit of a concern, but we are going to be big on the back end.”

Goaltending remains up in the air as Fauchoux said the team will have to wait to see if one of their veterans will return.

“We know “Bergie” (Tanner Burgardt), if he comes back we are definitely solid there, but he is going to get a good shot in Regina, he is probably going to start school there. We have three or four guys in the mix right now to back up and maybe get two goalies out of that, we aren't sure.”

Bergardt had an excellent 20-2-1 record last season with a 2.10 GAA and .907 save percentage.

The remaining hopefuls will hit the ice a couple of times informally next week, and be back on a daily basis as of Labour Day.

Fauchoux figures they won't have their lineup set for a few weeks with the final few decisions being made after pre-season games.

In addition to the annual re-building program on the roster, perhaps the biggest change is behind the bench.

Ken Morrison takes over from Tim Leonard who is now a Raider assistant after guiding the Mintos to three provincial titles and two national Telus Cup championships.

The exhibition schedule opens September 11th against the Blazers in Saskatoon with the first home date September 14th against the Contacts.

The Mintos regular season opener is September 29th at home against Swift Current.

dwilson@panow.com

Twitter: @RaidersVoice