It is a numbers game for the Cottonmouths
The Columbus Cottonmouths dropped their two exhibition games this past weekend, falling 5-4 in Macon on Friday and dropping a 3-1 decision against Pensacola at the Columbus Ice Rink Saturday night.
In Saturday’s game, returning players were the ones to get a point as captain Kyle Johnson scored a power-play goal with assists going to Andy Bathgate and Ben O’Quinn.
For head coach Jerome Bechard, however, the dilemma comes in having a number of players in training camp.
“The league mandates we get down to 22 players on Monday, and I’m currently at 18,” Bechard said.
The regular season roster limit is 18.
The main shortage of players in camp is on defense. The Snakes had six defensemen in the lineup over the weekend.
“(Alex) Pompeo just got released from South Carolina, so he should be on the way back,” Bechard said. “That will put me at seven for this week, and we’ll see how everything progresses. (Kyle) Shapiro is still in Indianapolis, and (Rusty) Hafner is injured.”
Along with Johnson last year, the trio of players Bechard mentioned were key cogs to last season’s defensive core. While the unit struggled at times, the three first-year players added a spark, making great defensive plays and also chipping in on the offensive side of the ice.
Speaking of offense, Bechard was happy with his offensive players during the weekend of games.
“We played well on offense this weekend,” Bechard said. “For some reason, though, we stopped moving in the second and third period (Saturday) against Pensacola.”
The offense scored four goals in Friday’s game at Macon, all from first-year players. Keegan Bruce, Derek Gingera, Easton Oliver, and Jonathan Turk all scored once each. Gingera – the younger brother of former Cottonmouth and SPHL MVP Matt Gingera – and Turk also added two assists in Macon to both finish with three-point nights.
As in past seasons, Bechard will unofficially hold training camp even into the regular season. The practice will especially have value this season as the late starts in the American Hockey League and ECHL have necessitated a longer time to both look at new players and wait for others to come down from higher level camps.
“I told the guys in the locker room that even though there’s 18 of them, we’re still in training camp, and camp may go on the next couple of weeks,” Bechard said.
The Cottonmouths return to Macon on Friday for the season opener, with the two teams facing each other at the Civic Center in the Snakes’ home opener on Saturday.
This story was originally published October 16, 2016 at 8:09 AM with the headline "It is a numbers game for the Cottonmouths."