Cottonmouths ready for series of games at home

Life on the road is coming to a temporary end for the Columbus Cottonmouths.

The team returns home Saturday night, hosting the Mississippi RiverKings at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbus Civic Center in the first home contest in 22 days. It’s the start of three consecutive games at home and a stretch of six games in which the team won’t leave the state of Georgia.

The only game on the road for the next three weekends is a Nov. 26 trip to Macon to face the in-state rival Mayhem.

For head coach Jerome Bechard, the early road trip helped both him and his team learn how to win and keep things focused.

“I think it’s good to be on the road,” Bechard said. “I don’t want to say we play simpler, but that was our thing. We said ‘hey, let’s play simple hockey, we don’t need to be fancy, let’s just make sure the work ethic is there.’ For the most part, we accomplished that.”

Columbus went 3-2 on the five-game road trip, winning twice at Pensacola (Oct. 29 and last Saturday), once at Fayetteville (Nov. 5), and dropping games at Huntsville (Nov. 4) and Pensacola (Nov. 11).

“We didn’t play well in Huntsville,” Bechard said of the 3-0 loss there. “Out of all the games played, that was the only one this season where we didn’t play well enough to win.

“Seven out of the eight games we’ve played so far, we’ve been in the game and gave ourselves an opportunity to win. The games we didn’t win out of those, the puck didn’t go in or we weren’t getting the bounces.”

While the offense still isn’t at a consistent level game in and game out, Bechard acknowledges the team is doing the things it needs to do to raise the goal production over its league record low last season.

“From last year to this year, everyone is more on the same page,” Bechard said. “I’m still tweaking here and there, but we have the guys doing the things they need to in order to score. The biggest thing is making sure the guys are doing the right things: playing hard and making sure the puck is going to the net, whether it’s a shot or whether you’re attacking the net.”

Two of the offensive stars so far this season have been Andy Bathgate, the Cottonmouths’ leader in points last season, and Riley Spraggs, who was a latecomer to training camp this season after being one of the last cuts from the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles and currently leads the team in points. Bathgate will return to the lineup this weekend after suffering an injury in practice two weeks ago.

“(Riley is) one of those guys who has a knack around the net,” Bechard said. “He has a good shot, he has a quick release, and he’s pretty quick. Hopefully (Andy) can pick up where he left off on (his line). Andy’s game is speed, seeing the ice, and going there. It’s important to ease him back in and get some good results early.”

The Snakes’ cup runneth over on defense this season. When returning players from last season were on ECHL rosters longer than expected, Bechard found other talented defensemen to take their place. With the defensive corps clicking on all cylinders now, the Cottonmouths have too much of a good thing. As a result, the Snakes dealt Kyle Shapiro to Pensacola and David Watt to Macon for future considerations.

“This is the first time in 10 years I’ve had an influx of defense,” Bechard said. “Kyle Shapiro came available (from the ECHL), and I didn’t have room for him. Watt has been here from the get-go but got pushed out with the caliber of D we have. It’s unfortunate with some of the moves we had to make, but I really think with the core we have back there now, we have everything we need. We just have to execute now.”

Defenseman Rusty Hafner, who has been sidelined the first month of the season recovering from offseason surgery, will skate for the Cottonmouths for the first time this season Saturday night.

“He had a pretty solid year per se (last season), and knowing that he’s a physical presence out there, he skates really well, and he can move the puck really well,” Bechard said.

In net, Lukas Hafner, Rusty’s cousin, currently leads the SPHL with a stingy 1.34 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage. After allowing three goals in his first game in net at home against Pensacola on Oct. 22, Hafner has allowed only one goal in his last two starts, including a shutout victory in Fayetteville on Nov. 5. Second-year netminder Brandon Jaeger, last season’s All-SPHL rookie selection in goal, is among the league leaders as well.

“It’s a nice thing to have,” Bechard said of his goaltending tandem. “Both of them play the puck really, really well and help our team get out of our own end. It’s nice to have both quality guys as well. They’re both pushing each other, but cheering each other on as well. Neither is saying ‘I hope he doesn’t play well tonight so I can get in tomorrow night.’ It’s what we’ve always had, and it’s nice to get back to that.”

One of the challenges for the Snakes this season is to win in front of their home crowd. The Columbus Civic Center has historically been one of the toughest places to play for opposing teams but failed to fit the bill the past two seasons. The Cottonmouths were a league-worst 8-17-3 at home last season and have started this season 0-2 at the Snake Pit.

“Nothing needs to change,” Bechard said of the approach at home. “We need to play the same way that we do on the road. We need to get into a mindset with how we prepare at home or on the road is the same. Our game plan doesn’t change from home to road. We don’t want to put on a show in front of our fans, we want to win hockey games. There’s only one way to do that, and that’s playing hard, playing physical, and keeping the puck out of our end. The simpler we play, the more the pretty stuff will come out of our simple plays. I really believe that.

“The work ethic’s been there. We just need to get the monkey off our back to show our fans we’re a good hockey team, and we can win in front of them as well.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Cottonmouths ready for series of games at home."