Cottonmouths deal top scorer to bolster defense
On paper, trading the Columbus Cottonmouths’ leading scorer on Wednesday for a defenseman may have looked a little odd, especially for a team last in the league in goals scored.
However, if you ask head coach Jerome Bechard, there is a method to the madness.
Bechard pulled the trigger on a deal Wednesday that sent Snakes leading scorer Riley Spraggs to Pensacola in exchange for defenseman Zach Loesch.
Spraggs becomes the Ice Flyers’ leading scorer as well with 13 points in 17 games, while Loesch comes to the Cottonmouths with six assists.
“Good defensemen are a commodity,” Bechard said. “Riley came out of the gate well, putting some points up. Yes, we need that, and it looks ironic trading away our leading scorer when we’re not scoring goals, but it’s a little of everything. I’m looking for more consistency as far as playing without the puck and working in those areas to consistently put the puck in the net.
“I had some success with (Riley) on the weekend over in Macon with Craig Simchuk and Vadim Guskov, lighting the lamp twice, and that was obviously a good thing. But this deal came up, and I was looking forward to when Chad Brears comes off the IR next week. I think (Chad) will be a difference maker up front, and you have to give up a good player to get a good player.”
To Bechard, Loesch will pay dividends on the back end for the Snakes as he will be paired with captain Kyle Johnson on the blue line.
“Loesch is a 6-foot-5 defenseman who is pretty physical and skates and moves the puck well for a defenseman,” Bechard said. “I was happy to get him from a Division I (NCAA) school (Lake Superior State), which shows that he’s proven. I think he’ll come in and bring some confidence on the back end as well as physical play…if we give up one less goal a game because of Zach, that one less goal a game would help us become an above-.500 team.”
The offense seemed to click over the past weekend’s home-and-home series with the Macon Mayhem. After scoring two goals or fewer in their previous eight games, Columbus managed three goals on Friday night and four goals on Saturday night.
“The line with Derek Gingera, Andy Bathgate, and Keegan Bruce has really found some chemistry,” Bechard said. “All three lines were involved in scoring last weekend.”
Meanwhile, Bechard was pleased with the effort by new signee Gordon Ceasar in net. Despite being saddled with both losses over the past weekend, Ceasar kept the team in both games throughout, picking up a regulation tie in Saturday’s 5-4 overtime loss in Macon. Ceasar will remain in Columbus alongside Brandon Jaeger pending the return of Lukas Hafner, who remains with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL.
“I was very pleasantly surprised with Gordon,” Bechard said. “He played really well over the weekend. He’s a very capable goalie. It’s unfortunate he got both losses, but he played well enough to prove he can play in this league. Whether or not Lukas comes back, I think he can help us out.”
After Friday night’s home game against Pensacola, the Snakes will have a very abbreviated break for the Christmas holiday before returning to practice on Monday. The light schedule of four games over three weeks will pick up next week as the Cottonmouths will play three games in five days, starting Tuesday on the road against the Huntsville Havoc.
“We don’t have a whole lot of time to go anywhere,” Bechard said. “I’ll have the majority of the guys over for a nice meal on Christmas Eve and give them Christmas Day to relax. We’ll have ice available Christmas Day if they want to be loose, but we’ll get back to it Monday and get ready to go to Huntsville (Tuesday).”
Bechard also welcomes the heavier schedule, hoping it will springboard his Snakes into a streak of more wins than losses.
“I’d definitely like to play more and get into a rhythm, as long as we can stay healthy,” he said. “Hopefully we can get on a roll and show we’re not a last place hockey team. It doesn’t take a genius to see we’re in last place, but I want the guys to start believing in each other, playing with confidence, to prove we don’t belong there. I need my guys to start feeling confident about their game and doing the little things right. We need to close things up and not have that one play that costs you the game.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2016 at 9:58 PM with the headline "Cottonmouths deal top scorer to bolster defense."