Head Coach Mark Tye knew going into training camp that building a team for this season would be somewhat more challenging, but in the end he’s quite comfortable with the 2014-2015 product he’ll unveil Saturday night. William Earley is back in goal for his second season of high school hockey, coming off a 6-3 season with a 3.74 goals against average and one shutout.
The Avalanche defense is forecast to be formidable as the team awaits Mitchell Singer’s final decision as to whether he’ll play high school or with the Valley Maple Leafs. Singer can play up to 10 games with the Leafs before he has to make his ultimate decision.
The Avalanche will be missing Brett Wallace and Trevor House, who tied for the league scoring lead last season. Playing up front along with Cory Whitney, all three produced at critical moments during the Avalanche's 13-3-1 season.
The Horton game will be the Avalanche's only road game with the Griffins in the regular season, as all teams are playing one home and one away against all league teams. However, the team is hopeful the Horton visit this Saturday will be much kinder than the one last season. That visit resulted in one of the team’s three regular season losses, coming against a team that ultimately didn’t even make the playoffs.
In last season’s game, the Avalanche went up 2-0, but allowed Horton five unanswered goals before storming back in the final period in an attempt to tie the game, only to lose it 5-4.
While nothing has been confirmed, the Avalanche is expected to host the home opener in mid-October.
