The Meota Combines will kick off their 2022-23 season Saturday at home, at North Battleford's Access Communications Centre, where they took home last year's SPHL championship. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Season opener Saturday

Meota Combines primed to build on last year’s championship

Nov 29, 2022 | 3:30 PM

Coming off an undefeated campaign last year, capped off by a league championship on home ice, the Meota Combines are closing in on their long-awaited season opener, this weekend.

Opening their schedule at the ACC against Maidstone, the Combines are looking to build on a borderline dynastic run with two championships since 2018 (2021, 2018), in addition to another probable title in 2020 if not for the pandemic shutdown with the team just a game away.

With between 16 and 18 returnees from last year’s 25-man championship roster, the team again enters play this season with high expectations.

“We’re really itching to get going here,” veteran forward Aaron Cadrin said. “We’ve got most of our core back together again this year with a couple of pretty big pickups as well, so we’re very excited and we feel we have a good chance of going back-to-back.”

In addition to a returning core that includes defending league scoring leader Justin Waskewitch (SPHL-best 20 goals and 32 points last year), Most Valuable Defenceman Taylor Tatchell, and Playoff MVP Ryley Albert, the team also features a few new faces to add to the returning talent that made Meota the highest-scoring team in the league with 106 goals in 14 games (7.57 goals per game).

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Headlining the Combines’ additions is the return of a familiar face in North Battleford’s Blake Tatchell, and new addition Jake McMillen.

A pair of former Battlefords North Stars, having played more than 370 games combined with the local junior team from the early to mid-2010s, the pair provide another two premier offensive threats for the team up front.

Tatchell has 27 goals and 63 points in just 25 career games with the Combines between the 2018 and 2020 regular seasons and playoffs. McMillen meanwhile, joins the team after spending the last five years with the Unity Minors of the Southwest Saskatchewan Hockey League where he scored 72 goals and 149 points in 73 games between the regular season and playoffs.

Cadrin said the new faces look to fit in nicely with the team’s returning core and their identity as a group.

“We’ve always been a skilled, fast team, and playing at the Civic Centre [ACC] it’s always a big advantage to us playing quick as opposed to some of the smaller rinks in our league,” he said.

“We’ve got third and fourth lines that could be top-six lines on some other teams, so we’re not afraid to roll all four and we’ve been together long enough that we know what we each bring to the table. That chemistry helps too, and we’re excited to get started.”

The Combines’ home opener Saturday at the ACC will be at 8 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1