Grand Cities Predators 2013 Season Preview
High School: Grand Cities area (The
Predators are made up of players from Grand Forks Red River and Grand
Forks Central High Schools, East Grand Forks Senior High, and
Warren-Alvarado-Olso High School, and South Middle School in Grand
Forks)
Coaches:
Aaron Cabanaw – 2nd year
Cameron Willox – 2nd year
Brent Lindstrom – 2nd year
Kevin Bartholomew – 1st year
Last Year's Record: 5-12
Key Returning Players:
All of Grand Cities 2012 starters are returning this
season led by Tanner
Lindstrom (2012 Second Team All North Conference Attack and team
scoring leader), Christian Hansen (2012 Second Team All North
Conference Mid Fielder and team MVP) and Brady McDonald (2012 All
North Conference Honorable Mention Defenseman). Other key
contributors for the Predators include: Nick Gaasvig,
Jake
Dunham, Trey Deck, Christian Hogness, Pete Schirrick,
Jake Young, and Tom Twedell.
Key Losses:
Eric Melland, Corey
Saiger, and Coach Kelly Hurt
Key Newcomers:
Coach Cabanaw says, "Nick Erickson and Matt Lunski will bring huge amounts of athletic ability
to the club and depth to the midfield position and others like
Jake Olson, have picked up the systems really quick and are already
working into key positions." With the addition of the athletic talent
and the ability of the kids to pick up the necessary information
quickly, Grand Cities is looking to hit the ground running the first game weekend in
April.
Team Strength:
Coach Cabanaw says one word, "Confidence." He continues, "With a majority of the team returning from their first
year of competition last year, they know what is ahead of them and
are preparing much harder heading into this season." According to Cabanaw, a few players
have changed positions from last year to better use their skills and
talents to benefit the team and their success. Goaltending is
settled this year with Junior Captain Jake Young and he is assisted
by a defensive corps of Sophomore Captain and North Conference
Honorable Mention Brady McDonald, Tom Twedell, and Gunner Bowman.
Junior Captain Pete Schirrick and Connor Shea have picked up long
poles to bolster the already strong defense.
Games to Watch:
Coach Cabanaw believes, "The rivalry game which is always a game to see comes when
we match up against Fargo. This year we host Fargo on May 18
th.
Whether it’s during the regular season or in fall ball it always is
a good game between the two teams." An important game comes when the Predators
travel to Grand Rapids to open up Conference play on April 27
th.
This is also the first time they return to Grand Rapids since last
year’s first round state tournament loss. Grand Forks sees all of their home games as games to watch since these games
present a great opportunity to showcase the game of lacrosse to a
community that hasn’t had much exposure to the game.
Season Outlook:
With a
year or more of competitive lacrosse under most kids belts Grand Cities is looking to
build off the experience gained last year, and expect to make an
appearance in the state tournament. Coach Cabanaw is excited about the opportunities several of his players have taken advantage of, "This past fall we had a few
players that jumped at opportunities to play for other teams including Tanner
Lindstrom, Christian Hansen, Nick Gaasvig and Tyler Lindstrom. We hope that the success these boys had with teams outside the club can carry over
when Grand Cities hit’s the field this spring." Coach Cabanaw is also excited about the opportunity to play outside during the weekend of April 13-14 when they head to Billings to take part in a lacrosse tournament there, "The Billings weekend will mark the first time we are able to get outside to play
lacrosse. So far this season practices have been held indoors in a
hockey arena. Although this isn’t the ideal situation to prepare
for a season, the Predators have adjusted well to the circumstances
and have done the work necessary to compete. Here’s to a great
2013 season and getting outside before playoffs start!"
Team Strength:
