The Whitehorse Huskies hit the ice this weekend against the Paradise Hill Hawks after the Christmas break, where coach Randy Merkel continued to learn about his team's strengths, and where they can improve.

Merkel said the team was coming off an extended Christmas break, that proved the players need to continue working on conditioning to be ready for their run to the Allan Cup.

On Friday the Hawks downed the Huskies 9-2 in a game that saw plenty of goal and power play chances for the home team.

"Our team came out very flat,” said Merkel. The break experienced by all members of the Huskies proved to be a deal breaker, as the Huskies were unable to catch up to the 10 goal lead, but they never stopped trying through three periods, Merkel said.

"I thought the guys tried very hard,” said Merkel. "We hit a good team; it was a very good team.”

The Huskies were lucky to catch a few breaks in the second period when play turned rougher and the Hawks were caught by a few penalties, including a three on five advantage when Hawks players Lance Husch and Dustin Gillanders were given a two minute penalty for interference and hooking, respectively.

But the Huskies were unfortunately unable to get past goalie John Haggis who stopped any shots that came at him despite the advantage.

"We couldn't get any pucks by him,” said Merkel. "Their goaltender played just an absolutely stellar game.”

The two goals the Huskies did get were an exciting display of what could very well be the future of the Huskies.

Imported player Dave Gourlie scored an exciting goal with 2:57 left in the first period that had the crowd on their feet. Gourlie rallied past the Hawk's offensive line and defence, dodging players until it was a final showdown between him and Haggis. He tucked the puck just over the goalie's left shoulder to the delight of the crowd.

The second goal for the Huskies was scored by Robbie Wells at 11:37 in the second period. On Saturday the Huskies came out stronger than ever, Merkel said.

‘"We played a lot better on the Saturday night,” he said. "We had quite a few chances.”

Merkel tried out new goaltender Roby Gropp, an imported player the Huskies will most likely be signing.

Although Gropp let in 10 goals, Merkel said he was giving the goaltender a chance to see what he was capable of as he finalizes the roster. Gropp was coming off a two month break from play.

"I probably should have done a goaltender change, (but I) wanted to look at him,” he said.

The final score Saturday was 10-2, with the two Huskies goals scored by Kirk Gale and newly imported player Max Kotakak, from the Northwest Territories.

At midnight Sunday night, the deadline passed for the first round of carding, with the second coming up just after the next Huskies series on Feb. 5 and 6.

Merkel said at least two players that were in Whitehorse this weekend will be signed, plus Gropp.

The changes will be implemented for the next series, and Merkel said there will be a few more additions.

"You'll see a significant increase in imported players,” he said. "It'll make a big difference when we put a strong team in front of them (Powell River).”

Merkel said the remaining local players are continuing the become aware of the amount of training they will need to continue with the Huskies.

"We need all the training that we can get,” said Merkel.

The ultimate goal of the Huskies is to take on the Powell River Regals in a five game series later in the season to make their run for the Allan Cup.

Merkel said the team is not yet at the level of conditioning to be able to make it through five straight days of full-contact AAA hockey, to be able to push the Huskies into the Allan Cup finals.

"I think the players are becoming increasingly aware of the conditioning level that is required,” said Merkel.

Many of the local Huskies players are used to playing rec league hockey, and Merkel said it is a huge step for the men to move up to AAA hockey.

"We're asking a lot of our players,” he said. "I was quite proud of the way they came out on Saturday.”

Merkel hopes the fans that attended this weekend will be out for the next series, and that more come to see the Huskies take on the Regals in February.

"This series against Powell River is really important,” he said. "We'll be looking for our fans to come out and give us a lot of support on our next series.

"I wanted to thank the fans for coming out, and for being patient with us. These steps that we've taken in taking a look at our team are steps we have to take.”