The Saints concluded their first on-ice session since mid-july at 1:15 pm on Saturday, August 27, 2011. A brief period of drills was followed by 4-on-4 scrimmages and intermittent shootout challenges. 19 junior eligible players are on the ice, many of which are already signed in Central Wisconsin.

Joining the Saints on the ice was Taylor Vichorek, son of head coach Mark Vichorek and prospect of the New Jersey Devils. Taylor Scored 2 goals and recorded an assist in the scrimmage and helped show the young Saints what they are competing for. He even held an impromptu fighting clinic with Saints Defensemen Antonio Falcon and Chase Engdahl.

Engdahl showed well in the early morning practice showing great poise and speed when moving the puck. He fit in well with the veteran returnees. Lucas Romaine also showed improvement as his injured knee has healed to some extent.

Kyle Harnish was back on the ice as a Saint as the veterans showed their stuff. Harnish and Max Culp worked well together for he Red squad. Mitch Hanson had a good outing, stopping 4 of 5 shootout attempts. Harnish explained, “The Leadership will have to come for us.”

Harnish said he is happy to be back with the Saints after spending most of last season with the Wooster Oilers. He said, “It was a tough decision, it feels like the right decision to be back here…I’m happy with it.”

Coach Vichorek did not work the players as hard as he did in the first practice in the last tryout camp. Saying “They’ve done it before, they know what it’s about, right now we just want to get them comfortable.”

The Saints will be back on the ice at 3:00 PM for another session. They have three practices on Saturday and one long session on Sunday. The players will move into their billet homes this week.

Stay tuned here for more Saints’ Tryout Camp updates throughout the weekend.