The Rocky Rams are riding high after a commanding 8-1 victory against the High River Flyers on Sept. 28.

“I thought all our guys came prepared to play. We played a really good first 40 minutes,” says head coach, Wendall Mason “I think we probably let our guard down a little bit going into the third when the score was what it was. We probably took a couple of undisciplined penalties that we need to clean up, but other than that, I thought the effort on the weekend was really good.”

Mason says the team experimented with a few different line combinations which, he says, paid off in the team’s victory against High River.

The team will be wrapping up their season-opening five game home stand with a home ice weekend double header against Ponoka on Oct. 4 and Sylvan Lake Oct. 5.

Mason expects the Stampeders, which finished a dismal 1-36-1 in the 23/24 season, to be a tougher challenge this year.

“They seem to have more of a better squad this year, so I think it’s just come with the same preparation every game. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, we need to be ready to go,” says Mason.

The Stampeders beat the Rams in the pre-season.

The 2-1 Rams will also play rival Sylvan Lake, which has also started the regular season with the same record.

“There’s always been a real big rivalry there,” says Mason “There’s no hiding the fact that they’re on paper probably one of the best teams in the league. So it’s a good test for our guys and we will see where it goes Saturday.”

Mason also expects forward Reid Christiansen to be back in the lineup for the weekend, which he says will be a boost to Rams squad.

The Rams will play Ponoka at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 4 while the game against Sylvan Lake starts at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5.