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After winning the Cup in League III for a second time in three years the Intrepid were promoted to League II for a second time in three years. While this season was not as disastrous as season 16, it was still awful. Finishing in 14th place with an embarrassing record of 9-27-2 it was an improvement over season 16, where the team could only muster 6 wins.

Along with the pain of losing came changes. Not just a few tweaks but major changes that both angered loyal fans and gave a glimmer of hope for the future.

First the Intrepid did not extend an offer to long time Captain and all-time leading scorer Kadeem Garvey. He played out his final season with the Intrepid scoring only 2 goals and 5 assists in 31 games. Deemers was honored as being the first ever Intrepid player to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame. "It was an honor to play with these guys," said Garvey, "I've won 2 championships. I just couldn't compete at this level and at my age." Surprisingly, no league III or IV teams picked up the former Captain.

That wasn't the only change. The Intrepid also cut ties with a plethora of players who were mainstays on the team and were hoping to have bright futures. Most notably, Defenseman Darrell Hodges, Center Raul McCarter, high scoring Forward Finnborg Bergeinsson and Forward Istvan Raffai, all who contributed mightily to the Intrepid Cup runs. Prospects Ward Howe, Domingo Kirschner and Andrew Saenz were also dealt. Coach Barrett said, "If we wanted to improve faster there was no way we could wait and let our young guys mature. We had to make room for new players who can play at this level. These guys were all great team mates and they will be missed. Especially Deemers."

But with the departure of these familiar faces came the arrival of some exciting young players who can excel at this level.

First came 18 year old dynamo Crt Benet. "This guy could be a top scorer in a few years," said current leading scorer Devon Suggs, who finished the year with 12 goals and 12 assists.

The Intrepid weren't done spending yet. The entire first line has been revamped. Two Latvian Defensemen, Lorencs Diregents and Toms Kaparts will anchor the blue line for years to come. Add in Forwards Lubomir Grone, Juha Sahla and top German prospect Jeremy Dilger and you have a potent scoring trio. In 13 games Dilger recorded 7 goals and 4 assists, while Grone added a goal and 5 assists in 9 games. "these guys, especially Dilger, are going to help propel us to the playoffs. Once we start winning again the fans will embrace these guys," said long time Defenseman, Stanislav Guman.

"We're on a 3-5 season plan. We will wait for our top prospects to mature and in the mean time we will compete with our current core. We are still looking to add and replace some veterans once they retire," said coach Barrett. "In 5 seasons Dilger may lead the league in scoring."

While this is true the Intrepid still have to replace an aging defense corps, who, despite having heart, don't possess the talent to compete at this level. How much longer can Goalie Leon Maas hold the fort while back up Aiden Roxburgh matures? Many of the third and fourth liners just don't belong in this league. It's going to take a whole lot more spending to fill in the holes that this team has to fill to be a playoff team. 46 points is a lot to make up. As far as I can see, currently the team has maybe 5 starters from last years team (season 17) that can compete at this level, and, if they are lucky for only a season or two. The rest are young prospects that need 3-5 seasons to mature or older guys that can't compete at this level.

One can see the writing on the wall. Suffering. For awhile.

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