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The Huggy Bears kicked off Season 5 with an embarrassing 10-2 thrashing at the hands of the New Haven Nighthawks. Two nights later, in it's home opener, the team fell to the Delirium Triggers 4-1. Last season, the Bears dropped their opening two games as well.

The mood around town is quite different then last season however, when the team was riding high off their III.7 championship run. Many are starting to wonder if the team promoted to early and long term success is impossible in Division II.2 against teams far more established then the Bears. Some even actively questioning whether the team should be considering demotion back to Division III next season.

In his first press conference of the season, General Manager Bruno Sena quickly quelled any talk of demotion.

"We are here to put a competitive team on the ice and our goal is to make the playoffs. For us not to do that is a betrayal of our fan base, our players, and to ourselves."

Regardless of how optimistic Sena projects to the teams fans, most experts see the Huggy Bears as a middle of the pack team again this year, and at least another year away from contending for a playoff spot.

The addition of several youth player seem to indicate Sena shares the same views. The teams roster is fairly young, filled with high quality prospects still in development.

Sena commented on the relative youth of his team saying, "We feel, as a general management philosophy, that it's critical to have a core of players that can grow together. It takes a mix of identifying free agents as well focusing on youth development in house."

The team jettisoned veterans Aurel Ion, Flip Muzik, and Alexej Simunek at the end of the season, replacing their experience with prospects such as Kevin Means, Rod Blackman, and Vavrinec Pacovsky. One of the more intriguing additions is netminder free agent Austris Ritenberg.

Ritenberg is widely considered a top goaltending prospect on the cusp of being ready to handle full duties. With the suspect start of incumbent goalie Argo Lieberg, Coach Klement Mloch could make a change in net choosing to give Ritenberg valuable pro experience.

Although Sena might want to lead us to believe the team can be competitive in their second season in Division II, his offseason moves indicate otherwise. Expect Season 5 to be a developmental one before the team can realistically compete for a top spot and be a viable playoff contender.

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