The Rocky View Silvertips Jr. ‘B’ Tier I men’s team have a pair of exhibition games under their belt and two more ahead before the season opens on Apr. 27 in Sherwood Park against the Outlaws.

The Silvertips tied the Mounties 9-9, on Apr. 3 before downing the Olds Mavericks, 18-10, last Friday.

New head coach Derrick Henry and assistant coaches Steve Henry and Tyler Heck are excited to make the jump to coaching the Silvertips after coaching together in peewee, bantams and midget.

For Derrick Henry, who has also played for the Sr. ‘B’ Knights since 2012, it was an easy decision to make. He has suffered an ACL injury and is slated for surgery, taking him out of the game for the season.

Henry says the team looks good in the early stages and they aim to return to the playoffs.

“We’ll have the majority of our guys returning and they were competitive last year so I don’t see that changing this year,” says Henry. “Plus with the potential additions we’ve added through the draft if we are able to keep some of those guys that will really help our roster. We have a lot of rookies who could have an immediate impact.”

Once the junior ‘A’ teams finalize their rosters, the Silvertips can make their final cuts.

“Once we know what they’re doing we can determine our final roster. We’ve done one round of cuts already but we have another one to go to finalize our 25.”

“In my opinion, the team looks good. We hope to stay competitive and make playoffs again.”

With a young, talented roster many franchise records were set last season. They were one of only a handful of RMLL Jr. 'B' teams that finished with a winning record in the regular season. They scored over 200 goals and were plus 32 on the season. It had also been some time since the Tips entered the playoffs with a winning record.

Two more exhibition games are being held this weekend both at Airdrie’s Plainsmen Arena. Friday night they take on the Mohawks, then continue the tradition of facing the Sr. Knights in the final warmup to the season.

“It’s good for the Silvertip players to get that last competitive game because it will probably be a higher level than what they’re going to see in the season. If we can compete there then it will help us going into the season.”

It will also be of interest to watch the Silvertips matchup against a team he normally plays for.

The Silvertips call the SLS Family Sports Centre home but play their first three regular-season games on the road before spending the better part of May at home. The home season opener is against the Chill on May 11, starting at 8 p.m. at Totem One.

Henry believes the Jr. 'B' Tier II Rage will play a valuable role in player development for the Silvertips. He has a pair of draft picks playing there now to give them game experience.

“The floor time they would get here would be more than they would get in Tier I so I’d rather have them play than watching.”

The Silvertips Junior Ladies open their season on Sun., Apr. 29 against the Axe at home at Airdrie’s Plainsmen Arena. They head to the Brentwood Sportsplex the following night to take on the Cardinals.