Tetrault finds role as leader to be good fit

Five years into his professional hockey career, Daniel Tetrault was voted captain by his teammates on the New Mexico Scorpions.

Tetrault dutifully played the part, wearing the "C" on his sweater with pride during the 2004-05 season, but he realized that accepting the role was a mistake.

"Deep down, I knew I wasn't ready to be captain, and I don't think I succeeded," Tetrault said.

During training camp before the current season, new Wichita Thunder coach Kevin McClelland called Tetrault into his office and asked him to serve as captain — a challenging task, given that the organization was coming off a horrible year and starting over with a revamped roster.

There was no mistake this time. More mature and experienced during this tenure as captain, Tetrault has proven to be an excellent choice.

McClelland said that Tetrault, a five-time CHL all-star, has been an outstanding leader on and off the ice, helping the Thunder to its first playoff appearance since 2007.

"He plays a ton of minutes, and he's one of the guys that pays the price every night," McClelland said. "He plays the defensive side of the game; he plays the physical game. He brings it all. He's been so valuable to our hockey club."

Tetrault's latest contribution came on Saturday night, when he put an end to an emotional, back-and-forth Central Hockey League playoff game by scoring a dramatic power-play goal in overtime to give the Thunder a 5-4 victory over Missouri at the Independence (Mo.) Events Center.

The goal was Tetrault's first of the playoffs and his only game-winner of the year.

"Couldn't have come at a better time," he said with a chuckle.

The Thunder leads the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 on Tuesday at Intrust Bank Arena.

On Saturday, the Thunder seemed in control with a 3-1 lead in the second period but needed a power-play, extra-attacker goal from Jesse Bennefield with 59 seconds left to tie the game at 4 and force OT.

"It was like a roller-coaster ride," Tetrault said. "That's playoff hockey — two good teams going at it."

On the game-winner, Tetrault skated to a wide open spot in the slot and shouted to fellow defenseman Kory Scoran, who had control of the puck. Things worked perfectly from there: Tetrault said Matt Robinson screened Missouri all-star goalie Rob Nolan, and Scoran "feathered a nice light pass right to me."

"It was right in my wheel house for a one-timer," Tetrault said. "I was shooting to score, to be honest. I was happy it found the back of the net.

"It was a really good feeling, especially on the road. They have such a great crowd in Missouri. It's a very electric atmosphere, so to do it on the road was a great moment."

During the regular season, Tetrault played 59 games, scoring eight goals and 27 points. The Manitoba native, who scored 45 points in the International Hockey League last year, said that offensive numbers weren't a priority this season as he and partner Travis Wight played the role of a hard-hitting "shutdown unit," trying to slow the opposing team's top scorers.

Now in his 11th pro season, Tetrault doesn't place much importance on his own stats anyway.

"To be honest, at this point in my career it's not about points," he said. "I've never won a championship. I just want the big trophy."

Notes — The Thunder's Robin Richards has been suspended by the CHL for Tuesday's game for his charging penalty in Saturday's game. In the first period, Richards hit Missouri's Steven Later and was called for a five-minute charging penalty.

This story was originally published April 4, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Tetrault finds role as leader to be good fit."