By Matthew Gourlie /

If scent is attached to memory, there are few things that will remind a player of their time in the Western Hockey League quite like the smell of diesel.

Life on the bus is part of life and it’s one the Moose Jaw Warriors know well following a 10-day trip to the west coast to play their U.S. Division foes.

“The west coast trip obviously is a challenge,” Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak said. “There’s roughly two days spent on the bus and you jam in games and meals, prep work and all of that stuff that has to be done. It’s a grind. It’s a grind physically, but I think it’s more of a grind mentally.”

The Warriors had posted a winning record on the trip only once in their last 10 seasons. This season, they were 2-5 as the Saskatchewan Winter Games forced them away from home.

“It’s an eye-opener when you first come into the league,” said Warriors captain Jason Bast. “You don’t expect it. It’s tough the first time you go through it. It wears down on you with so many games in so many nights.”

The Warriors logged more than 4,500 km over the course of their extended road trip.

While there has likely been a poker game being played in the back of the bus since the league started more than 40 years ago, much has changed.

While movies play on the bus televisions, players have their lap tops going to watch TV shows, movies, play games or to even bang out a term paper for a class.

MP3 players, hand-held video games and cell phones all help break up the monotony for the modern player.

“I think it would have been real tough 10 to 15 years ago to do those trips,” said Bast, who usually reads or sleeps on long trips. “It’s definitely a lot easier now.”

For the 20-year-old Bast, the long journey from Kennewick, Wash. to Moose Jaw was the last of his career.

“It definitely does bring you together as a team,” Bast said. “We were gone for 10 days and you didn’t have an hour to yourself. It’s tough at times, but it’s also a lot of fun and I’m going to miss that.”

Hunchak said the Warriors were in a very fortunate situation to have one of the lightest travel schedules in the league. After playing in the league and now coaching in it for eight seasons, he feels life on the bus helps the players in their development.

“I think it hardens players,” Hunchak said. “In preparing for the next level, the kids learn certain traits it takes to be a pro player on the road — taking care of yourself, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and making sure that all of the things you take for granted at home are being done on the road.”