Chiefs repeat as SCAHL champs!

Times Editor

 

Behind their solid goaltending, air-tight defence and a spread-out offence, the Wheatland Chiefs claimed the SCAHL, sweeping the Lethbridge Hounds 3-0.

After taking Game 1, the Chiefs hammered the Hounds 8-1 in Game 2 on March 28 at the Strathmore Family Centre, before winning Game 3 on the road March 30 by a 4-1 tally.

According to Chiefs head coach Devin Olson, the Chiefs got off to a hot start in the series clinching game and never looked back.

“We had a good start – a lot better than we have been,” said Olson “(We) come out flying and did the things we needed to in a smaller barn against a smaller team. They just dumped the puck in and hit them hard, like we were telling them, and they listened.”

The Chiefs were dominant in the championship series, outscoring the Hounds 17-3, proving that they had the right mixture of defence and offence. Overall, the Chiefs lost only one game in the post season and outscored their opposition 37-12.

According to Olson, the team’s solid goaltending of Jake Smith and Dakota Taylor was the key to the Chiefs success.

“Both of our goalies played really well in the playoffs for us,” said Olson. “We went with Jake for the finals just because he’d been on a hot streak, so you kind of have to ride him out. They (both) kept us in games in the first periods when we didn’t come out (well). We allowed a lot of chances – and it changes a game in a hurry if they’re up 2-0 instead of us.

“Our goaltending was probably the strongest part of our playoff (run). If you don’t have good goaltending, you’re not going to win.”

Despite not having the best record during the regular season, the Chiefs were still the team to beat, according to Olson. Their physical brand of hockey, mixed with the fact they were the defending champions, had them feeling very optimistic. 

According to Olson, winning last year was great, but this year was just a tad sweeter.

“I think we had to go through a lot more (adversity) this year,” said the coach. “Last year, we had the skill and we really depended on one line. This year we needed everybody to show up – we didn’t have that one dominant line. We had three lines that did our scoring all year. If one line didn’t show up, that made a huge difference to the team.

“We tried to pressure teams – the more you pressure them, the more they cough it up or make those mistakes, then you try and capitalize.”