Warriors advance to final

Times Editor  

 

The Wheatland Warriors advanced to the SCAHL Championship Final by sweeping the top in the North Conference.

The local double-A bantam team defeated the Sylvan Lake Lakers 4-3 in Game 1 on March 9, before returning home for a 6-3 win in Game 2 on March 10.

“The guys played really, really well – probably the best we played all year,” said Warriors head coach Paden Grant. “We got the result we wanted.”

In Game 1, the Warriors got off to a hot start when Chris Rebeyka converted a first period feed from Andrew Bretin. The Warriors took a 2-0 lead with a power play marker when Regan Kinley converted a pass from Rebeyka in the second period. The Lakers pulled to within a goal with a power player of their own, before Kody Hammond restored the two-goal lead with a feed from Ryan Bell and Alec Biletsky. The Lakers scored a power play goal with 2:08 remaining before tying the game with 59 seconds remaining.

However, Bretin stole home ice with an overtime winner when he converted a feed from Kinley and Matt Halkovic.

“We kind of stopped playing our game, we were just trying to protect,” said Grant of the late two-goal lead that disappeared. “It kind of bit us there, but we ended up pulling it out in overtime, we didn’t let it faze us.

“They’re not used to that – they only lost twice on home ice all year. When we got up on them, they didn’t know how to play from behind. That was a game changer.”

In Game 2 at the Strathmore Family Centre, Rob Butterwick, Rob Finkbeiner and Alec Biletsky supplied the Warriors with a 3-0 first period lead. The Lakers managed to score once in the second period before Hammond scored a power play goal early in the third. The Lakers scored shortly after, before the Warriors clinched the goal with a pair of goals, with Rebeyka and Hammond doing the honours.

“We got out to such a quick start in the second game, we scored three goals in the first 10 minutes,” said Grant. “They just didn’t know what to do. You could tell they didn’t like it and they started to take some penalties. We just kind of went with it. They were kind of their own worst enemy in a way.”

The Warriors will now prepare to take part in the Provincial Championship March 14-17 in Medicine Hat before resuming their quest for the SCAHL Championship against the Okotoks Oilers.

Games 1 & 2 of the best-of-five series are tentatively slated for March 19 & 21 in Okotoks, before the series shifts to Strathmore for Games 3 & 4 for that weekend (for an up-to-date schedule, visit scahl.com).

“You definitely try and get a split in the first two games,” assessed Grant. “If we keep playing like we did against Sylvan Lake, we’re as good as if not better than anyone in this league. We just have to keep playing the same way.

“We know what to expect (with Okotoks) – they’re similar to Sylvan Lake. They’re a very good team, they’re quick and physical … we just have to play our game.”