Braves bound over Airdrie

Times Reporter   

 

The peewee Wheatland Braves have moved onto their next playoff series, having beat the Airdrie Lightning in their best of three first round. Having lost Game 1 in overtime on Feb. 22, the Braves powered back, winning two straight on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24.

“I thought we showed pretty much who we still are – an inconsistent bunch with a high level of potential,” Braves coach Keith Klemmensen said. 

In Game 1, a very back-and-forth matchup, the Braves had the lead taken away with five minutes remaining in the game, only to allow one more in overtime, losing 5-4. Hassan Akl had two assists, as did Cole Berg; Tarun Fizer had one goal and one assist.

“Airdrie has a team that does not quit so you have to play the whole game. I felt like game one, we let them back in the third period,” Klemmensen said. “We were kind of in control on things, but all of a sudden the effort falls off a bit and we get a little mentally lazy.”

Klemmensen said he felt the immaturity of his team at the end of game one, but was impressed with his squad for game two.

“As critical as I am of the boys and their effort, I thought we were the better team for two periods there,” he said.

Though it was another back-and-forth game in terms of scoring, Wheatland fired 44 shots on net, as opposed to Airdrie’s 24. 

The Braves had two powerplay goals from Ryan Orford and Akl (who popped in another as well). Cole Berg also finished with two points. The final was 4-2 for the Braves.

In the deciding third game, with the Braves up 2-0 in the second period, Airdrie scored two goals within one minute of each other. Before the period was done, the lead was safely back to the Braves.

“I didn’t think we’d get it back as quickly as we did,” Klemmensen said.

Majid Kaddoura had three assists, while Mitch Desserre had two. Ryan Conroy scored twice, and Cole Berg had two points too, in the 6-3 win.

Klemmensen believes his team does best when his defense core plays to the best of their efforts.

“I continue to be impressed with our defense. I think our six defensemen as a group are as good as we’ve had for a while,” he said. “I’m hoping they realize their importance to the team. I’m impressed with the whole team but those guys are really the straw that stirs the drink on this team.”

The Braves will move on to face the number one seed, the Bow Valley Timberwolves. In both of their matchups in season play, the Timberwolves were victorious; 4-0 on Oct. 25, and 9-5 on Nov. 30. No games have been scheduled as of yet.

“They pumped us the second time, there’s no doubt about that. They’ve got too many goals against us,” Klemmensen said. “The 4-0 game, we didn’t play that bad. Just a couple errors, some fundamental mistakes – we could’ve been tied 0-0 going into the third period that game.”

The Braves got a closer look at the Timberwolves, having played them twice in provincial play. Klemmensen noted they only lost by two goals in both games.

“I think we’re kind of closing the gap on them. Having said that, they finished first in this division for a reason. They’re a good team – they’ve got good players, they’re well coached, and they work hard. That’s what we have to match,” he said.

 

Warriors wait

The bantam Wheatland Warriors are waiting to see who they will face – Airdrie or Red Deer –  in the second round of the playoffs after receiving a bye in the first round. 

 

chiefs done

As for the midget Wheatland Chiefs, after winning the first game of their series against the Red Deer Elks, they dropped the next two, losing the series.

The Chiefs won 7-4 at home for Game 1 on Feb. 20, with three powerplay goals by Cole Busslinger, Quinton Peplinski and Thomas Reinhardt. 

Game 2 on Feb. 22 was a 7-3 loss, however, even with a 42 shot effort. The Chiefs only managed to score come the third period, and at one point in the game, it was 5-0 for Red Deer. Jayse Wilson had two goals, and Cody Willis notched the other. 

The final game on Feb. 23 was a 5-2 loss for the Chiefs. Wheatland had the lead going into the second with goals from Mckay Bray and Busslinger, but a shorthanded goal at the beginning of the second period sparked a five-goal comeback for Red Deer.