Braves peaking down the stretch

Posted on: February 5, 2015September 18, 2017 Staff Writer

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

The Wheatland Braves appear to be primed for the upcoming postseason with a convincing win over the Southwest Rockies 16-1 on Jan. 31 and edging the Cranbrook Eagles 8-6 on Feb. 1.
The local double-A peewee team, with a 25-2-1 record, are within two points of the first place Olds Grizzlys heading into their showdown on Feb. 8 (4:15 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.
In the blowout win against the Rockies, Bryce Benfield and Tristan Zandee led the way with three apiece, while team-leading scorer Kyle Crnkovic added two.
Mo Hakim, Max Schafer, Kage Yellowfly, Adam Kirkpatrick, Nolan Bailey, Zach Nicholls, Anson McMaster and Tegan Skehar rounded out the offence for the Braves
Goalie Jackson Barry’s only flaw was letting a late second period power play goal in, on an otherwise strong night between the pipes.
The Braves found a much stiffer test in Cranbrook on Sunday afternoon as they played a hard working Eagles team.
After having period leads of 4-2 and 6-4, the boys were able to pull away in the third and survive a late push from the Eagles.
Crnkovic led the way with four, Yellowfly had two while Max Kathol and Kyle Bray added singles.
Other than the crucial game against Olds on Sunday afternoon, the Braves will be hosting the Sylvan Lake Lakers on Feb. 6 (7:30 p.m.) in Hussar.

Warriors keeping consistent
The Wheatland Warriors continued their consistent play, picking up valuable points with playoffs approaching.
The local double-A bantam team beat the Edge School Mountaineers 4-3 on Jan. 30 and tied the Okotoks 2-2 on Feb. 1.
Tarun Fizer opened up the scoring in the first and Jayden Hendricks scored in the second.
Hassan Akl and Tanner Boutin rounded out the offense in the third.
Fizer and Tyler Skehar sniped in the tie against the Oilers.
Next up for the Warriors is on Feb. 7 in Red Deer against the Steel Kings (2:30 p.m.) and on Feb. 8 (7 p.m.) against the Airdrie Lightning at the Strathmore Family Centre.

Chiefs cushion lead in standings
The Wheatland Chiefs continued to pad their lead atop the standings with a 5-0 win over the NWCAA Stamps on Jan. 27 and a dominant 8-4 road win over the Taber Golden Suns on Jan. 30.
After what was a scoreless opening frame against the Stamps, Chris Rebeyka opened the scoring in the second while Brendan Moore added one late in the period to make it 2-0 after two.
Cole Busslinger scored a power play marker in the third and later added another to make it 4-0, before Rebeyka sniped his second of the game to cap off the scoring.
On Friday night in Taber, Rebeyka scored two, while Busslinger, Jayden Smith, James Farmer, Kaleb Robinson, Ryan Skytt and Kody Hammond scored one each.
The local double-A midget team has a pair of home games this weekend when they take on the Airdrie Lightning on Feb. 6 (7:30 p.m.) and the CRAA Blue the following day (4:45 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.