Chiefs picking up points; Braves continue streak

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Wheatland Chiefs picked up three of a possible four points on the road last weekend, and stay a mere two points ahead of the Okotoks Oilers for the South Division lead after a 1-1 tie with Medicine Hat on Jan. 29, and a 7-1 win in High River against the Foothills Bisons on Jan. 31.
Head coach Shadoe Stoodley said that if it weren’t for goaltender Nelson Schiller’s 31-save performance against Medicine Hat, the score could’ve been a lot worse than a tie.
“I wasn’t impressed,” said Stoodley. “Our goalie, Schiller, played really well. But we couldn’t create any offense and just pucks bouncing off our sticks too easy and losing too many battles. It wasn’t our best game.”
He added the boys needed to work on getting the puck out of their zone a lot cleaner than they have been and getting the puck deep while working on the cycle.
Zach Suntjens scored in the tie for the Chiefs.
Stoodley said the team played much better against Foothills because the team was able to find their offensive touch.
“Their goaltender wasn’t too strong,” said Stoodley. “(We got) a couple of powerplay goals which was good, something we always work on. I thought they had a much stronger game everywhere tonight.”
Riley Romashenko led the offense with two goals, while Lucas Muenchrath, Christopher Rebeyka, Ryan Bell, Jason Hobson and Alec Biletsky supplied one goal each in the win.
The local double-A midget team will get a rematch with Medicine Hat when they host them in Hussar at 5 p.m. on Feb. 6.
Meanwhile, the Wheatland Braves continue to find ways to win, as they were able to come from behind to beat Okotoks 6-4 on Jan. 30, and doubled up on Red Deer 10-5 in Hussar on Jan. 31.
Head Coach Carl Knudsen said the boys were able to overcome some adversity after Okotoks was able to score two quick goals early in third to tie the game.
“We had a few powerplays there in the third period that we were good on,” said Knudsen. “We just got some timely goals in third period. It was good to see. We can’t take a night off now. It’s just all building towards the final tournament.”
Knudsen said the team put in a similar effort against Red Deer, and he was pleased to see the offense get going.
“We played confident with the puck getting that cycle work going,” said Knudsen. “Then causing turnovers on the fore-check and taking that puck to the net and going hard.”
Tristan Zandee scored five goals to lead the charge, while Trey Gillis, Adam Kirkpatrick, Kobe Gosling, Matthew Quebec and Ray Warrack contributed one goal each in the win.
The local double-A peewee team will have a home-and-home with the Taber Golden Suns this weekend, starting at the Strathmore Family Centre at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 5, before heading to Taber the following day.
Meanwhile, the Wheatland Warriors tied Cranbrook 2-2 out in Hussar on Jan. 29.
Brandon Kasdorf and Cole Berg scored the Warriors goals.
The local double-A bantam team will host the Foothills Bisons at the Strathmore Family Centre at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 7.