Shutout streak ends as Chiefs win

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

Wheatland Chiefs goaltender Tyler Tarvyd came up a game-and-a-half short of eclipsing Brian Boucher’s consecutive shutout streak.
The 5-0 local double-A midget team backed up Tarvyd’s performance with a 3-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1-3-2) Sunday night during South Central Alberta Hockey League play at the Strathmore Family Centre.
Tarvyd’s streak was at 188 minutes of perfection that all came to an end when there was a dump in to the right of his net. It appeared that he got caught in between coming out to play the puck and staying home in his net. Hurricanes forward and South Central Alberta Hockey League leading scorer Keegan McDowell wrapped around the net and tucked home his sixth goal.
“It’s too bad that the streak came to an end, but it’s probably a good thing,” said Chiefs assistant coach Matt Gass. “Now guys aren’t focused on it anymore.”
Tarvyd finished with 23 saves.
It took a while for the Chiefs jet-powered offence to get going; they only recorded seven shots in the first period.
“That’s the second-straight game that we didn’t have our best effort in the first period. That happens at this age, guys aren’t prepared at the start, but we talked about it and they understood,” said Gass. “We finally got the puck deep and started working on their defence. You can see a drastic switch in our game and we began to wear them down.”
Robert Butterwick took the puck off the right half-wall on a mini give-and-go from defenseman Scott Desserre. Butterwick worked his way into the slot and wristed one past Hurricanes keeper Aaron Dekok with 1:20 remaining in the first.
“We got a lot of fast, young guys on this team. Once we get the puck down low by the red line we can really make some plays happen,” said Butterwick, who is tied for second on the team with three goals in his third year.
The Hurricanes briefly took the lead in the second period, but after a referee discussion, the goal was waved off as it was kicked in.
The Chiefs settled nicely back into their offensive plan in the second. They managed to get past the Hurricanes’ defenders for several breakaway attempts in the second and third.
Isaac Benoit took an outlet pass from Brady Skiffington just past the Chiefs blueline and was gone. Hitting the after-burners, Benoit screamed past three Hurricane defenders, avoided the Dekok poke check, roofed it and crashed into the boards with 5:07 left in the second.
Butterwick added a late tally with 0:47 remaining in the second.
“Butterwick is fun and he plays with a lot of energy. He is always talking on the bench and when he wants to, he’s one of the fastest guys on the ice,” said Gass.
Kelton Travis and Riley Romashenko picked up assists on Butterwick’s second goal. Travis sits fourth in league scoring with two goals and six points.
The score could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for Dekok. The Chiefs began firing on all cylinders in the third but didn’t find the back of the net. Dekok bailed out his defence several times, turning away 13 of his 32 saves in the third.
“Aaron was fantastic for us tonight. He made a lot of great saves and gave us a chance at the end to be in the game,” said Hurricanes head coach Robin Harper.
The Chiefs also brushed back the CNHA Canucks 2-1 Oct. 15 at the Strathmore Family Centre. The Canucks move to 1-1.
Scoreless after the opening frame, Travis found mesh with 9:38 remaining in the second. Ryan Longmuir added his second of the season from Benoit with 5:34 remaining in the third.
Riley Stovka started his first game between the pipes and recorded 27 saves.
This weekend, the Chiefs hit the road and take on the Medicine Hat Hounds (3-1-1) on Oct. 23. Their next home game goes Oct. 29 at the Strathmore Family Centre when CRAA Gold (2-0) comes to town.

 

Warriors win!
The Wheatland Warriors hopped back into the win column with a 4-1 dusting of the Red Deer Steel Kings (1-4-1) on Oct. 16 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
It has been a bit of challenging start for the Warriors, who are still working on coming together.
“Sunday was a good effort, we got better each period and finally developed some scoring touch in the third period,” said Warriors head coach Cody Brown. “We started to put it all together.”
Kage Yellowfly opened the scoring with 8:48 remaining in the first. The Warriors (2-5-1) closed the game out strong after Nolan Bailey scored the winner with 8:20 to go in the second. Bailey leads the Warriors with four goals and six points. Third period goals from Trey Gillis and Adam Kirkpatrick from Bryce Benfield and Bailey iced the Steel Kings. In net, Corey Ross registered 27 saves for his first win.
The Warriors started the weekend by getting slighted 5-2 to the Okotoks Oilers Saturday night at Hussar Arena.
“That was a bit of a tough game. I think that team is very beatable, but we just got into a little bit of penalty trouble. It was avoidable if we just kept our feet moving,” said Brown.
The Oilers (5-2-2) capitalized on three powerplay goals within the span of six minutes in the first period.
Zach Nicholls got the Warriors on the board 3:22 into the second from Mitch Tessemaker and Gillis.
Kirkpatrick chipped in a goal with less than eight minutes remaining in the third from Yellowfly and Benfield.
“Our biggest thing is work ethic right now and searching for a strong 60 minutes,” said Brown. “We are good for 20 minutes, or 40 minutes, but we are still searching for everyone to buy in and all 19 guys working hard for a whole game. I think it is something that will come together over time, though.”
The Warriors hit the road this weekend with games against the Bow Valley Timberwolves (4-2-1) on Oct. 22 at Cochrane Arena and then travel to Blackie Arena the following day to take on the Foothills Bisons (0-7).
The Warriors next home game is set for Oct. 29 when they welcome the Medicine Hat Hounds (2-3) to Hussar Arena.

 

Point taken!
The Wheatland Braves notched their first point of the season after 3-3 tie with the Red Deer Parkland Transmission (2-1-2) on Oct. 16 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
The bulldog, Tyler Fairbairn got the Braves on the board with a powerplay marker from Adam Moore with 1:32 remaining in the first. Twenty two seconds later, Josh Alberda found the back of the net from Philip Raycroft. After falling behind 3-2 in the second, Carter Gosling tied the game with 1:20 remaining from Cole Tweit.
Matthew Dovichak stopped 25 shots.
The local double-A peewee team lost 9-3 to the Olds Grizzlys (6-0) on Oct. 14 at Hussar Arena.
The Braves were down 7-0 before they managed to climb onto the score sheet.
Fairbairn snuck one past the goalie with 5:50 remaining in the second and he opened scoring 4:52 in the third as well. Cole Whelan added the third goal.
The Braves are on the road Oct. 21 for a rematch with the Olds Grizzlys at Trochu Arena. Two days later, they return to the Strathmore Family Centre for a bout with the Red Deer Motors (1-1-2). Puck drop is set for 4:15 p.m.