Local boys make good on home ice

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

Three hometown heroes returned to Siksika and entertained the crowd on the ice they grew up skating on.
The Strathmore Wheatland Kings skated to a 6-3 win over the 8-26-2 High River Flyers during Heritage Junior Hockey League action Jan. 28 at the Deerfoot Sportsplex.
Playing in their final season, the Kings decided to reward Brooker Pretty Youngman and Kristian Ayoungman with a game in their hometown. Defenseman Laval Jerry spent a couple years on the reserve and played with Pretty Youngman and Ayoungman, and it is believed that this will be his final season with the Kings. The Kings thought it was a perfect way to send off their graduating players.
“These guys knew it was a big night and it showed the way they came out,” said Kings head coach Shadoe Stoodley. “It was great to see the big crowd and reward the community with a win.”
Friends, family and fans of the Kings packed into the arena that was a few Oscar Seat Fillers away from being sold out.
“It was a pretty fun game. It was great to see everyone in the stands. It was nice to play a game out here,” said Pretty Youngman. “The memories started flowing back to me in the second period. It was excellent to be there, playing with those other guys in one of our last games.”
Before the action got underway, Siksika council member Hector Winnipeg addressed the crowd, thanking the three local players for their hard work and for bringing the game home. Pretty Youngman was joined by Flyers captain Josh Younker for a ceremonial faceoff following the speech and both were presented with gifts.
Responding to the hype and the emotion, the Kings stormed out of the gates, scoring three goals in the opening frame.
Newcomer Christian Halman got things going when he corralled a redirected point shot on his backhand, shoveling it to the upper half of the net. He has buried three goals in five games since being injected into the lineup.
Alternate captain Cole Busslinger was sent on a breakaway from Bradley Tingey, deked, opening up the five-hole, as he slid in his first of two on the night.
Busslinger would go on to be named HJHL player of the week for his four-goal, five assist performance in a pair of wins. He is the second King to earn the honours this season.
With a pair of goals before the game was four minutes old, Kings general manager Darcy Busslinger joked, “maybe we should play more home games out here!”
The man of the hour, Pretty Youngman, joined in on the first-period surge after Ayoungman won a battle in the corner, spotted his life-long teammate camped in the slot. Pretty Youngman unleashed his patented heavy snapshot, beating Billy Cawthorn blocker side.
“We came out on fire and then took a step back. That’s something that has been troubling us this year,” said Stoodley. “We need to play a full 60 minutes because games are only going to get tougher moving forward.”
In the second, the Kings (15-16-4) fell back into their old ways, allowing the Flyers to crawl back into the game with a pair of goals in the second, as they outshot the Kings 16-5.
Brenden Moore needed the help from his teammates to avoid going from hero to goat in the third period.
First, Moore blasted home the winner and his sixth of the season from the point on the power play from Nolan Lightning and Kody Hammond.
“The guys did great work down low, got the puck up to me in my sweet spot. It feels great to contribute on the score sheet like that,” said the Strathmore product.
With 197 penalty minutes this season, Moore is no stranger to the penalty box.
Twenty-nine seconds after scoring the go-ahead marker, Moore took a slashing penalty, as the Flyers looked to mount another comeback.
“I’ve got to give them credit; they blocked shots, put their body on the line for the team,” said Moore.
“That penalty kill the next shift out was equally as important as Mooresy’s goal,” said Stoodley.
From there, Busslinger added his second from Keenan Ogle and Pretty Youngman at the 15:10 mark.
Up two with time winding down, Pretty Youngman had a chance at an open net. Missing wide, he will tell you that it was on purpose.
“I meant to shoot wide so Kristian could score,” joked Pretty Youngman.
Harnessing the wide shot, Ayoungman was able to find the back of the net with 12 seconds to go, finishing with two points.
Following the game, the three graduating players posed for a photo and then the entire team headed to the entranceway to sign autographs.
Nearly 24 hours later, the Kings were back in action when they traveled to the Banff Recreation Centre and downed the Banff Academy Bears (10-21-3) by a Texas-sized score 10-4.
The momentum of the Siksika game rolled over for Pretty Youngman as he netted his fourth hat trick of the season. Busslinger led the Kings with a pair of goals and four assists, while Hammond finished with two goals and two assists.
In his return from a three-game suspension, Strathmore product Ryan Grasdahl sniped a pair, Ayoungman added one of each, Ogle recorded three assists, while Hayden Vanderploeg and Jerry registered two assists each.
The Kings hosted the Bears Jan. 31 at the Strathmore Family Centre. The Kings final regular season home game is slated for Feb. 3 when they host the Coaldale Copperheads (22-12-2). The Kings season concludes in Coaldale one night later.