Chiefs tie Bruins

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

In a year that has seen the Calgary Division get the better of the Wheatland Chiefs, walking out with a tie can almost be considered a victory – almost.
“The Calgary teams are always deep and tough to play against,” said Chiefs Assistant Coach Matt Gregory. “We had a good effort tonight and showed that we can play with them and that will help us out going forward.”
The local double-A midget team held a 2-1 lead halfway through the third period, when Tyler Russell pushed one past Ethan Rycroft, eventually forcing a tie.
The Chiefs weren’t walking out of the Strathmore Family Centre with a 2-2 tie Feb. 17 if it wasn’t for the solid play by Rycroft between the pipes.
The rookie netminder pulled off 30 saves in one of his better performances of the year, as the NWCAA Bruins (6-4-2) outshot the Chiefs 32-22.
Zach Suntjens walked the blue line in the first on the power play and ripped home his fifth of the season. In the third, Mitch Desserre poked a puck up to Brian Butland Jr., who went off on a two-on-one with Rylan Longmuir, who roofed his fifth, as the Chiefs improve to 1-6-1 against Calgary teams.
Only two regular season home games remain for the Chiefs (17-10-3) this season, as they host the surging Taber Golden Suns (16-10-6) Feb. 24 at the Family Centre (4:45 p.m.). They will be back in action the following evening when they take on the Foothills Bisons at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Centre.

Warriors on fire
Four different players factored into the scoring as the Wheatland Warriors continued their hot play, downing the Medicine Hat Hounds 4-1 Feb. 17 at the Moose Recreation Centre.
Trailing by one early, Bryce Benfield banged in a puck from Brayden Ledrew in the first, igniting the Warriors offence.
From there, Jerrin Hendericks found the back of the net in the second, while Domenic Ficaccio and Nate Gillis put the Hounds away in the third.
Between the pipes, Dylan Fries-Abel was solid when called upon, stopping 15 of 16 shots for his sixth win. The local double-A bantam team has won five out of their last six games.
A pair of South Central Alberta Hockey League games are on tap for the Warriors (14-14-2) this weekend. First, they will take on the Foothills Bisons (21-7-2) Feb. 24 at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Centre, before returning home a day later to host the Red Deer Steel Kings (7-20-2). Puck drop is set for 1:30 p.m.

Peewee break
The Wheatland Braves (16-14-10) enjoyed a weekend off as they try to right the ship that has seen them drop their last two contests. They will appear in action once this weekend, when they take on the Okotoks Oilers Green (13-12-4) Feb. 25 at Murray Arena.