Red hot Warriors beat Hounds in back-to-back
By Brady Grove, Times Reporter
Brady Grove Photo
With the victories the Warriors have extended their winning streak to 12 games and haven’t lost since Oct. 19.
“They gave us our money’s worth that’s for sure; tonight (it was) obviously a close game and we had to work for it,” said Warriors head coach Cody Brown. “It was kind of up in the balance for the entire 60 (minutes), (and) it was good to see the boys lock it out there.”
When the two clubs faced off in Strathmore, the Hounds drew first blood on an end-to-end rush that chopped through the Warriors defence and into the net. The Hounds kept pushing going into the second, and Warriors goaltender Matthew Dovichak made a big save with his helmet from in close and then got lucky when a wild slapshot from the point hit the crossbar.
Despite doubling up their opponents in shots, it took until late in the second period for the Warriors to get on the score board. A casual dump on the penalty kill landed behind the Hounds net and was scooped up by their defenceman but he mishandled it. Warriors forward Dustin Holm was on it – he stole the puck and hammered it past the unprepared Hounds goalie. This lucky break tied the game with just under two minutes remaining in the second.
According to Brown, the Warriors thrive when they are forechecking. In the third period the Warriors attacked, wave after wave, and the Hounds fended them off until another lucky bounce. The Hounds tried to clear the puck out of their end on a Warriors power play, but Warriors defenceman Jacob Galandy tapped into his soccer skills and blocked the clearing attempt with his right foot. Galandy chopped the puck quickly and it arced right over the pad the Hounds goalie and that would be all the Warriors needed to win.
“Strathmore is a well-coached team, they come with a lot of speed,” said Hounds head coach Brayden Desjardins. “We are little bit younger and new; we had seven first-years in the lineup and it’s tough when you get pushed physically.”
The game had aggressiveness to it with every check being finished, and no easy ice was given.
“When you play back to back against the same team there’s definitely some bad blood,” said Desjardins.
The Warriors remain in first in the south conference with a 15-2-1 record and have one final game on the road against the Taber Golden Suns on Dec. 22 before the Christmas break.
“The year is going pretty well so far, but we don’t want to get too big for our breeches,” said Brown. “Any team in this league on any given day can beat anybody.”
Braves struggle in final weekend
The peewee AA Wheatland Braves picked up one out of four possible points on the weekend.
The Okotoks Oilers Green downed the Braves 8-5 in Strathmore on Dec. 14. The Braves went on the road the next day and tied the Taber Golden Suns 3-3.
The game against the Oilers started off well for the Braves as they had a 1-0 lead going into the second period, but then it all went bad for the hometown team.
The Oilers scored all eight of their goals in the second period and snuffed out any chance of a comeback despite the Braves outplaying them in the third period.
The Golden Suns outplayed the Braves the next day, outshooting their opposition 37-19, but Braves goalie Connor White had other plans and made 34 saves to keep his team in it. Tate Hanson, Kyle McDonough and Conner Radke all had goals for the Braves in the tied game.
The Braves sit in fifth place in a tight south conference with a 10-6-3 record. The Braves are off for Christmas and won’t step on the ice for league action again until Jan. 11 against the Foothills Bisons and Jan. 12 against the Lethbridge Hurricanes Red.
Chiefs continue to earn points
The midget AA Wheatland Chiefs beat the Okotoks Oilers 4-2 in Okotoks on Dec. 15 which marked their third win in the last four games.
The Oilers were leading 1-0 heading into the second period when the Chiefs found their offense. Kyle Malmberg lit the lamp first on the power play and then Braden Tanner and Mitch Desserre added goals before the period ended. Chiefs forward Tyren Grimsdale scored his seventh of the year late in the third and Landen Brassard made 26 stops on route to victory.
The midget AA squad has an 8-10-2 record and sits in fifth place in the south conference.
The Chiefs have one final game against the Foothills Bisons on Dec. 21 in Hussar and then they are off for the Christmas break.