Warriors hang tight with division leaders
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Tyler Lowey Photo
“Foothills is the team to beat in the south. It was close all the way through and if we convert on a couple of those power play chances, maybe it’s a different story,” said Warriors Head Coach Cody Brown.
Tied late into the third, McCallum Bakken of the Foothills Bisons was able to mix up the Warriors defence and pop in his 11th of the season to silence the Warriors 3-2 Feb. 24 at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Centre.
“We told the guys afterwards that they can chalk it up to a bounce here or a bounce there if they want, but really, there were power play chances that we needed to bear down on and put a couple more pucks in the back of the net,” said Brown.
The Bisons (23-7-3) were staked to a 2-0 lead seven minutes into the first, when the Warriors made their comeback.
Jerrin Hendricks grabbed the puck from a scramble in front of the net and roofed his 20th, and Bryce Benfield sped up a Domenic Ficaccio point shot to tie the game at two.
But the local double-A bantam team only converted on 1-of-7 power play chances. Corey Ross did his part between the pipes, standing tall with 27 saves, but his team couldn’t push the tying marker across before the final buzzer sounded.
The Warriors were able to bounce back from the one-goal loss to defeat the Red Deer Steel Kings 3-1 Feb. 25 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
Ficaccio opened the scoring at the 12:28 mark of the first from Ryder Many Grey Horses. The Warriors put the Steel Kings (8-21-3) to bed in the third with goals from Spencer Tower and Joel Romano, as Dylan Fries-Abel picked up 28 saves for his seventh win.
The Warriors (15-15-2) will close out their South Central Alberta Hockey League season this weekend with a home-and-home set with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (17-9-6). First, they will take on the Hurricanes Mar. 3 at the Henderson Ice Centre, before returning home for the finale Mar. 4 at the Family Centre. Puck drop is set for 1:30 p.m.
Chiefs blank Suns
The defending double-A midget provincial champions are rounding into form with the playoffs on the horizon.
The Wheatland Chiefs blanked the surging Taber Golden Suns 3-0 Feb. 24 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
Riley Stovka made 25 saves for his first blank slate of the season and his seventh win.
The Chiefs tacked on one goal each period, as Ben Kruse, Stran Red Crow and Mitch Desserre chipped in on the scoring.
The Chiefs backed that up with a convincing 4-1 win Feb. 25 over the Foothills Bisons at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Centre.
They stormed the Bisons with four goals in the second, coming off the sticks of Jayden Hendricks, Kruse, Chase Clayton and Ty Skehar. Ethan Rycroft only needed 10 saves for his 12th win.
The Chiefs will wrap up their regular season with three games on the docket. They will take on the Medicine Hat Hounds (19-13-1) Mar. 2 at the Kinplex Arena, then head further south Mar. 3 to tangle with the Golden Suns (16-12-6) before concluding the season Mar. 4 against the West Central Tigers (18-8-6) at the Family Centre.
Oilers sting Braves
Playing their first game in two weeks, the peewee Braves got clipped 6-4 by the Okotoks Oilers Green (15-12-5) Feb. 25 at Murray Arena.
Nash Wassing slammed home his 10th of the season in the first, which saw the Oilers post three goals. The Braves tried to claw back in the second with goals from Tyler Fairbairn and Charles Goll, but they couldn’t keep the puck out of their net, as the Oilers put three more across.
Jace Koole netted his 13th of the season in the third, but that’s as close as the Braves would make it.
The Braves (16-15-0) will close out their SCAHL campaign this weekend with a pair of games. Their final home game goes Mar. 3 when they host the Central Alberta Selects (19-10-2) at the Family Centre. The Braves will wrap things up with a tilt Mar. 4 against the Chestermere Lakers (2-28-1) at the Chestermere Regional Community Association Rink.