Warriors stay level headed after holiday break
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Tyler Lowey Photo
Jerrin Hendricks jammed in a power play marker to close out the first period, leading the way for the Warriors 4-2 decision over the Red Deer Ramada Inn (6-16-1) Jan. 7 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
After being outshot 10-8 in the opening frame, the Warriors turned it on in the second with a pair of goals.
Domenic Ficaccio only needed to hold out his stick as a hot feed from Brandon McGillvary was directed in at the side of the net. Alex Pagenkopf snapped one past Brett Lower to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead after two.
“We just powered through today and bore down in the second and third,” said Warriors Head Coach Cody Brown. “We’re seeing flashes of the team we want to be; hard-working and bringing the pressure on the forecheck. We need to battle to not leave 15 to 20 minutes on the table each night and develop some consistency and we will be all right.”
Bryce Benfield notched his first of the year to put the Warriors up 4-1, but it was Dylan Fries-Abel who shut down Connor Claughton on a breakaway after Red Deer already cut it to 4-2, that saved the game. It was easily his easiest of the 29 saves he was required to make.
The victory saved a weekend that started off on the wrong foot with a 5-1 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes Jan. 12 at the Henderson Ice Centre.
“We gave them a game in the first two periods, but that’s about it,” said Brown. “Lethbridge started the season slow, but I think they’re going to turn into a powerhouse. They work hard, stick to their game plan and are one of the tougher teams to play against.”
Joel Romano was the only Warrior (9-13-2) to find the back of the net on the power play at the 5:48 mark of the second. From there, the Hurricanes (13-6-4) went on to score four unanswered goals to put the Warriors to bed.
The Warriors will look to improve on their 500 record in 2018 when they take on the Red Deer Steel Kings (5-15-2) Jan. 20 at the Kinex Arena, before returning home to battle the first place Foothills Bisons (15-6-2) Jan. 21 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
Hounds bite braves
Playing in their only game of the weekend, the peewee Braves found themselves on the wrong end of a shootout in Medicine Hat, as the Hounds downed the Braves 7-4 Jan. 14 at the Moose Recreation Centre.
The Hounds (22-0-1) led 2-0 after the first, only to see the goal lamp get lit seven times in the middle frame.
Tyler Fairbairn, Nash Wassing, Kolten Kuryk and Conner Radke all found the back of the net for the Braves.
In net, Matthew Dovichak’s stats took the brunt of the impact, as he was between the pipes for all seven markers on 37 shots.
The Braves (14-12-0) will play their final regular season game at Hussar Arena Jan. 20 when they host the Chestermere Lakers (1-18-1). Puck drop is set for 4:45 p.m. Closing out the weekend, the Braves will be at Blackie Arena Jan. 21 to take on the Foothills Bisons (11-11-1).
Chiefs honour classmate
The midget Chiefs (15-7-2) had a game scheduled for Jan. 13, but cancelled their game to attend the celebration of life for Emma Armstrong, who passed away in a car crash last week.
The Chiefs will return to SCAHL action Jan. 20 when they take on the Okotoks Oilers Jan. 20 at Murray Arena. The Chiefs are 2-0 against the Oilers (1-21-2) this season with 5-2 and 5-3 decisions underneath their belt. It will be the third of four meetings between the two South Conference teams this season. The Chiefs will be back at the Family Centre for the first time in 2018 on Jan. 27 when they host the CRAA Blue (6-4-0).
The Chiefs sit second in the division with 11 games to go.