Warriors take league championship
Photo Courtesy of the Wheatland Warriors
The Warriors took Game 1 in Strathmore 4-2 on March 8 and won the very close Game 2 in Sylvan Lake 3-2 on March 9.
“It was just good to see after all their hard work they put in the results they were looking for,” said Warriors head coach Cody Brown. “It was a really tight series, those guys played us tough and they got a really good team.”
In Game 1, the Tigers drew first blood in the first period until the Warriors tied it up, headlining into the third. The final period of play saw the clubs trade goals again until Warriors forward Ryder Many Grey Horses scored the game-winning-goal with just under five minutes remaining. The Warriors would add an empty netter. Parker Forrest made 19 saves for the playoff win.
Warriors forward Brandon McGillivray led the charge in Game 2, scoring two goals and one assist in the final game of the series. The Tigers were limited to just three shots on goal in the second but responded with a vengeance in the third as they came within a single goal of tying it up. Forrest made another 23 saves to secure the championship.
The Warriors were absolutely dominant all season long and were first overall in the league with a record 36-4-1. The Warriors head off to test their fortunes at provincials with their first game against Calgary on March 21 at the Cardel Rec Centre.
Chiefs fall one game short of division title
The Wheatland Chiefs were oh so close to winning their divisional tournament for a chance at the league title but lost 2-1 in double overtime to the Medicine Hat Hounds in Okotoks on March 10.
“Medicine Hat is a really good hockey team, all the props to them,” said Chiefs head coach Matt Gregory. “Our goaltending was unbelievable. Landen Brassard had the game of the year.”
Steve Wilks had the lone Chiefs goal in the first period and Landen Brassard stood on his head with 54 saves in the loss. Gregory said he believed his team left everything on the ice and cited guys playing through the pain of blocking a heavy shot as an example.
“It was an incredible year. That group of kids had so much character and they were so fun to coach,” said Gregory. “We came a really long way because we had a poor record at the start and we seemed to get hot around Christmas time.”
The season is now over for the Chiefs who went 19-18-3 in the regular season and finished fourth overall in the south conference.
Braves finish in fifth
The Wheatland Braves went 3-1 at their divisional playoff tournament March 7-10 but didn’t qualify for the final four. The Braves were strong at the peewee AA tournament, scoring 42 goals and allowing 22.
They lost 10-5 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes White before rocking off three straight victories: 10-7 over the Okotoks Oilers, 15-3 against the Chestermere Lakers and finally 11-2 versus the Foothills Bisons.
The Braves are wrapped up for the season and finished with a record of 19-11-7 for fourth place in the south conference.