Braves stopped by hot goalie

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

The AA peewee Wheatland Braves struggled to find the back of the net against the Okotoks Oilers Black, ultimately losing 6-2 on Nov. 18 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
The Braves outshot their opponents 40-30 and were buzzing around the net all game, but Oilers goaltender Neelan Weimer shut the door against the home team.
“He was unreal, that was probably his best game of the year for sure,” said Oilers head coach Jamie Fox. “He was the backbone and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.”
The Braves came out guns blazing and were firing the puck from all angles while the Oilers scrambled to slow them down. Despite putting 20 shots on the net, the Braves found themselves down 1-0 after the first period.
The Oilers pushed back early in the second, scoring a minute and 40 seconds in to put the Braves on their heels. A couple minutes later Braves forward Kyle McDonough had a partial break but was stoned by Weimer’s big pad to maintain the Oilers lead. The Oilers would add another goal shortly after this play, taking command of the score.
Braves forward Luc Trevors was not to be outdone and rushed the puck down the wing on a two-on-one. Trevors elected to shoot instead of pass and sniped his 12th goal of the year right over Weimer’s shoulder.
In the third period, the Braves found themselves shorthanded early. During the Oilers power play, Braves forward Conner Radke hunted down a clearing by his club into the Oilers end. He scooped up the puck and danced through three Oilers defenders before ripping the puck top corner for his 11th of the year.
“Those two guys who scored are consistently guys who work hard game in, game out and we really rely on them,” said Braves assistant coach Slavo Halkovic.
This was the closest the Braves got as consecutive power play goals from the Oilers put the game out of reach. Any chances the Braves got were turned aside by the Oilers goalie in a game that should have had more goals for the home team.
“I think we played a pretty even game but we were kind of unlucky,” said Halkovic. “We couldn’t get a lucky bounce to get the puck in the net and obviously it starts to wear you down.”
The Braves will look to get back in the win column against the Foothills Bisons in Strathmore on Nov. 23 (7:30 p.m.). On Nov. 24 they will travel to Okotoks to face the Okotoks Oilers Green.

Lucky seven
The AA bantam Wheatland Warriors picked up a 5-2 win against the West Central Tigers in Strathmore on Nov. 16. Cole Grant and Dustin Holm scored two goals apiece for the Warriors, while Brandon McGillivray and Trey Kam had two points each. With the win the Warriors extend their winning streak to seven games with their last loss coming on Oct. 19.
The Warriors next game is against the Foothills Bisons in Strathmore on Nov. 30 (7:30 p.m.).

Chiefs back in action this weekend
The AA midget Wheatland Chiefs were off this weekend but will have a pair of road games coming up. The first is against the Taber Golden Suns on Nov. 24 and the second is versus the NWCAA (Calgary) Bruins on Nov. 25.