Chiefs show no signs of rust

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

It had been three weeks since the Wheatland Chiefs had seen the ice but the boys didn’t seem to lose a stride last weekend as they came out with a 7-1 win over Okotoks on Nov. 28 and a 4-1 win over Red Deer on Nov. 29, leaving head coach Shadoe Stoodley quite pleased with the outcomes.
“It was hard to say what was going to happen after three weeks off,” said Stoodley. “Some guys can jump out flat-footed and really not ready to play. But right off the hop in Okotoks on the first shift they were good, they came out strong and had a lot of energy and went all out.”
Stoodley added that in Okotoks, special teams were key factors in the victory as they were able take advantage of their opportunities.
“We had a couple power play goals that were big,” he said. “We had a 5-on-3 goal that was our first goal and then in the second we got a couple back to back (and) a couple of empty netters at the end to win 7-1.”
Chase Hnatowich led the way with a hat trick, while Brad Hendricks, Kody Hammond, Ryan Skytt and Lucas Muenchrath rounded out the scoring against Okotoks.
Stoodley thought the scoring was more spread out in Red Deer but said the team worked hard right from the start and had a lot of opportunities to score.
“We scored when we really needed to,” said Stoodley. “Right from (Saturday) to (Sunday) there were 120 minutes of solid play.
“There were a couple of lapses where we took a shift off, but it long run they battled right from the start.”
Skytt notched two goals, while Hammond and Chris Rebeyka scored one each in Red Deer.
The local midget double- A team will host the Bow Valley Timeberwolves on Dec. 6 in Hussar at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Wheatland Warriors split their weekend games, starting with a 7-0 shutout home win on Nov. 28 before being edged by Okotoks on the road 3-2 the following day.
Max Schafer tallied two goals, while Brandon Kasdorf, Keith Yellowfly, Kyle Bray and Ben Kruse scored in the win against Olds.
In Okotoks, Kruse and Max Kathol scored in the loss.
The local double-A bantam team will play the Airdrie Lightning at the Strathmore Family Centre on Dec. 6 at 6:15 p.m.
The Wheatland Braves will resume play against the Medicine Hat Hounds on Dec. 5 in Hussar at 7:30 p.m.