Warriors continue rolling

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Wheatland Warriors swept their way through their weekend games by knocking off Red Deer 5-2 on the road on Jan. 15 and thumping the North Division-leading AB Central Selects 8-1 on Jan. 17 at the Strathmore Family Centre.
Warriors captain Chase Clayton said it felt good to get redemption on the Selects after getting dominated in their barn prior to Christmas.
“They’re a tough team and it felt good,” said Clayton. “Last time we played them, they beat us 6-2. That was in the back of everybody’s mind. So I guess that’s pretty good motivation just to kick their butt. That’s probably our closest game to playing 60 minutes of everybody working hard.”
Despite not having their best game in Red Deer, Clayton thought the key to winning was generating lots of shots and once they got the puck out of the zone the forwards were able to capitalize on their slow defensemen.
Assistant Coach Tyler Brandon also thought the boys responded well in the game against the Selects with their hard work ethic.
“The work ethic was there, everybody was willing to go, it was good to see,” said Brandon. “We really preach hard work and the boys do it, not giving the other teams a shot.”
In Red Deer, Stran Backfat Redcrow led the way with two goals, while Tristan Olexson, Mo Hakim and Brandon Kasdorf rounded out the offense in the win.
Hakim scored two goals, while Kasdorf, Ben Kruse, Jaycob Masciangelo, Cole Berg, Carter Kam and Kevin Schrock scored against the Selects.
The local bantam double-A team will be back on the ice on Jan. 29 in Hussar against the Cranbrook Hornets at 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Wheatland Chiefs split their weekend games by starting off with a 5-3 win in Lethbridge on Jan. 15 before being shutout by Okotoks 2-0 on Jan. 17 at the Strathmore Family Centre in a game where the Chiefs missed their chances.
“We got lots of powerplays and couldn’t find the back of the net,” said veteran Ryan Skytt. “We had the early one called off and I just think some of the guys lost it there and couldn’t get their heads back where we needed them. We’ve beat them before and there’s no reason why we couldn’t beat them tonight. I think we just had some off shifts and they cost us in the long run.”
He credited the play of Mac Clark for keeping them in the game like he has all season long, and the strong goaltending efforts from both him and Nelson Schiller.
Skytt, Kody Hammond, Wacy Sandum, Chris Rebeyka and Ryan Bell scored in the Lethbridge win.
The local midget double-A will host the CBHA Blackhawks in Hussar on Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. before heading to Okotoks for a rematch on Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m.
The Wheatland Braves started their weekend off with a 3-3 tie in Medicine Hat with the Hounds on Jan. 15. Kobe Gosling, Trey Gillis and Tristan Zandee scored in the game.
Zandee and Adam Kirkpatrick supplied two goals, while Gosling and Tegan Skehar scored one each in a 6-3 home ice win over Lethbridge on Jan. 16 in Hussar.
The local peewee double-A team will play the Okotoks Oilers on Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. and the West Central Tigers at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 with both games at the Strathmore Family Centre.