Mario Prusina

Times Editor

 

The Wheatland Athletics Association honoured their three teams at the annual awards banquet April 6 at the Strathmore Civic Centre.

The peewee Braves, bantam Warriors and midget Chiefs teams presented their top scorer, top defenceman, rookie-of-the-year, most improved, most sportsmanlike and team MVP for the 2011-2012 season.

“Since I’ve been here, this has been our lead season,” said WAA President Sandy Henry. “I’m not sure that we really could have asked for more – I guess you always beg for more, but it was (a great year). I did some stats and (between the three teams), we played 101 league games and we won 65, lost 26 and tied 10. So we were in that 65 winning percentage, which puts us in a really good spot.

“All our teams had success, we fell a little short in provincials, but all (three teams) got there.

“It was a great season.”

The Chiefs, which won the regular season banner and the league championship banner last year, repeated as the SCAHL Champions.

Matthew Quigley of the Braves and Shane Fraser of the Warriors were presented the Craig Kletzel Memorial Award, while Zach Wittenburg of the Chiefs repeated as the SCAHL Top Defenceman. 

The WAA also presented Alan Barlow and Murray Christiansen with the “Members of Distinction” award

Here is a list of the award winners.

 

Wheatland Braves

Peewee AA

Top Scorer – Riley Romashenko

Top Defencemen – Matthew Quigley

Rookie of the Year – Tyler Skehar

Most Improved – Ty Stewart

Mosts Sportsmanlike – Scott Desserre

Most Valuable Player – Riley Romashenko

 

Wheatland Warriors 

Bantam AA

Top Scorer – Shane Fraser

Top Defencemen – Josh Bishop

Rookie of the Year – Markus Lavallee

Most Improved – Ben Sorenson

Mosts Sportsmanlike – Easton Munchrath

Most Valuable Player – Shane Fraser

 

Wheatland Chiefs

Midget AA

Top Scorer – James Price

Top Defencemen – Zach Wittenburg

Rookie of the Year – Conner McCallum

Most Improved – Trevor Costello

Mosts Sportsmanlike – Kristian Ayoungman

Most Valuable Player – Abe Jensen

 

Times Editor

 

For the first time in franchise history, the Wheatland Kings hosted a rookie tryout camp April 3-5 in the hopes of finding their next crop of players.

The local junior-B team hosted 36 midget-aged players who were looking become fulltime Kings either this coming season or next.

According to Kings head coach and general manager Doug Murphy, the camp is designed to get the players accumulated to the junior level.

“It lets the guys go out and use the half visor (for the first time) against players their own age,” said Murphy. “It lets us review the players and give us a gauge as to where those players (are).

“The purpose is to get those guys to know us – there will be a bunch of them that we will be asking to comeback to the camp in the fall.”

According to Murphy, there are at least a dozen players at the camp that he thinks can slide into the lineup in the very near future.

The team purposely kept the numbers small to make two teams, rather than a cluster of players who don’t have a realistic shot at making the squad.

Murphy added that most junior-A camps take place on the weekend, so they decided to go with a weekday camp to attract the players who will attend both levels.

“It gives the guys the opportunity to get ready for a junior-A camp that they may be going to,” said Murphy. “It (also) gives them another opportunity to go to another camp.”

Even though a lot can happen between now and the new season, Murphy said the camp was a useful tool for the team.

“It went really, really good. There’s probably 10 really, really strong prospects and we’re really impressed with a couple of guys off the midget Tier 1 team,” he said. “The camp really helps us get our name out there and it helps players and parents see what our organization is like.”

Times Editor

 

The Wheatland Athletics Association (WAA) hosted their annual three-on-three hockey tournament April 5, 7-8 at the Strathmore Family Centre.

Upcoming atom, peewee and bantam aged players from the WAA draw area took part in the fun tournament, which introduced them to the association.

“We just want people to know that we are here … and see the benefit or what advantages we can bring them if they do choose to tryout for Wheatland,” said WAA president Sandy Henry. “It is a promotion that we are here and we’re an alternative if you really want to play elite hockey.”

According to Henry, the three-on-three is not an evaluation tournament, rather a fun game of shinny versus players their own age.

Despite being hosted by the WAA, the tournament is not only for elite level players, but for children who want to have fun, regardless of skill level.

“We try to build the teams evenly,” said Henry. “We mix up the skill level, we try and mix up communities as well, just for a social aspect. That is certainly important, especially at the peewee level, where the integration of all the communities comes together (for the first time).” 

The annual three-on-three tournament has been in existence since the early 1990’s and is looking to grow in the future.

With the current format, there is a lot of open ice, which makes for some fun and exciting hockey to watch.

According to Henry, roughly 100 players took part in the weekend tournament, which is a lower number than last year.

“There are definitely a couple of factors,” said Henry of the decline in attendance. “Our bantam and peewee teams played a lot more hockey this year (with the playoff and provincials), so they aren’t nearly as fresh or enthusiastic about putting on the equipment one more time. 

“Then definitely Easter took some families out of the community with other commitments.”

Despite all those factors, it was a successful way to close out the 2011-2012 hockey season. 

Times Editor

 

In an attempt to lower fees and promote less travel, Strathmore Minor Hockey (SMH) will present an innovative concept at their Annual General Meeting on April 20 at the Strathmore Family Centre.

The board will offer the idea of starting a house league with Okotoks, Airdire and Cochrane for those who do not want to continue playing in the Central Alberta Hockey League (CAHL).

According to SMH President Wayne Hansen, players and parents will be able to choose which league they want to take part in.

“This could happen if we want it to, but now it is up to our membership to make that decision,” said Hansen. “It’s not a decision for the board to make, it’s a decision for the membership to make. That is why it is very important for our members get out to the AGM and tell us what they think. We need to know what they think, whether it’s good or whether it’s bad, or whether they’re indifferent.

“They are the ones who control the direction we take minor hockey.”

According to Hansen, the proposed house league would offer a cheaper alternative to players, as the fees would be much lower and travel would be within the hour range. The proposed league would practice once a week, rather than the current twice-a-week schedule with CAHL. 

“One of my biggest things since I got on the board was the cost of hockey being very expensive,” said Hansen. “To some (parents), that might not matter … but some parents don’t have that luxury. So if we have even one kid who is not playing hockey because it’s too expensive and we have this ability to make it more affordable for them and we get them involved, then I think we’ve done our job.”

SMH will also use the AGM to field questions from members and recognize the accomplishments of this past season.

Eighteen of the 20 minor hockey teams made the playoffs and six of those went on to win a banner.

“It equates to the best year Strathmore Minor Hockey had,” said Hansen. “Then you look at the double-A program, which is carded by SMH. The peewee team made the playoffs for the first time in a while with a lot of local Strathmore kids on the team. The bantam team won the North Division and lost in Game 5 of the league championship final. Our midget team won the league championship for the second year in a row. 

“It was a fantastic year for Strathmore Minor Hockey.”

Times Editor

 

Behind their solid goaltending, air-tight defence and a spread-out offence, the Wheatland Chiefs claimed the SCAHL, sweeping the Lethbridge Hounds 3-0.

After taking Game 1, the Chiefs hammered the Hounds 8-1 in Game 2 on March 28 at the Strathmore Family Centre, before winning Game 3 on the road March 30 by a 4-1 tally.

According to Chiefs head coach Devin Olson, the Chiefs got off to a hot start in the series clinching game and never looked back.

“We had a good start – a lot better than we have been,” said Olson “(We) come out flying and did the things we needed to in a smaller barn against a smaller team. They just dumped the puck in and hit them hard, like we were telling them, and they listened.”

The Chiefs were dominant in the championship series, outscoring the Hounds 17-3, proving that they had the right mixture of defence and offence. Overall, the Chiefs lost only one game in the post season and outscored their opposition 37-12.

According to Olson, the team’s solid goaltending of Jake Smith and Dakota Taylor was the key to the Chiefs success.

“Both of our goalies played really well in the playoffs for us,” said Olson. “We went with Jake for the finals just because he’d been on a hot streak, so you kind of have to ride him out. They (both) kept us in games in the first periods when we didn’t come out (well). We allowed a lot of chances - and it changes a game in a hurry if they’re up 2-0 instead of us.

“Our goaltending was probably the strongest part of our playoff (run). If you don’t have good goaltending, you’re not going to win.”

Despite not having the best record during the regular season, the Chiefs were still the team to beat, according to Olson. Their physical brand of hockey, mixed with the fact they were the defending champions, had them feeling very optimistic. 

According to Olson, winning last year was great, but this year was just a tad sweeter.

“I think we had to go through a lot more (adversity) this year,” said the coach. “Last year, we had the skill and we really depended on one line. This year we needed everybody to show up – we didn’t have that one dominant line. We had three lines that did our scoring all year. If one line didn’t show up, that made a huge difference to the team.

“We tried to pressure teams – the more you pressure them, the more they cough it up or make those mistakes, then you try and capitalize.”

 

Times Editor

 

Seven games in seven days may have cost the Wheatland Warriors a chance at the SCAHL Championship. 

The local bantam double-A team competed at the provincial championship late last month, before resuming their best-of-five championship series in Strathmore.

After splitting Games 3 and 4, the Warriors made the long drive to Cranbrook, where they lost the fifth and decisive game 6-1 on March 29.

“We were gassed … the kids were trying hard and everything, but they gave everything they had in Game 4 (a 3-2 overtime loss) and they didn’t have enough in the tank (for Game 5),” said Warriors head coach Paden Grant. “We were running off of fumes, kids were getting sick and it was our seventh game in seven days.

“They gave it a good run and they tried their best, but they just didn’t have anything left.”

According to Grant, the turning point in the series was not being able to clinch the championship in Game 4, after a solid 6-4 win in Game 3.

“That was our game to win,” he said. “We spent everything we had in that game, it was tough. We had to put up with a lot with the scheduling … it wasn’t their fault we had to play all those games in a row. They never complained and they just kept coming to the rink and give everything they had.

“In the end, it was more who can outlast the endurance test rather than who was the better team.”

The Warriors, who finished the regular season with a 19-8-6 record, where a hard working team that allowed the least amount of goals against in the North Division.

According to Grant, they didn’t have a lot of offensive weapons, but they had a team that could roll four lines and outwork the opposition.

Despite not winning the league championship, the season can be classified a success.

“I’m extremely proud of everyone,” said Grant. “I’m really happy with the way the season went. The team always came to the rink ready to work … we’re all a family and you actually had that feeling with this team.

“That was the reason we went as far as we did.”

 

Times Reporter

 

The indoor soccer season is over for another year, and the U14 boys Spur team finished with a gold medal win. The Spurs played within the Calgary Minor Soccer league, after being approved, and were in Edmonton to compete in the Inter-cities last month. 

The boys had a rough start to the season, but after Christmas and the seeding round was done, they were tiered more to their level. 

“From there that’s where we really excelled and our team I think started to gel together, so we were actually undefeated in the second half of the season,” said coach Dennis Klem. 

In the first half of the season the team played eight games, won one, lost five and tied two that was during the seeding round. Then in the playoff round after being reseeded the team played nine games, won seven, tied two and lost zero. 

After placing first in their Tier 5 playoff round, the boys were given an opportunity to play in Inter-cities. Klem said Inter-cities are considered the provincial level and it was exciting for the boys to get to that level considering the slower start to the season.

“In there we got to play the top two teams out of Calgary… and we also got to play the top two teams out of Edmonton.  During the Inter-cities we actually faired pretty good. We won two games and tied our last games, so that was able to give us a gold medal for the Inter-city aspect,” said Klem. 

Klem attributes the successful end to the season to the boys beginning to gel together and anticipate some of the passes. The forwards were helping out to cover in the defensive end when necessary. Klem said goalie Nick Torrez was a powerful goalie, and helped in a lot of situations. Klem did say there were a couple of other guys that stepped up to plate as goalie in his occasional absence or injury.

“I was quite proud of how the boys conducted themselves during the playoff round there in Edmonton. It was fairly clean play, there weren’t any issues from the reffing… they showed really good sportsmanship, and that was actually not just our teams but all teams that we played against,” said Klem. 

Outdoor season is set to begin in the next couple of weeks, and new fields will be ready for use when the weather warms up. 

 

Times Editor

 

The Wheatland Kings concluded their most successful season in franchise history with their annual awards banquet March 24 at the Strathmore Legion.

The local junior-B club honoured team members, their coaching staff and numerous volunteers for their hard working during the 2010-2011 season.

Tyler Brandon was named the Most Valuable Player, a leader by example and the hardest working player night after night, scoring 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in the regular season and adding three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in the playoffs.

The Outstanding Playoff Performer went to Andrew Bergmann, who piled up six goals and eight assists in six playoff games, after registering 31 points in 28 games during the regular season.

Team captain Mark Goodman was given the Players Choice, chosen by “teammates who exhibits the qualities of always working hard, always positive, dedicated, persistent, provides leadership, puts the team first and never gives up.”

Parker Goergesen was named the Rookie of the Year after piling 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in regular season. Sam Lonnberg was named the Unsung Hero, after piling 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points in 37 games and only 28 minutes in penalties during the regular season.

Graham Douglass took home the Outstanding Defenseman awards, while Brandon Neufeld was given the Outstanding Forward.

Jordan Griffiths was named the Most Dedicated. The coaching staff assessed Griffiths by saying he is “one of the hardest working players, a positive leader both on and off the ice (and has) the respect of his teammates.”

Mike Samoil was named the Most Sportsmanlike, while Austin Larsen was named the Most Improved.

Brandon Neufeld and Parker Georgsen were honoured for being the teams leading scorers, each piling up 34 points. 

Brennan Grasdahl was The Rock Solid Player of the Year, which “is presented to the player with the most points in the three-star player of the game selections each season.”

 

Mario Prusina

Times Editor

 

The Wheatland Warriors season has come down to one game.

After splitting the first four contests of the series versus the Cranbrook Ice, the SCAHL bantam championship will come down to a fifth and deciding game.

The Warriors gained home ice advantage by winning Game 1 on the road and had a chance to close out the series at the Strathmore Family Centre.

The local double-A bantam team earned a 6-4 win in Game 3 on March 27, but couldn’t close out the series, losing Game 4 in overtime 3-2 the following day.

“We were tired and couldn’t get the puck out, that is all it was,” said Warriors head coach Paden Grant of the overtime loss. “We had two chances to get the puck out and we didn’t, but that’s how it goes in overtime right, a bounce like that?

“I mean, they played a good game, they battled hard – Cranbrook is a great team, (so) it’s kind of fitting it’s going to five games, as much as we hate it to.”

The Warriors had a chance to close out the series after a solid outing in Game 3.

“We outworked them, is what it came down to,” said Grant of Game 3. “We were physical on the puck – when you’re physical on them, they tend to back down. That’s our game, if we try to go toe-to-toe against them, we’re probably not going to fare so well. We have to out work them and play a tight system.

“That’s how we’re going to be successful against them and we did that (in Game 3).”

The series shifted to Cranbrook for the decisive game on March 29 (result not available as of press time).

“We can’t dwell on it, the kids have got to stay positive and we have to get right back at it,” said Grant of the fifth game. “They got momentum now, we have to go out and take that away from them.”

For up-to-date results, visit the league website at scahl.com or visit the Strathmore Times Facebook page.

Times Reporter

 

Getting a chance to compete in the World Junior Curling Championship’s is a dream for many avid curlers. Cluny native Kristine Anderson and her team had a chance to make that dream come true when they curled as the team Canada junior women’s team.  

Skip Jocelyn Peterman, with third Brittany Tran, second Rebecca Konschuh and lead Kristine Anderson gave it their all at the championship which was held in Oestersund, Sweden. The final four teams had to play off for third and fourth place after the Czech Republic secured their spot in second place. The girls team finished their stint at the Worlds on March 9 with a tie-breaker loss to Russia. 

“It was amazing, it was definitely like an amazing experience and you got to play different teams and we definitely learned a lot from the experience, which I think will take us through the next couple of years to work with and become stronger,” said Anderson. 

“I think wearing the maple leaf on your back, it gives you this special feeling, you’re representing your country. It’s like your representing the country and you’re going to make anybody proud no matter what.”

The team joined forces a few years ago. 

“It started a couple of years ago. We were training for Alberta games and if you place in the top four at the Alberta games you trained for the Canada winter games. These girls are the same age as me so we talked about it and decided to form a team,” said Anderson.

“This year we were determined to do something, and we actually went to Worlds. We kind of still have to talk about next years plans but I know we definitely would like to go back to Worlds.”

It was an Alberta team that also earned a spot in Sweden as the team Canada Junior men’s team.  The boys brought home a gold medal after defeating Sweden 10-4 on March 11. 

Times Editor

 

After facing two elimination games in the semifinal, the Wheatland Chiefs fought back and earned a berth in the SCAHL Championship Final.

The local double–A midget team defeated Sylvan Lake 4-0 in Game 2 on March 21 at the Strathmore Family Centre, before earning a 4-3 double overtime win on the road in Game 3 the following day, claiming the North Division Championship.

Just a mere three days later, the Chiefs hammered the Lethbridge Hounds 5-1 in Game 1 of the SCAHL Championship Series on March 25 at the Family Centre.

“I think we used the momentum coming out of the last game, which was pretty close,” said Chiefs head coach Devin Olson. “We have to come out a little harder in the first 10 minutes – today we were still sleeping and we were lucky our goaltending has been really good. They helped us stay in the game and helped us catch that second wind, that extra gear, before we get going.”

After losing Game 1 of the semifinal series, the Chiefs have gone 3-0, outscoring their opponents 13-4 in the process.

According to Olson, the adversity of facing a pair of elimination games in the semifinals was a prefect lesson for the boys.

“Losing that first game in Sylvan woke them up,” said the coach. “We had two goals called off (in Game 3), but we battled through it.

“It was a good lesson.”

However, once Game 3 was over, their sights were set on the Lethbridge Hounds. Despite being a .500 team during the regular season, the Hounds have caught fire and have made life miserable for their opponents.

Even after the Chiefs blew out Game 1, Olson warned his team not to take the Hounds lightly.

“They’re a dangerous team,” said Olson. “They are not a big team, but they have a lot of skilled players. All playoffs they have been capitalizing on the (power play), so that is a key thing. We need to limit their chances and stay disciplined.”

After Game 2, which was played on March 28 (result not available as of press time), the series was to shift to Lethbridge, on March 30 and, if necessary, Game 4 on April 1.

According to Olson, the Chiefs must keep it simple in the best-of-five championship series.

“The big thing is, especially with the amount of hockey we’ve been playing, is keeping the shifts short, that is going to be the key,” said Olson. “We’ve been playing a lot of hockey and with overtime and stuff. Winning the first game was really important, but we need to keep it going in Game 2.

“Their goal is the split and we need to prevent that.”

For up-to-date results, visit the league website (www.scahl.com).

Times Contributor

 

The Rockyford Ringette Association, along with their host committee, held a successful weekend for the U19 Ringette Provincial tournament.

  Participating teams attended from Rockyford, Calgary, Airdrie, Red Deer, Beaumont, Edmonton, Sherwood Park, and Fort McMurray.

Assistant Coach for the Ringers Beth Vergouwen said, “We were really happy with the positive comments received from the visiting teams. It gives you a great feeling of accomplishment for all of the work that goes into hosting an event like this. I believe that the weekend events left everyone with a great impression of Rockyford and appreciation for what a small community can offer.” 

A tournament banquet was held Friday evening at the Rockyford Community hall and was catered by the Rockyford Lions club.  It was an enjoyable, entertaining evening that showcased and honoured many talents of the team, parents and community.  The community was pleased to have the 2012 Centennial Stampede Royalty as special guests for the evening. Stampede Princess Dani Gariepy spoke of her history of playing Ringette in Rockyford , her career and choices afterwards that led her to become a Calgary Stampede princess.  

Another highlight of the evening was having one of Rockyford’s team player and talented vocalist Chelsey Murphy sing on stage with piano accompaniment by Shauna Murphy.


At the end of the evening all of the team’s head coaches were asked to come forth to present the Players Choice award to an individual player chosen by their teammates.   Brent Melcher, coach of the Rockyford Ringers U19B team, presented Jenna Vergouwen with this award.

 The Provincial tournament provided some very competitive and exciting games amongst the participating teams. The Rockyford team played Calgary SV for their first game in a close match that ended in a loss for Rockyford 5-6.  Game 2 saw Rockyford playing their best game of the tournament with a satisfying win over Edmonton 10-7.  Unfortunately in Game 3 Rockyford came out short with 7-9 loss in a tight game vs Beaumont .  This then put Rockyford out of advancement to the semi-finals.

The U19B Provincial Gold medal was claimed by Fort McMurray, with an 8-5 win over Airdrie, and the Bronze medal was won by Edmonton in a 10-1 win over Calgary SV.

Shannon LeClair 

Times Reporter

 

Basketball season for competitive school players is over, and coaches from Strathmore High School took a few minutes to reflect on the past season. 

The JV girls were a little overmatched in the senior league.

“We improved, but it was hard to see because we were playing seniors,” said coach Dion Galandy. 

“We focused on JV at the end of the year. We went to a tournament in Eckville and we lost in the final, so we got second place.”

At the final home tournament the girls walked away with gold, seeing a successful end to a tough season. 

“It was a positive finish to the tournament, to the year really,” said Galandy. 

With only one girl in Grade 12 this year, many of the girls are likely to be returning next year. 

“We will still have to work on a lot of fundamentals, a lot of confidence. We have to build some confidence by hopefully winning some of the games we play against some of the senior teams instead of just getting waxed,” said Galandy. 

Most of the players on the senior boys team won’t be returning next year, but coach Christopher Hall isn’t too concerned. 

“Most of our players were veterans and we will only be returning two kids. But Kyle Larson did an excellent job with the JV kids and our Junior high finished second in zones so I’m hoping our program will have a quick turnaround,” said Hall. 

“Our season went pretty well. We had our highs and our lows but overall we gave our best effort game in and game out and I think we all had a lot of fun over the course of the season.”

Hall said some of the highlights for the boys include, a double over time home game against Strathcona Tweedsmuir, where a lot of the boys stepped up and played big, and a surprising home tournament win against West Central.

“Individually we had our share of wow moments from a three quarter court swish, to unreal passes, to clutch shots. Tons of plays from the season stick out in my mind that made it a pleasure to watch whether as a coach or spectator.”

Kyle Larson coached the JV Spartans this season. Larson said the team played in the Foothills league where they were overmatched in the age group. 

“We went to three tournaments and competed well at those tournaments and finished the year of really well at a tournament in Rosemary,” said Larson. 

“The last two tournaments we played at in Duchess and Rosemary were definitely highlights in the season for the boys, they played very well in those tournaments and they had good games throughout.”

Larson said the team showed a lot of improvement going into that weekend, saying they had played better in the last game then they had the whole season. 

Times Reporter

 

Strathmore High School (SHS) alumni volleyball players returned to their home gym this weekend for the annual alumni tournament. The tournament was held March 16-17 and was one of the largest the school has ever hosted. 

“This weekend is the largest one we have hosted. When we started in ’04 we wanted to raise money for the school volleyball program and also for the club volleyball program that we were hosting at the time,” said organizer and SHS volleyball coach Randy Moncks.

“So many people had gone on and played volleyball at a higher level and they were very competitive people. We thought we’ll bring them back and see if they would enjoy the alumni’s. It’s just gone on from then.”

Last year, due to a low turnout, the event was supposed to be moved to the fall. This year, though, Moncks said the 12 teams, with a teacher’s team, was an excellent turnout. 

Previously the players had been paired up by the year they graduated, but Moncks said as the teams get older they are mixing and matching within a few years. 

The Grad class of 2004, the Lucas Lozeron team, won the bragging rights this year, beating out the Duthie Clan. The oldest returning team was from the Grad class of ’78, and the tournament raised $850 for the Strathmore Volleyball Program.

 

Times Editor

 

The Wheatland Warriors earned a hard-fought overtime win in Game 1 of the SCAHL Bantam Championship and took home-ice advantage in the process.

The local double-A bantam team defeated the Cranbrook Ice 3-2 in double overtime to open the series on March 15, before dropping Game 2 the following day 5-1.

However, by getting the split to open the best-of-five championship series, the Warriors took home-ice advantage for Games 3 & 4 in Strathmore later this month.

“If you would have said before (the series) we’d come out with a split, we would have been happy,” said head coach Paden Grant. “We didn’t play our best, but we had a good road playoff game in the first one and snuck it out in double overtime.

“It was good, we got the split and now we get to come home to our barn now.”

After a long bus ride to Cranbrook, the Warriors opened the scoring in Game 1, when Ben Huculak converted a power play feed from Josh Bishop to open the scoring. After the Ice tied it in the second period, Cole Busslinger scored another power play goal when he took a pass from Easton Munchrath and Bradley Henricks late in the middle frame.

The Ice scored the lone third period goal, before Shane Fraser scored the double overtime winner with an unassisted power play marker.

“They out shot us by quite a bit (in Game 1), but we kept the shots to the outside,” said Grant. “We limited their chances and we did what we had to do to win. When it goes into overtime, it’s always a bounce here or an ugly goal. We were just going hard and it worked out.”

In Game 2, the Warriors got off to the start they wanted when Cody Hammond converted a feed from Kaleb Robinson and Jayse Wilson.

However, the Ice scored five unanswered goals, including four on the power play.

“If we get away from our system and play more as individuals, then we’re not successful,” said the coach. “We took a lot of penalties too – they have a really good power play and we were in the box for most of the game. You can’t do that if you want to be successful. We learned a lot in Game 2.”

The Warriors will host Game 3 on March 27 (6:45 p.m.) and Game 4 on March 28 (1 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.

The series is now on hold for 10 days, as both teams will take part in their respective provincial championships.

The Warriors will travel to Medicine Hat for their Provincial Championship Tournament March 23-25.

“I don’t like this layoff (from the series, but) we have to put it out of our mind and focus on provincials,” said Grant. “Obviously winning the league is our No. 1 goal of the year, but we made it to provincials and we want to win provincials. We have to completely focus on that now.

“You can’t take a game off or it might cost you a chance at the semifinals – you have to be ready to play all the time.

“We’re playing good hockey now and I’m confident how we’ll do.”