BARRHEAD – Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of puck luck.
And in the second period of the Barrhead Bombers game against the Edmonton Eagles Feb. 11, the home team had luck to spare, scoring five goals en route to an 8-2 win on home ice at the Agrena.
"Sometimes you need to have the puck to bounce the right way to break out of the funk you are in," said head coach Joey McEwan, admitting his team’s confidence was fragile after a double-digit losing streak.
In many of those losses, Barrhead would got off to a strong starts and went into the final frame leading by multiple goals, only to end up losing.
The Friday game was the first of a home and home series against the Eagles. The next night the Bombers lost 6-4 in Edmonton. Barrhead wrapped up the three-game weekend with a 5-3 home loss on Sunday, Feb. 13, against the Vegreville Vipers.
After an evenly played first period Friday, the Bombers led 1-0 on a goal by captain Pressley Toth. Toth would then start Barrhead's offensive explosion in the second period, scoring an unassisted goal 15 seconds into the period. Seven minutes later, he would add to the Bombers' lead scoring his third goal to complete the natural hat trick with an assist going to winger Daytin Catt.
About three minutes later, on yet another power-play, Chad Esperance would score his first of the game.
Barrhead would go on to score two more goals before the end of the period, both coming in the final minute, thanks to Esperance who would complete his hat trick. His last goal was a shorthanded marker with just 24 seconds left, assisted by Seth Keltamaki.
In the third period, the Bombers would go on to score two more goals to cement their victory, the first from defenceman Austin Strathdee at the 13-minute mark, scoring on a slapshot from the top of the circle. Toth would cap the scoring with four minutes left in the game, scoring his fourth of the night and ending the game with six points.
"(As tonight's game) shows, we are a skilled team, but we were fragile because of how young we were," he said, adding that is why he decided they needed to bring in some older players that had a bit more experience.
Before the Bombers game against the league-leading Cold Lake Aeros on Feb. 6, Barrhead was involved in a three-team trade that brought in several players to help fill out the team's roster just ahead of the Can-Am Junior Hockey League roster freeze.
Although the deal is a little complicated, the net result is that the Bombers traded Joshua Kochan, a 17-year-old forward, to the Vernal Oilers in Utah, for 20-year-old defencemen Oliver Lovely and Talon Bear along with forwards Blake Thomas, Shawn Paiement and Jacob Tourand.
Paiement and Thomas are 20, while Tourand is 18.
Bombers fans will remember Lovely as he started the season with Barrhead but was moved to Utah for forward Seth Keltamaki. The Bombers also brought in goaltender Braden Henderson and forward/defenceman Tristen Cameron-Caron.
Kochan asked for the move to Utah, McEwan said, believing there would be more chance of being noticed by American college and university scouts.
And although he said they'll miss Kochan, the trade gave the Bombers an opportunity to address other deficiencies in their game, most notably keeping the puck out of the net and composure.
"Going into the (playoff tournament in Cold Lake) having more 20-year-old players with experience to help nurture our younger players will be very helpful," McEwan said, using the example of Barrhead's Jason Kelly.
Kelly is a defenceman and the Bombers' youngest skater at 16.
"He is an incredibly hard worker and is probably our most improved player from the start of the season. Because of that, he has earned a position on the penalty kill. But having older, more experienced players, especially on defence, will help his development."
McEwan also wanted to thank the community for the support, noting attendance is steadily increasing.
"We really appreciate it, and the energy they bring helps keep our energy up," he said.
The Bombers’ next home game is Friday, March 4 against the Edmonton Eagles.
