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Warriors provincial title quest ends in round robin

Club fails to move on to the playoffs following 1-1-1 record

WESTLOCK - The Westlock U18 Warriors’ hopes to win a Tier 2 provincial title on home ice ended early as they finished third in their pool and failed to earn a playoff berth.

The Rotary Spirit Centre played host to the U18 Tier 2 Provincial Championship March 31 to April 3, with the Warriors posting a 1-1-1 record that earned them three points in Pool ‘A’ of the eight-team event — the Spirit River Rangers and Irvine Bulldogs would go on to finish first and second in the pool with identical 1-0-2 records that netted them each four points.

Warriors coach Paul Olsen said although they were disappointed in the final result, the boys have nothing to hang their heads over and played their hearts out all weekend long. There wasn’t much to separate the teams in Pool ‘A’ as Spirit River and Irvine were both plus one on goals for and against, while the Warriors finished the weekend even and the Devon Drillers, who ended up in the cellar of the pool at 0-2-1, were only minus two. In fact, all three wins in the pool were only by a goal, highlighting just how close the teams were.

“It was really tight. We played some good hockey and saw some good hockey. The kids would have liked to have had the chance to make the playoffs, but they all worked hard. That’s the way it goes sometimes,” said Olsen following their 3-2 win over Devon Saturday afternoon.

Pool ‘B’ was claimed by the Edson Sabres, who went 3-0 and tallied 15 goals for and only allowed four, while second went to the St. Paul Canadiens, who ended up at 2-1 with an 18-11 goals-for, goals-against margin. Of note, the Warriors beat the Sabres in the three-game Northern Alberta Interlock Tier 2 League Championship last month — Game 3, played March 13 in Westlock, saw the Warriors prevail 5-4 in a shootout.

In the provincial final played Sunday night, the Sabres were pushed to the limit and needed two third period goals to defeat the Canadiens 3-2.

Round robin run

The Warriors were flat footed in the March 31 opener versus the Bulldogs, falling behind 2-0 only 61 seconds into the contest. Mason Beattie got the Warriors to within one at 9:04 of the first, then tallied his second of the night in the second period to tie the game 2-2 — the Warriors took the lead with 22 seconds to go in the frame on a goal from Blake Olsen.

In the third, Irvine knotted the score on a powerplay marker, but the Warriors regained the lead at 9:24 on a shorthanded goal from Kale Meinczinger. Irvine though would not be denied, first tying the game at 15:06, then going ahead for good with only 25 seconds left on the clock to win the game 5-4.

Game 2, played April 1, saw the Warriors take on the Rangers in what was a defensive stalemate. Following a scoreless first period, the Rangers went up 1-0 in the second, but the Warriors replied on a goal from Kasyn Pipke. In the third, the Rangers took the lead on a powerplay goal, but the Warriors evened it up just over two minutes later on a goal from Meinczinger that saw the game end 2-2.

Game 3 versus the Drillers could have been a let down as earlier April 2, Spirit River and Irvine had tied, meaning the Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs.

That said, Meinczinger continued his hot weekend, giving the club an early 1-0 lead in the first.

Devon finally responded in the second, setting up a wild finish in the final frame. A powerplay marker from Gavyn Berube at 11:20 of the third gave the Warriors a 2-1 advantage. The Drillers answered at 13:24, then Pipke scored only three second later to give the club a 3-2 lead — the goal proved to be the eventual game winner.

“I was happy how they played the last game knowing that win or lose, they weren’t moving on,” Olsen added.

Between the pipes, goalie Zachery Cartier finished the weekend at 1-1, earning the starts versus the Bulldogs and Drillers, while Jackson Berube was in net for the 2-2 draw versus the Rangers.

Pats on the back

Looking back on the weekend, Olsen had nothing but kudos for the event organizers, parents and fans. He also thanked the local business community who were “over the top” in terms of support as this was the second provincial championship hosted at the RSC this month with the U16B Ringette Provincial Championships in town March 18-20.

“An event like this doesn’t happen without everyone pulling together. The support from the community, parents and the sponsors was just over the top,” said Olsen. “It was a great weekend. There was nothing but positive feedback from all of the other teams.”

George Blais, TownandCountryToday.com

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