WESTLOCK - The Westlock Warriors hopes of forcing a winner-take-all Game 5 in their North Central Hockey League semifinal series versus the Lacombe Generals ended in a 4-0 defeat.
Played in front of a near-capacity Rotary Spirit Centre crowd Friday, March 11, the Warriors fell behind 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes, then launched a 16-shot barrage in the second period that went for naught as the Generals went up 4-0 on the scoresheet. In the third, with the result of the game and series all-but decided, both teams settled some personal scores, with four roughing minors, two fighting majors and three, 10-minute game misconducts handed out.
Captain Mike Ivey said while the Generals were undoubtedly the class of the NCHL, posting an 11-1-0-2 record on their way to capturing the regular season President’s Cup, the Warriors were in every game of the series. In fact, the Warriors had a 5-1 second-period lead in Game 1 played in Lacombe Feb. 26, before falling 6-5 in overtime, while Game 2, played at the RSC the next day, was as tight as they come, with the General grinding out a 2-0 win. With their backs against the wall, the Warriors rebounded with a 3-2 victory in Game 3 played in Lacombe March 5 to keep the series alive and force a Game 4 back in Westlock.
The Generals, who swept Bonnyville in the opening round of the playoffs, will now face the 11-3-0-0 Camrose Crunch for the Vanburg Cup, the NCHL’s postseason crown.
“We feel like we could have beaten that team. Looking back we think we could have got a couple of wins in the first weekend of the series,” said Ivey the day following the loss. “They’re a good team, I’m not going to take anything away from them and we wish them luck in the finals. But I think we proved we can beat them and found a couple ways to do it this year. A couple of bounces the other way and we probably had this series, but that’s the way it goes.”
The regular season was a mixed bag for the Warriors as they didn’t get their first ‘W’ of the year until a 5-4 upset victory over the previously-undefeated Generals Dec. 4 in Lacombe. Following that triumph the club started to gel and improve and went on to post a 5-8-0-1 mark and finish in sixth in the eight-team league. In the opening round of the playoffs, the Warriors dominated the third-ranked Morinville Kings (9-4-0-1), sweeping them aside in three-straight games and outscoring them 19-11.
Ivey said the core of the club will return in the fall and are excited to build on the progress they made over this campaign, their first since 2019-2020 as the league was shuttered last winter due to the pandemic.
“We were enjoying our run and we’re holding our heads high as we feel we had a heck of a year and really turned it up a notch in the playoffs,” said Ivey. “I think we have a pretty tight-knit group and I think most will be coming back, we want to keep this going for sure. The guys are looking forward to it.”
Finally, Ivey also thanked the army of volunteers and sponsors who helped throughout the year, as well as the fans who had the RSC rocking throughout the playoffs. Despite the end result, looking up to full bleachers following two tough years of COVID-19 brought smiles to the faces of many of the Warriors.
“It’s been a while since the rink has been that full, it was pretty cool. We appreciate everyone who came out and supported us all year, but last night was especially awesome. I wish we could have gotten on the board and won that game, but I think everyone enjoyed it,” said Ivey.
